1. The 5-hour Pride Parade made its way down 4th Avenue ending at Seattle Center on June 30th which was one of the highlights of Pride celebrations in Seattle to honor the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall. There were 200 groups in this parade ranging from the LGBTQ organizations, banks, businesses, healthcare, civic associations, politicians, and governments, to choreographed performers. Here is a link that describes most of those 200 groups: https://www.seattlepride.org/parade/registration/2018-parade-scripts/
Decorated Metro Bus
Cosplay Group
Seattle Pups and Handlers Group
R.O.T.C--Righteously Outrageous Twirling Corps With Guns
With Flags
2. At the 4th of July Naturalization Ceremony at the Seattle Center, I saw 500 people from 80 different countries sworn in as US Citizens. It was quite a moving ceremony punctuated by a talk from a naturalized US Citizen from Croatia who described her difficult journey from a war-torn country and the swearing-in Judge that recounted how he was the first of his immigrant family to go to college and beyond and how his Dad at 75-year-old decided to become a US Citizen in gratitude for all the US had provided to him and his family.
Pledge of Allegiance from Children in Native Costumes
3. That evening, I watch the 4th of July fireworks at Lake Union. There were thousands of people all around Lake Union and hundreds of boats there to see these fireworks.
I enjoyed the music that went with the Fireworks.
I have recently uploaded all of my travel videos to YouTube now that they allow longer uploads and you may want to see my travel adventures there. That link is
If you do go there, please subscribe to my video channel since it will help me eventually get some income there and help with my future travels. Fewer people are using DVDs so I am transitioning to streaming my travels on my YouTube channel.
It has been 57 years since I became a student at the University of Washington and first enjoyed the beauty of Sakura in the Quad. I enjoyed 4 seasons of walking through the Quad during Sakura season as I made my way to Sociology, Anthropology, History, Art classes, and the HUB.
At that time, these Yoshino cherry trees, as a gift from Japan, were relocated to the Quad because they were in the path of the 520 Freeway that cuts through the Arboretum. They are about 80 years old and were transplanted in the same year that I started attending the U of W--1962.
For the Japanese, Sakura is a symbol of Spring, renewal, and the fragility and fleeting nature of life, beautiful, but tragically short.
This year the upcoming rains will hasten the end of the Sakura season so it was especially enjoyable to see the full blossoms this weekend.
Here are some of the pictures of Sakura in the U Dub Quad:
There are also several cherry trees and flowering plum trees planted throughout the U of W. Here is the UW fountain. Looking down from Red Square you can sometimes see Mt. Rainier in the background, but not today.
I have recently uploaded all of my travel videos to YouTube now that they allow longer uploads and you may want to see my travel adventures there. That link is
If you do go there, please subscribe to my video channel since it will help me eventually get some income there and help with my future travels. Fewer people are using DVDs so I am transitioning to streaming my travels on my YouTube channel.
I arrived at the Barcelona Sant Train Station right on time and quickly found my way to their Metro. Since the weekend was approaching I had made reservations to stay at the Safestay Hostel in the Central Barcelona area.
I used the Metro ticket machine to buy a 2-day Metro Pass and I was on my way from the blue line Sants Estacio stop east to the yellow line connection at the Verdaguer stop. From there I headed south 4 stops to the Jaume1 stop which was just 40 meters from the Safestay Hostel.
This was an ideal location to explore by foot the majority of tourist sites including the cathedrals, museums, art galleries, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, high-end shops, plazas, La Rambla street, and central market.
I explored the narrow streets and passageways in the area around the hostel and would have gotten lost if I had not had the map.me an app on my iPad. This navigation aid continued to show me where I was and routed a way for me to get where I wanted to be. Here are some of the narrow streets I had checked out:
My visit to the nearby La Catedral was fascinating because of the elaborate decorations and stained glass windows found throughout the cathedral as well as the opportunity to go up to the rooftop for views of the city. I could even see all of the construction cranes surrounding the Antoni Gaudi-designed cathedral called La Sagrada Familia.
The La Catedral was mostly built between 1298 and 1460 and the facade was added in 1870.
These 13 geese represent the age of Saint Eulalia when she was martyred and the 13 tortures she endured while she was being martyred during the persecution of Christians by the Romans.
Saint Eulalia's burial place is in this area of La Catedral.
Here is a statute of Saint Eulalia along the street where she was rolled while she was inside a barrel filled with glass and knives which she survived. She also was said to have survived their attempts to burn her and only died after she was decapitated. They reported that a dove flew from her severed neck.
This three-panel mural was done by Picasso.
This Catalan government building is a frequent location for protests, especially with the frequent demonstrations for independence from Spain. Today the demonstration was about animal rights.
I enjoyed people-watching in the Plaza Real just off Las Rambla as the sunset. The ever-present street sweeper was cleaning up the area and the buskers were angling for Euros as the plaza was ringed with restaurants.
I love to eat my way during my travels and here are some of the Barcelona foods I had this set meal of the day cost 12 Euros. It is the El Cafe d'en Victor, Carrer del Tapineria 12, in the shadow of el Catedral:
Eggplant--1st course
Fish and veggies--2nd course
Orange mousse--dessert
Potato-egg and bread smeared with tomatoes
Barcelona airport food--crispy chicken sandwich
I found the remnants of a Roman Temple with just four Roman columns remaining during my Lonely Planet walking tour of the Garri Gotic area.
During this same walking tour, I stopped by the Plaza de Sant Neri where you can see the shrapnel-scarred walls of the old church which was damaged by the pro-Franco bombers in 1938. The bombing killed 42 people, most of them children.
One of the must-see sights in Barcelona is the La Sagrada Familia Catedral. From my hostel area, it was an easy 4 stops to the Metro station by the cathedral. As I got there, these kids were dancing in the shadow of the La Sagrada Familia.
For me, this is really a strange-looking building.
On the way back on the Metro, I lost my wallet containing both my credit cards and ATM card along with some cash. It was a new wallet I got in Morocco and may have been so slippery so when I sat down, it slid out of my back pocket. I don't think I was pickpocketed though. I check with Metro and the Safestay Hostel to see if anyone had turned it in. Next time, I will keep one of my credit cards and ATM card in with the passport wallet that I have inside my pants and hooked to my belt.
I started to cancel my credit cards and ATM card and saw that I had about 28 Euros and $280 USD cash. I thought about having the credit card company mail me a replacement card to my next destination--Madrid.
My original plan was to spend about 10 days hiking the Camino of Santiago de Compostela beginning at Ponferrada--about 200 km (125 mi.), but my right knee was still hurting, especially when I walked downstairs. Since my meniscus operation on December 4th, and on this trip since January 8th, I have averaged about 8 miles per day with a range of 4 to12 miles.
I had expected the pain to go away, but it has not and for the past 5 days, my right knee sometimes buckles under me. I called the Dr. office and was told to rest, elevate, and ice---hard to do when traveling as I have been doing and have planned to do.
Instead of continuing with this pain and the unlikelihood that I would be able to hike my planned 20 miles per day, on Saturday, February 16th, I decided to return home. Using Skype, I called Alaska Air Rep to change my flight from Madrid on March 19th to leave ASAP from Barcelona to Seattle. She was able to book a return flight for just 10,000 more frequent flyer miles and a $200 change fee.
The flight on British Air was at 10 AM, the following day--Sunday, February 17th--with a change in London followed by a non-stop flight to Seattle which would arrive the same day at 4:30PM.
After that, I went out for my last dinner in Barcelona using the last of my Euros. This restaurant was near my hostel and was called El Guindilla, Carrer de l'Argenteria 55. The bread was covered with mashed-up tomatoes. The chips came with small green peppers and the medium-rare beef was juicy and tasty--cooked to perfection.
The stopover at London's Heathrow Airport gave me an opportunity to have some fish, chips, and peas along with a pint before my connecting flight to Seattle.
On February 20th, I went to the Dr. and was checked out, given a steroid shot in the knee, and signed up for physical therapy. Unbelievably, I no longer have any pain in my right knee so I am wondering how long this steroid shot will keep the pain at bay. Would be nice if it were gone for good.
Cost of Spain Trip
The 14-day trip in Spain to Malaga, Granada, Valencia, and Barcelona cost was $1,003 for a daily cost of $71. Food costs were $474 with a daily cost of $34 per day. Lodging costs were $273 for a nightly cost of $21. Travel and tour costs were $300.
Flight Costs for the Seattle>Dubai>Morocco>Spain>Seattle Trip
The round trip international flight with a 4-day stopover in Dubai to Casablanca, Morocco, and a return from Barcelona, Spain using Alaska Air frequent flyer miles cost 80,000 miles. In addition, the fees were $353 which included a flight change fee for my return.
Travelguard Pays out Lost Baggage Claims--March 23 and April 1, 2019
When I was in Dubai, I left my new Unbound black merino hoodie at the hostel and did not realize it until I got to a chilly Moroccan evening. A call to the hostel to recover it was unsuccessful. Later near the end of the trip to Spain, I also lost the Steripen I had used to purify water. Without the Steripen I ended up drinking the tap water with no ill effects.
When I got home, I gathered up my purchase receipts--$146.24 for the merino sweater, and $39.96 for the Steripen--unless you have receipts, you cannot file an insurance claim.
On the Travelguard online claims process, I submitted pdf files of these two receipts along with copies of my airline tickets as requested to document that I was on travel within the 90-day coverage window.
I received full payment for these " baggage" losses on March 23rd and April 1st--the reimbursement cap is $2,500 on "BAGGAGE AND PERSONAL EFFECTS". As many find out, your insurance coverage is only as good as the claims you are reimbursed for and the assistance they provide you while traveling. Both aspects of service to me have been outstanding for the past 20 years.
I have recently uploaded all of my travel videos to YouTube now that they allow longer uploads and you may want to see my travel adventures there. That link is
If you do go there, please subscribe to my video channel since it will help me eventually get some income there and help with my future travels. Fewer people are using DVDs so I am transitioning to streaming my travels on my YouTube channel.
Since I would be arriving in Valencia after dark, I made Hostelworld.com reservations for the Home Hostel next to the Central Market.
When I arrived, it was dark and I followed the hostel directions to take bus 62 to the hostel, but no bus showed up and the bus sign only showed that bus 4 would stop and it was for the Central Market. I waited for about 15 minutes until I gave up and hailed a taxi. The driver said it would cost me about 8 Euros for the ride so I jumped in.
In the dark, it seemed like a very long drive, but then we got to the Central Market and the meter showed just 7 Euros so I got out and gave him 8 Euros for the ride. I easily found the Home Youth Hostel in the street just behind the Central Market.
When I arrived at the reception area of the Home Hostel, I was invited to join the others for dinner. They were serving up a free dinner of beef stew, gnocchi, and marinara pasta. I met an interesting group of people there from Canada, Denmark, Morocco, Germany, Uruguay, and China. What an easy transition to a new place.
This hostel was wonderful, with beds and no bunks, very clean, hot showers, and a great common area for mingling and scheduling activities such as pub crawls, city tours, bike rides, and visits to the aquarium. I shared a room with two others, a guy from Germany and a woman from Colombia.
The Central Market just next to our Hostel is amazing. The products, of vegetables, fruits, meats, seafood, hams, bakery items, flowers, and gifts. It was a great place to explore.
There were several shops that featured these Serrano hams--used mostly in sliced meat sandwiches.
Lots of fresh seafood stalls since Valencia is on the Mediterranean Sea.
This vendor specializes in candied fruits and vegetables.
It is no surprise that this vendor is selling lots of varieties of olives after driving by miles and miles of olive orchards on the way from Granada to Valencia.
This vendor shows more than one way that anchovies are prepared.
This "beer hall" offers over 450 different varieties of beer for sale.
Although they do not have the free tapas found in Granada, I did enjoy some fabulous food, especially all of the tapas choices including fried artichoke hearts and calamari.
Meat paella
As I began to explore other parts of Valencia, I was amazed to see the number of quality graffiti on the walls and security doors of the vendors. Many of the vendors included the theme of the services they provided. Here is a small sample:
There are so many beautiful churches throughout the old part of Valencia. Here is the nearby Iglesia de Santa Caterina.
Valencia City Hall
I took the metro subway out to the beach area. Like many Spanish cities, I visited this metro takes you around the city with ease and the cost is reasonable. Too bad our cities do not have this kind of system.
Valencia Beach Front Area
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One of the narrow streets in the old town area of Valencia
I found it amazing that all cities I visited in Spain, were so clean. There was an absence of homeless people unlike that found back home in the US. These cities have numerous street sweeper machines like this one that continue to clean up all of the downtown streets. Plus there are individual street sweepers that clean up what these machines miss. Also, the local shopkeepers keep the front of their places clean.
Turia Fountain in the Plaza de la Virgen.
Torres del Serrano is flying the flag of the Valencian Community and of the city of Valencia, known as Reial Senyera.
It was just a ten-minute walk from the Home Youth Hostel to the train station where I boarded the train for a 3 1/2 hour ride to Barcelona.
I am so envious of what great transportation systems they have over here in Spain including trains, buses, planes, metros, trams, and inexpensive taxis. The highway I traveled on from the ferryboat landing in Tarifa to Valencia was modern, new, and smooth compared to what we now have in the US.
The costs are also reasonable at about $1.50 for rides on the city metros, buses, and trams. The train cost for this train to Barcelona was just 43 Euros--$49 USD.
I have recently uploaded all of my travel videos to YouTube now that they allow longer uploads and you may want to see my travel adventures there. That link is
If you do go there, please subscribe to my video channel since it will help me eventually get some income there and help with my future travels. Fewer people are using DVDs so I am transitioning to streaming my travels on my YouTube channel.
