Spain Travel Journal: 105 Pages of Text and Hand-drawn Illustrations (Barcelona - Granada - Madrid)

I'm posting travel journal records again. This trip to Spain ended two years ago. One reason is that many of Spain's architectural artworks are particularly troublesome to draw, but the most important reason is that I procrastinated due to severe laziness and never finished the drawings. Recently, due to the pandemic, I have more time at home, so I mustered the effort to turn my previous travel notes into a journal. Creating this is not easy. If you like it, I hope you can like and share. The itinerary was roughly outlined before departure. For detailed visit schedules, please refer to the explanations on the corresponding dates. Feel free to leave messages to communicate if you have questions.

February 14, Departure

I arranged with a couple of classmates, so our group of four took a Ukraine International Airlines flight, transiting through Kyiv airport to reach Barcelona. Unfortunately, the Ukraine International Airlines route from Beijing to Kyiv has now been suspended; otherwise, traveling to Europe through them was quite affordable.

Transportation route information from Barcelona Airport to the city center:

Catalonia and Spain:

Encants Flea Market:

February 15, Gaudí and Casa Milà

Barcelona's new district and Gaudí's life:

Casa Milà floor plans, cross-sections, and elevations:

Details of Casa Milà:

Casa Calvet floor plans, cross-sections, and elevations:

Passeig de Gràcia:

What is Spanish ham:

February 16, Park Güell and Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau

Details of Park Güell:

Casa Vicens floor plans and cross-sections:

Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau:

February 17, Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, Maritime Museum, and La Boqueria Seafood Market

Cathedral of Saint Eulalia:

Barcelona Maritime Museum:

Battle of Lepanto situation map:

Santa Eulalia sailboat:

HBO's Game of Thrones prop exhibition:

La Boqueria Seafood Market:

February 18, Half-day visit to Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau

History of Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau:

Functions of the hospital buildings:

Columbus Monument:

February 19, Arrival in Granada

Spanish high-speed train, excellent experience:

Watching traditional flamenco dance:

February 20, Full-day tour of the Alhambra

Alhambra timeline of major events:

Abbasid and Umayyad dynasties:

Ferdinand and Isabella:

Alhambra floor plan:

Names of various attractions at the Alhambra:

Brief history of Granada:

Parador de Granada (San Francisco Hotel) and Palace of Charles V:

Hall of Ambassadors and Myrtle Court (Court of the Myrtles):

Lindaraja and Court of the Lions:

Partal Palace (Lady's Tower), Prison Tower, Princess Tower:

Gardens and the tragic fate of Alhambra rulers:

Nasrid dynasty sultan family tree:

Brief chronology of Spanish history:

The Alhambra in artists' works:

February 21, Madrid Naval Museum

Madrid public transport card and metro map (the date on the map is a typo, should be February 21):

Madrid Naval Museum floor plan:

The museum's crown jewel:

February 22, Madrid Air Museum

Air Museum floor plan:

Introduction to Air Museum exhibits:

February 23, Shopping and the Prado Museum

Prado Museum floor plan for floor 0:

Prado Museum floor plans for floors -1, 1, and 2:

Special exhibition at the Prado Museum:

February 24, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

Introduction to the Reina Sofía Museum:

Cross-section and floor plans for floors 0, 1, and 2 of the museum:

Floor plans for floors 3 and 4 and the museum's crown jewel:

Madrid Airport and Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport:

February 25, Transfer in Moscow on Aeroflot to return to China

Aeroflot A330-300:

[End of text] Thank you for watching!