Alas, pickpockets (like this guy in red) are a HUGE problem in Barcelona, especially on the metro and train stations where tourists are preoccupied, easily distracted, and drop their guard. Notice how the blonde lady is staying vigilant. Avoid crowds and use common sense and you’ll be ok.
The more reasonably priced hotels have old world charm and no elevators.
And some of the facilities can be quite “cozy”, as seen in this shared aseo.
Sagrada Familia… by far, the most beautiful, audacious, jaw-dropping piece of architecture I have ever seen. So much so that it alone is enough to justify a trip to Barcelona!
Valley of the Fallen is a very strange place indeed. It does not seem to know what it is dedicated to. Is it the tomb of Dictator Francisco Franco or a memorial to all the victims of the Spanish Civil War?
It seems that it cannot be both. As such the monument remains a subject of intense controversy.
Controversy aside, the site is an impressive engineering and architecture project (the cross is 500 feet tall)
“The rock” is taller, steeper, and more massive than I expected, topping out at 1400 feet elevation. Geographically part of the Iberian Peninsula, but politically eminently British.
Looking North across the airport runway into Andalucia
Heads up: If you climb the rock, you will meet the Barbary macaques, whose manner and body language make it quite clear that you are in their house. Don’t dare to bring food along. Don’t even carry anything that merely suggests you have something fun to eat or you will lose it.
Guggenheim MuThe Guggenheim Museum alone makes Bilbao worth one night’s stay.
Super cool Sergio, who generously picked me up as I hitchhiked for the very first time in my life (in the rain with the clock ticking… a story better saved for another time).
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
10 thoughts on “Visions of Spain”
I would not have suspected the guy in red to be a pickpocket but I know to have to be so careful around train stations.
I prefer the amazing Montserrat to the Sagrada, I think.
Grear shots, Frank.
👋 Hi. You clearly are an amazing writer. Your attention to detail is flawless but to be honest it’s your ability as a photographer that gets me. Fabulous x
Well, well, when you go somewhere, you mean it… You got Spain quite covered. (How’s your Spanish?)
As a musician, you must be curious to hear other cultures’ music?
Be good.
Another wonderful collection going round so many places in one country. I’ve been to a few and your photos remind me of what they were like, so I know all the other places I haven’t been are represented accurately!! Great to see these Frank. The Gaudi stuff totally caught my attention. What a vibrant lively place Spain is.
It’s definitely the best travel destination I’ve been to. I spent a month traveling the length and breath, and I don’t think I uncovered a quarter of what’s available to be discovered.
My next visit (if and when the current insanity in the world calms down) will be to the Basque region, which I didn’t det to visit the last time.
Loved the photos, Frank, and these, in particular, were a trip down memory lane for me, as I lived in Rota, Spain for 2 years in the late 1980s and visited many of these places! Also, when my mother came over to visit me, I took her to Gibraltar (still British at that time), where she and her parents were living at the start of the 2nd World War! Her father was a British soldier who had been stationed there, and remained behind at the start of the war, while his family was evacuated to England (their ship, incidentally, was followed by German submarines as they departed Gibraltar). I’ve traveled to a number of countries around the world (though certainly not to the degree that you have!!!), and Spain has always been one of my favorite places. Thanks for continuing to share so many photos from your many amazing journeys!!
Extraordinary, Frank. You actually became a pilgrim! This tour took me to a few places I’d visited—Barcelona’s La Pampas was just as I remembered it—and to so many I wouldn’t have had the good fortune to see without your photos and descriptions. That Gaudi church is spectacular. And I always wanted to visit Bilbao.
I love the sweep of these collections—all the details, people, food…that wacky shared aseo that looked like only contortionists could use it. The large stories and political messages, and then the macaques that won’t let people eat.
Have you described your modus operandi for keeping the locations and events in mind once you’ve captured them?
Quite a show, Frank. I had the good luck of seeing Guernica during the years before it was returned to Spain. Of course, I missed a lot by not traveling to Spain! On the other hand, I would have been happy to find a friendlier washroom than what your photo displays. My days leaping over the toilet are over.
I would not have suspected the guy in red to be a pickpocket but I know to have to be so careful around train stations.
I prefer the amazing Montserrat to the Sagrada, I think.
Grear shots, Frank.
👋 Hi. You clearly are an amazing writer. Your attention to detail is flawless but to be honest it’s your ability as a photographer that gets me. Fabulous x
Well, well, when you go somewhere, you mean it… You got Spain quite covered. (How’s your Spanish?)
As a musician, you must be curious to hear other cultures’ music?
Be good.
Another wonderful collection going round so many places in one country. I’ve been to a few and your photos remind me of what they were like, so I know all the other places I haven’t been are represented accurately!! Great to see these Frank. The Gaudi stuff totally caught my attention. What a vibrant lively place Spain is.
It’s definitely the best travel destination I’ve been to. I spent a month traveling the length and breath, and I don’t think I uncovered a quarter of what’s available to be discovered.
My next visit (if and when the current insanity in the world calms down) will be to the Basque region, which I didn’t det to visit the last time.
Casa Mila!! What a nifty structure! It’s like a fusion of the Stone Age and the future.
Loved the photos, Frank, and these, in particular, were a trip down memory lane for me, as I lived in Rota, Spain for 2 years in the late 1980s and visited many of these places! Also, when my mother came over to visit me, I took her to Gibraltar (still British at that time), where she and her parents were living at the start of the 2nd World War! Her father was a British soldier who had been stationed there, and remained behind at the start of the war, while his family was evacuated to England (their ship, incidentally, was followed by German submarines as they departed Gibraltar). I’ve traveled to a number of countries around the world (though certainly not to the degree that you have!!!), and Spain has always been one of my favorite places. Thanks for continuing to share so many photos from your many amazing journeys!!
Extraordinary, Frank. You actually became a pilgrim! This tour took me to a few places I’d visited—Barcelona’s La Pampas was just as I remembered it—and to so many I wouldn’t have had the good fortune to see without your photos and descriptions. That Gaudi church is spectacular. And I always wanted to visit Bilbao.
I love the sweep of these collections—all the details, people, food…that wacky shared aseo that looked like only contortionists could use it. The large stories and political messages, and then the macaques that won’t let people eat.
Have you described your modus operandi for keeping the locations and events in mind once you’ve captured them?
Quite a show, Frank. I had the good luck of seeing Guernica during the years before it was returned to Spain. Of course, I missed a lot by not traveling to Spain! On the other hand, I would have been happy to find a friendlier washroom than what your photo displays. My days leaping over the toilet are over.
So often I look at everywhere in our world and think to myself ~ same! We’re all so extremely alike!…