More Barcelona Photos

Here are some additional photos of Flat Stanley in Barcelona:

We thought this was kind of amusing. This is the smallest car we've ever seen. It's called a "SmartCar" and it's so small that it can park in any parking spot. Two of these cars could fit in a normal spot. I've even seen these cars park perpindicular to the normal spot so squeeze in. Of course it's very fuel efficient, and perfectly safe for a city where you aren't going very far or very fast. But I wouldn't want to drive this on the highway. That's me (Greg) on hold Flat Stanley and my wife's father, George Sapir, is on the left.

This is a decorative urn in a park near our apartment in Barcelona. It's near the Arc de Triumph. I believe this was designed by Antoni Gaudi, but I'm not positive. You can see how interesting it is: the gryphons of greek myth are common on gothic buildings but not on decorative urns. And the giant snails along the rim!!

This is a photo of another building of Antoni Gaudi. It's an apartment house called Casa Mila but it has a nickname that most people use: "La Pedrera" which in spanish means "the quarry", which was a description of the building when it was built in the late 1800s. It wasn't meant in a nice way - the people at the time hated the building. But that's the way people are - they don't like things that are too different. (The Eiffel Tower was reviled when it was built - now people think it's beautiful). Here are some web sites that give more information:

http://www.lapedreraeducacio.org/flash.htm

(a very good website availble with English, Spanish, and Catalan from the cultural sponsors of this building)

The Barcelona World Race is a yacht race around the world sponsored by the City of Barcelona. They left the city in November, and they are really moving fast. You can see the route on the map above Flat Stanley's head. They are taking the most direct route, but in my opinion, also the chilliest.