On the Road - Driving in Spain and Southern France - Part 1

Before the 2017 summer vacation, from June 12 to June 22

We met fewer than 10 Chinese people along the way. The importance of avoiding the peak travel season is that you can be sure you are in Europe.

Footprints in cities of Spain and Southern France:

Marseille (didn't make it, purely accidental)

Day 1 - Flight journey

Weather: sunny, 38°C

Flew with an airline from a Middle Eastern oil-rich country, transiting through Doha. Arrived in Madrid in the afternoon. The 38°C heat was unbearable. Went back to the hotel for a shower and went out to find food at 6 PM. The sun was still shining fiercely, with none of the coolness of sunset. Strolled around the train station to confirm that tomorrow afternoon's train to Barcelona had no issues. Since we printed the tickets in advance, there was no need to exchange them. First-class seats were confirmed to come with lunch. The locals' English was not very good. Communication at the train station was difficult.

At 7 PM in the evening, locals were sitting outdoors under sunshades without air conditioning, drinking beer. Found a moderately rated restaurant on Google, El Rincon Asturiano II. Once inside, we got a Spanish menu and were a bit dizzy. The waiter didn't speak English either, but he cleverly brought an English menu. While happy, we also cleverly noticed a big price difference. We weren't stupid; Google Translate is no joke. We insisted on ordering from the Spanish menu and successfully got Iberian ham, seafood platter, grilled vegetable salad, and beer. Little did we know that when paying, we still paid 20% more based on the English menu, plus an extra 10% service charge. Oh dear, tourists—we are tourists. Getting ripped off is something we had to accept. No matter how expensive, we still had to eat, and the ham was delicious!

Luckily, we never encountered such a situation again, because we never saw a Spanish menu again. 😅

Stayed at Eric Vökel Boutique Apartments, a 5-minute walk from Atocha Train Station. A two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment, spacious, clean, bright, with a fully equipped kitchen. There was even a swimming pool, but it was so small you could step across it to the other side.

Day 2 - Walk in city Madrid

Weather: sunny, 38°C

Still jet-lagged, I woke up early and cooked breakfast. Yesterday, we found a very large supermarket next to the hotel and stocked up. The milk actually tasted like milk (€0.85/1 liter/semi-skimmed). The cured ham was similar to last night's (€2). Worried we had no oil to fry eggs, we discovered the pan was truly non-stick, so we could fry eggs perfectly without oil.

We wanted to explore the city when the sun was weaker. Actually, as long as we walked in the shade, it felt at most 25°C. So we coolly power-walked for over 4 hours. Madrid has 1,962 ancient buildings, including iconic ones like the Alcalá Gate, Puente de Cibeles, Puerta del Sol, or Palacio Real. These monuments make Madrid a true museum city, the only city in the world with a radius of 100 kilometers. Of course, we didn't follow a planned route of historical sites; we just wandered wherever, relaxed and carefree.

*Ps: On the first day, we noticed many police on the streets. The security situation was not as bad as we had imagined. The reports from earlier travelers about robberies, thefts, and car hijackings were somewhat exaggerated. However, we wore shabby clothes and carried a 100-decibel alarm, ready to set it off anytime to scare people off if needed. We accidentally triggered the alarm 3 times. 😓

On the street, we encountered middle school students doing social practice. Full of youthful energy, their English was pretty good. They asked us 10 questions. Summer (our child) mingled among them and answered officially. After that, Summer became a professional interviewed tourist, meeting many groups of students doing social practice homework. We had already memorized the 10 questions: Where are you from? What is your impression of Spain? What are the main differences compared to your country? ...

We really had no idea what the aunties were queuing for. Summer went to check but couldn't figure it out either.

Cars on the roads were all mini-sized, while motorcycles were super large. We saw several burly older men riding Harleys, looking quite stylish.

We booked first-class seats on the Renfe train from Madrid to Barcelona online, paying second-class prices. The ticket was worth it, with service comparable to a five-star airline.

After 3 hours of clattering, we arrived at Barcelona Sants Station. Checked into our new home in Barcelona: Rocamora Apartment at 51 Passeig de Gràcia, a two-bedroom, one-living-room with a balcony, for three nights. An old house with 120 years of history, an old manually operated elevator, a bright living room, full of exquisite details, and a balcony facing the street. The landlord kindly gave us a bottle of white wine. The location was excellent—right on the busiest street, Passeig de Gràcia, with Casa Batlló across the street, and the entrance to L3/L4 metro station just downstairs.

Every afternoon, we returned to the apartment to freshen up before going out for dinner. Barcelona has beaches within the city. We took the metro to the seaside in the evening and found a highly rated restaurant on Google, Majò. Unfortunately, we couldn't get an outdoor table. The restaurant was beautiful and worth recommending. It was our first Spanish seafood paella.

*Ps: Barcelona sells a 10-trip metro card for €10.99, which can be used on buses, metro, and trains, and can be shared by multiple people. Each swipe leaves a print mark on the back. It's available at metro ticket machines and is convenient. But the paper card is very thin; it cannot be folded or damaged, or it won't work. I ruined one and had to exchange it for a new one at the station's information counter. Not all ticket machines have language selection (English); many only have Spanish. You can ask staff or locals for help; they will kindly assist.

Paella comes in two types: dry and soupy (neither has undercooked rice). The lobster paella includes a whole lobster. The shrimp used are langoustines, and the seafood ingredients are very fresh. When ordering, we were told all paella requires a minimum order of 2 servings; the menu prices are per person, but since the pan size is for two, you must order for two. Spain is one of the few European countries where you can eat rice, and the paella is delicious. Except for being a bit salty, it has no flaws—it's also our favorite.

*Ps: Sunrise here is around 6:30 AM, sunset around 9:30 PM. It's still bright at 10 PM. So locals usually drink from 6-8 PM and have dinner from 8-10 PM.

Day 3 - Discover Antoni Gaudí

Weather: sunny, 30°C

Barcelona was the highlight of the trip. The fisherman (my husband) wisely booked a four-attraction combined ticket online. Sagrada Família and Park Güell require precise entry times. We only visited these four main attractions, spending the rest of the time wandering the streets, eating and drinking day after day.

Many buildings attract people mainly because of their architects. For a layperson like me, besides I.M. Pei, I only know Gaudí. Barcelona is full of Gaudí, or rather Gaudí has taken over the entire city—Gaudí's blood flows through the city.

Antoni Gaudí, born on June 25, 1852, was a great Catalan architect. His daring to use imagination to the fullest in a solemn building like a church shows his uniqueness and passion for architecture! Gaudí devoted the last forty years of his life to one building. He lived for architecture and died for it. He died on his way to check the construction progress of the Sagrada Família. It is said that at that time, Barcelona was celebrating the inauguration of the tram, and the streets were empty with everyone celebrating. No one noticed a shabbily dressed old man hurrying to his own construction site. He was hit by the newly opened tram and died after being taken to the hospital. No one recognized him as the great Barcelona architect Gaudí.

Apart from work, Gaudí had no other hobbies or needs. In life, he seemed a bit foolish and crazy. He always had a long beard and wore a gloomy, inscrutable expression. He had no friends except Güell. He only spoke Catalan and needed an interpreter to communicate with workers. He only kept two students around him; more than that annoyed him. He felt that by interacting with these two students, he could maintain balance with the whole world.

He ate even more simply and casually than his workers, sometimes forgetting to eat entirely, so his students had to stuff a few slices of bread into his hands. His clothes were shabby, often wearing the same set for three to five years, with dirty and torn shirts. Seeing his shabby appearance, some people even mistook him for a beggar and gave him alms.

Gaudí never married; it seemed he had no luck with women. He once said: 'To avoid disappointment, one should not be seduced by illusions.' It is said that he had a romance in his youth, but later the girl chose someone else—and perhaps she was right.

*When I go back, I will watch 'The Gaudí Code' again.

Casa Batlló

Casa Batlló is like a fairy tale, inspired by a Catalan legend: In the mountains of the Tarragona region, there was a dragon that ate people and animals. To keep peace, people offered a sacrifice every year. One day, misfortune fell upon the castle lord's daughter. The beautiful and kind princess was demanded as a sacrifice. Just as the dragon was about to take the 'offering,' the handsome knight George appeared. He fought the dragon and killed it on April 23, rescuing the princess. The entire design of Casa Batlló comes from this story. The building itself is the dragon's body, the roof is the dragon's back. The small attic on the roof is said to be the princess, and a pole protruding below the attic is Saint George's sword that killed the dragon. Casa Batlló is at the corner of a row of houses, six stories high. Each window's balcony looks like dragon scales. The colors are colorful, like a dragon under sunlight. The exterior walls feature another key element of Gaudí's architecture—broken tiles. On the walls and rooftops of Casa Batlló, you can see the decorative style of collaging broken tiles.

Opening hours: 9 AM to 8 PM. The 3D audio guide is very advanced; it explains as you move, covering various languages.

Casa Milà

The design feature of Casa Milà is that the building's entire weight is borne by columns. Neither internal nor external walls bear the building's weight; there is no 'main wall'. So the interiors can be freely partitioned and remodeled without collapsing, and larger windows can be designed to ensure lighting for each apartment. At the time, the Milà couple funded the building. The first floor was rented out as shops, the second floor (the 'main floor') was where the Milà couple lived, and the third to sixth floors were rented out as apartments. Because of Gaudí's unique structural mechanics, the weight is entirely borne by columns, so the layout on each rental floor is different: the third floor had three units, the fourth floor four, the fifth floor four, and the sixth floor three. Each unit varied in size, from a maximum of 600 m² to a minimum of 290 m². The top floor was used for temperature regulation and drying clothes. The rooftop has 30 unique chimneys, 2 vents, and 6 staircases, with the largest tower-like staircase containing a hidden water tank.

After reading the detailed introduction, we realized that Gaudí's designs are not just flashy; each design incorporates mechanics and functionality, full of imagination—a genius, a maverick!

Sagrada Família

Gaudí once said that art must come from nature, because nature has already created the most unique and beautiful forms for people. He also said that straight lines do not exist in nature; straight lines belong to humans, while curves belong to God. Therefore, in Gaudí's buildings, there are no straight lines—from large roofs and floors to small doorknobs, we see beautiful curves everywhere.

The Sagrada Família is a Catholic basilica. Generally, the towers on top of churches are square, but here they are circular. The basilica has three facades representing Nativity, Passion, and Glory. Each facade has four towers representing the twelve apostles. Inside, there are six more towers representing the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and the four evangelists. The church body is covered with thousands of exquisite stone carvings, which from a distance look like clay but are actually carved stone. The inspiration comes from the Bible, animals, and plants in nature. Gaudí not only borrowed natural elements but also applied many mathematical and physical principles. For example, the overall structure was designed using the catenary arch principle with many bags hanging from ropes. Even the architectural sketches are astonishing. The spiral staircase to the top is inspired by snail shells. Gaudí paid attention to both the whole and details. The stained glass windows of the church are also abstract patterns with unified gradient colors, making the sunlight filtering in extremely gentle. There is so much to write about the Sagrada Família, but it's hard to express in words. Only by actually being there can you feel its magnificence.

The basilica is expected to be completed in 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudí's death.

We booked to enter the church at 2 PM and climb the tower at 2:15 PM. The locals are very strict about time; you can't go up before your slot. Admirable. After all, the tower space is small, and without crowd control, it would be dangerous for both the structure and people. Luoyan (my wife) is afraid of heights; descending from 50 meters in a spiral was a painful experience. The architecture, both inside and out, is breathtaking. From now on, we can ignore all other churches.

Els 4 Gats (Four Cats) restaurant, located deep in the alley behind the Queen's Palace shopping center on Passeig de Gràcia. We booked a table at 8:30 PM in advance and went out of admiration. The restaurant opened in 1897, vintage and elegant, and was a frequent haunt of the young Picasso before he became famous. Google recommended a mushroom shrimp pasta as a seasonal dish, but it was not available. However, we unexpectedly ordered squid ink rice—pitch black, with black squid meat throughout; the white squid was just for decoration. It was even better than the seafood paella at Majò. Having rice every day made us extremely happy.

Day 4 - Park Güell

Weather: sunny, 30°C

We had overcome jet lag and started sleeping in. After a quick breakfast, we rushed to Park Güell. We entered at 8:55, exactly 5 minutes early.

Park Güell is filled with colorful mosaics on stone steps, columns, and curved stone benches, all made of broken tiles, vividly colored, making you feel like in a dream. Unlike other buildings, it is an open space. At the entrance steps, there is a famous mosaic lizard fountain. Going up the steps, there is a square, curved benches, stone columns, and two uniquely shaped houses like fairy tales. Under the viewing terrace is the Hall of a Hundred Columns, supported by 86 columns. Besides support, these columns also serve a drainage function. When it rains, the yellow sand and water from the circular large square flow through the columns into the nearby woods. If rainfall is sufficient, the colorful lizard on the staircase to the gingerbread house will spray water. This tile-mosaic, colorful lizard is the park's mascot.

Originally, Park Güell was a garden city commissioned by Count Güell from Gaudí, planning to build 60 garden villas on 20 hectares of land. But the project never came to fruition; only a small part was realized. On the rooftop is the famous viewing terrace, featuring what is considered the world's longest bench. The bench is made of stone, shaped like a winding wave. The surface is randomly collaged with mosaic fragments, each pattern different and with implied meanings. The bench is ergonomically designed with a perfectly curved backrest, making it surprisingly comfortable to sit on hard stone. The design also considers different users: the outer curve is for single seats, the inner curve is slightly wider for couples, a unique charm.

In Park Güell, there are many sections with inclined column viaducts resembling natural caves. Some have two levels, both walkable. The columns are mostly inclined, appearing as if they might collapse at any moment, yet they have stood firm for nearly a century, as if displaying a mechanical experiment comparing inclined and vertical columns.

Broken tile fragments, glass shards, and rough stones—the cheapest materials—create the most splendid forms, full of Gaudí!

In the afternoon, we went to La Boqueria market, bought seafood, and made squid and shrimp pasta at home. The market sells everything at good prices. Note: the fresh juice at the entrance stalls costs €2.5; a little further in, €1.5; even further, €1. 😁

Cherries: €2.99 for a large basket; large shrimp: €2.99/kg; one huge squid: €6.5 (not inflated).

The rich ladies spent the afternoon shopping for luxury goods on Passeig de Gràcia. I sat on a bench on the street downstairs from the apartment, daydreaming and watching passersby. Once you become familiar with a city, know the surroundings, skillfully switch between metro, bus, and train, adapt to the local meal schedule, and learn how to order food, it's almost time to leave.

Barcelona, awesome!

Recommended stay: 4-5 days, so you can walk slowly and see slowly. There are many places we didn't visit.

Ready to enter France...