May 31    Lyon, France.
First let me correct a mistake.  We were in Tangiers, Morocco.  Not Algiers.  My brain sometimes!!!!

From Madrid we traveled to Barcelona, Spain.  A lovely, city.  We had one nice day of good weather, and then cloudy skies and rain.  A bit cooler than we expected.  We stayed in an apartment in a busy neighborhood.  We shared the space with the couple that lives there.  A new experience for us.  We had our own bathroom and a very nice bedroom and Nacho and Rosa were very generous with the shared space.  There was a small balcony where we ate our breakfast and had wine in the evening.
We found Barcelona loaded with people of all kinds.  Transportation was a challenge and a few times   we got mixed up, but good folks helped us.  In our walking travels, we came to the 1992 Olympic arena and the torch bearing monument.  Vast and quite thrilling.  We explored a village by Gaudi that has never been completed, but took 25 years to build what he was commissioned to do.  We found it quite enchanting as everything was done in mosaic with glass and walls and walks with stone.  Some photos may convey some of what we saw.   We went to the seaside ( on a cape of the Mediterranean) only to get off the bus in a downpour of rain without any coats or unbrellas.  We were drenched when we finally found the recommended eatery; a funky place with good food..

I should mention that Barcelona is the oldest port in the world for accepting and going out of goods for trade.
As beautiful as the city is, the way of living is far from what I would call comfortable.  Most folks live in apartments ( they call their houses). Only the very rich have lots with villas.  Anyway, every single morning, bar none, at about 3 am, the garbage trucks come rumbling down the streets to pick up the garbage from the apartment dwellers and restaurants and stores and whatever else occupies the bottom spaces of the buildings.  These trucks are not is the least bit quiet.  CLANK! BANG!  rev the motor and on to the next spot.    There is usually a common area  every so many blocks so folks can get outside the walls of their living space.  \Motorcycles go anywhere they wish and park just about anywhere they wish and swing in and out of traffic like they can never be killed by such maneuvers.
I have determined that there are two types of motorcycles here:  large or small; one sounds like a lawnmower needing repair and the other like a nagging, irritating mosquito.They are everywhere!
A good amount of people do not own cars, so motorcycles RULE. Funny, however........try to find a parking spot for a car!  Nearly impossible.

One night, about mid-night I heard some voices in unison shouting something.   It became louder as the crowd drew nearer our apartment.  I shot out of bed to the balcony.  It was a demonstration of some sort.  Big banners were stretched across being held by the front leaders, and then again at the back of the group of estimated 100-150 marchers.  These were angry voices.  My heart was heavily pounding. What could this be about?   They passed through our part of the neighborhood onto where I could see them enter one of the common spaces.  Voices became less heard.  Back to bed, just got settled again, and then sounds of helicopters. Forth and back around our buildings, several times.  Four or five helicopters with search lights.  This lasted about 15 or 20 minutes.  It reminded me of a war movie or something such and my anxiety was strong.  What were in the middle of????  Finally, all of this excitement died down and the night became quieter.  Never silent, however.  There is always something in the streets.  Nacho explained in the waking hours of the morning that he thinks it had to do with the closing up of a homeless area, and the people that occupied that space were wanting some answers.  It felt so militant.  We do not know the outcome.

Thursday was cathedral day.  We did a walk after transport by bus to the mid-evil area  and visited three different churches.  We thought them cathedrals, but, indeed, they are basilicas as it was so emphatically explained to us. Santa Maria del Mar has 34 side chapels.  All of these places were incredible and the architecture unbelievable, especially when one considers the time they were built.    
One is a cathedral...............The Cathedral of Barcelona.  One can only read about it to get anything out of what it is.  Amazing!  truly.   Marble and gilding used to no end. We were so taken with all of this.
Many hours of church viewing and worth every second.

We traveled from Barcelona to Lyon, France.  Second largest city in France.  More about our experiences here at another time.