Barcelona and Paris

Many of you know that I am back home in Kenora, where the snow is deep and it is unusually cold at -35 degrees. What a shock that my epic trip is now over. It seemed to end so suddenly! And what a surprise to come home to these temperatures!

I have received some comments that I left the blog hanging by not reporting my activity after Tarragona. I feel the same way. I won't feel like I've reached the end of the adventure until I write about my time in Barcelona and Paris so let me think back to that time two weeks ago.....

Barcelona is a beautiful city situated between a mountain ridge and the azure waters of the Mediterranean. It is filled with stunning architecture. Its main street is a wide boulevard lined with designer shops and sidewalk stalls reminding me of an unsnobby Champs Elyssees.

One of my favorite people from the Camino was Pau, a Spaniard from Barcelona, and I met with him while I was here. Pau has written and illustrated a children's book about Antoni Gaudi, a fascinating architect, so it was perfect to walk through Gaudi's Park Guell with Pau. We also met for dinner in his becoming-trendy neighbourhood. The next day I walked to the beaches near the harbour and sat at a table in the sun, drinking vino tinto and watching the surfers and one lone brave swimmer. On the following day, with online prepurchased ticket in hand, I went to explore Gaudi's Segrada Familia. Construction on this amazing structure was begun in 1882 and is still underway, with completion slated for 2026. The pillars inside the cathedral morph as they rise and become trees with branches bearing palm leaves when they reach the soaring apex. The stained glass windows are composed of monochromatic saturated colours. The choir lofts on side elevations are reached by curling apple peel-like staircases and will hold 1000 singers. This cathedral is contraversial and unique. For a moment I understood its meaning and the enormity of the beliefs it represented. For a second I had a numinous feeling. And then I cried....

I took the fast train (TGV) to Paris and debarked at Gare du Lyon, where I had a brief "failure to cope" and needed help from an official to figure out how to get Metro tickets and get to Gare de Nord. Travelling can be overwhelming at times!

While in Paris I accomplished my four goals. I went to the famous cemetery, Pere Lachaise and found the graves of Jim Morisson, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Marcel Proust, and others. I visited the Musee d'Orsay and spent many hours looking at famous art. I saw the Christmas display windows at the famous department store, Galleries Lafeyette. I had an amazing evening with Fabienne and her Portuguese/French artist friend at Fabienne's atelier in Montmartre. I had met Fabienne in Porto where she was doing some research on her grandfather's origins. I had such a fascinating evening visiting with these two women that I missed the last bus and had to take a taxi to my hotel.

And then it was over! My two-and-a-half month epic trip, filled with wonderful experiences and a few minutes of homesickness was exactly like the labyrinth! And life.....The end seems distant and then, before you see it coming, it's over!

I have more than 1300 pictures to sort and many thoughts to process. I will blog again, but probably not for a few weeks now. I appreciated everyone's comments and support. You can't know how much the connections helped me. Thanks!