3 Glorious Days in Barcelona & Girona

When we sailed into Barcelona on May 30 we were ready for a planned 3 day stop with a side trip to Girona.  Except for what we needed for the next few days, our luggage was on its way back to the States.  

We checked into a 5-Star NH Hotel with a fabulous location on the Rambla de Catalunya, a wide boulevard that is the equivalent of the Champs Élysées in Paris, or the via Veneto in Rome. It was within walking distance of a lot of places we wanted to see. And it had a rooftop bar overlooking the city, which we, of course, visited. The Rambla, like the Via Veneto, also had plenty of outdoor dining spots, which we frequented as well. 

One of the first things we did was to go on a guided walking tour of Barcelona. (We did a lot of walking tours). The tour included a visit to the exterior of the Sagrada Familia, designed by the famous Catalán architect, Antoni Gaudi. Later we got tickets and saw the interior of the church. 

After visiting the church we did a walking tour that included some older neighborhoods. In our travels we walked through numerous town squares with outside dining. One street we came upon was shielded with colorful umbrellas. 

We also paid a visit to the MACBA Museum of Contemporary Art. The architecture of the building was very interesting; the exhibits less so. As it happens, the area outside the MACBA Museum is popular with skateboarders. There they practice their skills jumping onto ramps with skateboards. Not a sport for the faint-hearted.  

Trip to Girona

The second day of our visit we went to Girona where we did a walking tour of the old city.  It was a stunningly beautiful place. We walked through neighborhoods that had been revitalized with artisan shops, along a river running through the city, as well as historic UNESCO designated neighborhoods with stunning architecture. 

Later that afternoon it was back to Barcelona where we spent the following day visiting a farmer’s market type of a place, traveled around the city on a hop-on, hop-off bus. Then we had a fabulous dinner at La Cabrera Barcelona, an Argentinian steakhouse. 

After 3 days in Barcelona and Girona it was time to fly back to Dulles and life in Virginia. But, as they say: Wait–there’s more! We will be traveling through France and Italy in August and September. You can keep up just by going to joebenningphotography.com where we will continue to post. And if you want to log-in to the site, just send an e-mail to [email protected] with the word “Register” in the Subject line. 

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We arrived in Halifax in early September to begin a 10-day tour of Nova Scotia, a beautiful place. As we made our way around we managed to catch hurricane Fiona, which made landfall on September 24. Most of the damage appeared to be in Cape Bretton, which we left the day before. 

Needless to say Halifax Stanfield International Airport was shut down so all flights were cancelled. Consequently, we had to stay for a day or two  extra before we could Geta flight out.  Note to self: Don’t ever fly Air Canada again. They were a nightmare to deal with. 

But Nova Scotia was beautiful, and the people were exceptionally nice. Our Road Scholar trip started in Halifax where we visited (among other places) Citadel Hill, Fort George, the Titanic cemetery where many of the ship’s victims are buried, the Maritime Museum, the public Gardens of Halifax and the boardwalk. I included a few shots taken at some of these spots in Halifax. Please see below.

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The Shenandoah Valley, with its spectacular vistas is a wonderful place to visit in Autumn as the trees begin to change colors. There are small towns and farms to visit as well as B&B’s wineries, breweries, campgrounds and RV parks. We prefer to do our camping in hotels with nice bars, so the campgrounds are not in our plans. 

We recently took a short trip to Shenandoah Valley and stayed in the Iris Inn. The Iris Inn describes itself as a luxury retreat overlooking the Shenandoah Valley.

It’s an apt description. We stayed in the Main Inn for a night so we could walk around the various paths in the woods of the valley. Unfortunately we were met by pouring rain, so that idea was scotched. Nevertheless we did see some of the spectacular sights of the Shenandoah Valley and will return someday. 

Here (below) are a couple of landscape photos from the trip. 

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Thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak our travel plans have changed quite a bit. The 2 month trip to Florence and Rome—well that didn’t happen. Three cheers for British Airways and Road Scholar for promptly sending us refunds after Italy shut down the country. The same can not be said for Hotel Adriano in Rome. After initially promising a refund, they tried to back out until we reported them to American Express. After that they saw the light. 

On a happier note, we traveled to the outer banks and stayed in Duck, North Carolina for two weeks. What a spectacular place–for instance, see the image below.

The Outer Banks are a series of barrier islands located between the Atlantic Ocean and Currituck Sound. There aren’t any cities on the 100 miles + of the Outer Banks. Instead the islands are mostly populated by small seaside villages and towns. It is a favorite vacation spot, attracting visitors from the Northeast as well as Virginia, Georgia and the Carolinas. 

We rented a house for a 2 week stay in Duck, a tony village with plenty of gorgeous beaches, fishing spots and restaurants.  That’s right. Restaurants you can actually go to and sit inside and have cocktails and dinner. Or you can get a table outside and relax over food and drinks. 

There are other places to go to as wee—for instance Kitty Hawk, where Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first historic flight in their flying machine back in December 1903. And then there is Corolla Park with the architectural masterpiece Whalehead and its Museum. 

If you get a chance, visit the Outer Banks and the town of Duck. You’ll be glad you did. 

Here are a couple of photos from our trip (below), taken with a Leica Q2 camera. Click on a photo to enlarge it. They can be licensed at Evocative Photos.

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A slide show with a backing track. We kept a proper social distance from the lions.

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We spent a busy weekend in the nation’s capitol. Among other things we saw an absolutely terrific performance of My Fair Lady at the Kennedy Center.  Shereen Ahmed, a 26 year old graduate of Townson University was perfectly cast as Eliza Doolittle. She lit up the stage with an astonishingly versatile voice which she combined with first rate acting. The Kennedy Center revival performances of My Fair Lady are the beginning of a national tour. Don’t miss it if it comes to a theatre near you. 

We stayed at the Watergate for the weekend which now advertises that you don’t have to break in to enjoy the place. We also got a chance to stop in to see the exhibits on display at the Phillips Collection of Modern art and the National Geographic Museum. The National Geographic had an exhibit featuring Jane Goodall, known for her path breaking field work on chimpanzees in Africa. Both the National Geographic and Phillips Collection Museums are certainly worth a visit when in DC. Finally I should mention a very good French Bistro, the Opaline Bar and Brasserie, where we had dinner. Good food, great atmosphere and a fine Martini can be had there. 

Some iPhone photos from our jaunt are below. 

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We are back from traveling through the nordic countries for a couple of weeks, with Stockholm being the first stop. Stockholm is an extraordinarily beautiful (and clean) city. As are the other nordic cities we visited, as it turns out. 

It is a vibrant city, and with a population of just under 1 million people, it is the cultural, media, political and economic center of Sweden. Stockholm represents about 10% of the population of all of Sweden (about 10 million) but accounts for 1/3rd of Swedish GDP.  At 10 million people, Sweden is the 90th most populous country in the world. 

Sweden today is decidedly not the Sweden of the 1970s it was back when Bernie Sanders was a member of the socialist Liberty Union Party of Vermont. In the Freedom Index produced by CATO and the Fraser Institute, Sweden is tied with the U.S. at #17. To put this in context, New Zealand ranks #1, Switzerland #2, Hong Kong #3 Australia #4 and Canada #5. Toward the bottom is Russia, #119, and Venezuela at #160, just edges out Syria for last place at #161. 

The country’s population is largely homogenous, as are the rest of the Nordic countries, which may account for much of the nation’s sense of solidarity. But that might be changing as Sweden has recently had a good deal of trouble assimilating significant immigration from the middle east. 

During the winter months, Sweden only gets about 6 hours of sunlight a day. During the summer the Swedes are out in force to celebrate the warm and relatively sunny weather—they only get about 70 sunny days in a year. We were very lucky—we had terrific weather for most of the time we were there. 

Here (below) are some photos from our visit there. 

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We spent a quick—too quick—couple of days in Lyon, France’s second largest city. According to Journal des Arts it is the second city for culture in France, coming in just behind Paris. The capital of the Lyon Metropolitan region, the city is a festival of museums, restaurants, cafes and historic architecture. We stayed in Vieux Lyon—the Old City—where we had stunning views of the town and could easily make our through the old streets to do some sightseeing. A quick ride in a funicular and we arrived at the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourviere, which overlooked the city.

Lyon, the gastronomical capital of France, is positioned between the Rhone and Saone Rivers, making it extraordinarily picturesque. In addition, Lyon is a college town. It is home to many well-regarded universities, and is ranked 34^th in the world by students for desirability.

If you travel to France, it’s well worth a visit.

There are a few photos below of Lyon, taken in the Old City. Collections of photos taken in both Lyon and Paris are available in the galleries section. Licenses are available at www.evocativephotos.com

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