Week 19 Barcelona, Sitges and Cartagena, Spain and Porto, Portugal

Our first day at the port in Barcelona, we visited the coastal city of Sitges on the Mediterranean Coast. The old town is now a bustling tourist town visited for the 2 1/2 miles of sandy beaches. The 17th Century Church of San Bartomeu sits overlooking the city and forms one of the fortified walls. The view along the rocky coast as the city is on a peninsula. We then went to a chiringuito, a beach bar/restaurant, called Picnic to feast on tapas and sangria. Again, the weather was perfect. 

Inspirational Barcelona was the highlight of this set of ports. This was the third time we visited this beautiful city and still haven't seen it all. We took the architectural walk which highlighted the works of Gaudi. We were not able to go into La Sagrada Familia but we noted how much more has been completed since we last saw it in 1993. I know there are many who say it is ugly and even sacrilegious but I think it is awesome. It is still not finished and they are having a goal of 30 years for it to be completed. We returned to our bus and went to a more residential area of the city for our long walk. We were able to view three townhouses designed and built by Gaudi constructed next to Art Nouveau and Classical townhouse. The city was busy but not as congested as the area around La Sagrada Familia. Since we were now tired, hot, and a little hungry our guide took us to a hotel with a rooftop bar where we had cava (Spanish champaign from the region) and more tapas. A great day!

Cartagena, Spain was very interesting. We first went to the town of Cape Palos. On our way there, we learned of the long history of mining in the area from silver to other various ores. The mining operations are no longer allowed as they were using strip mining methods which were destroying the environment. The Spanish government has built a "tributary" of a major river to provide irrigation for farming. This has improved the lifestyle for the people. The town never had electricity for homes until the 1960s and 1970s along with water/sewer systems. Now the area is a tourist haven due to the coastal location. Scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, and sailing are very popular

After leaving Cape Palos, we returned to Cartagena. In the mid 1980's, the city decided to demolish a number of dilapidated houses as they were hindering the development of the city center. In doing so, they discovered that the houses and a 17th Century church were sitting atop a Roman theater. They history always made reference to this community and a theater but no one really knew where it was. They have designed this archeological site in the most creative and interesting manner. You walk in through the front door of a mid-1800s mansion and begin to go through various rooms and levels depicting the artifacts and foundations of the past and when you exit the old church you view this 7000 seating capacity Roman theater. It is truly impressive to see. Not your typical Roman ruins! Many thanks to the designers of this lost treasure.