Cruising France’s Wine River

How did we travel in Spain years ago and miss this vibrant and interesting city? We think we made up for it over the past five days spent here.

Barcelona is our first stop in a three-part European trip. We met up here with our friend and travel agent Donna, her husband Joe, and four others at the modern Olivia Balmes Hotel. Next we'll climb aboard AmaDagio river boat hotel for a week-long Rhone River wine cruise, and conclude our trip with five days hanging around Paris.

Early on we visited Antoni Gaudi's church, Sagrada Familia. He took over the construction from another architect in 1883 and continued the work until he died in 1926. An enormous project, work continues today and is scheduled to be completed on 2026—100 years after Gaudi's death. The interior is beautiful, but cranes are active on the exterior working to conclude the construction on time. Gaudi has other buildings in the Eixample neighborhood that are a must see—Casa Mila and the Block of Discord drew crowds, including us.

     Gaudi's Church inside and outside

     “Well, that makes you Westmoreland County royalty!” said Anita of the Westmoreland County Historical Society. This came after we had confirmed that John Culbertson, Stu’s 5th Great Grandfather, had purchased several hundred acres at Hanna’s Town from the widow of the town’s founder, Robert Hanna, in 1786. Unfortunately, no castles or palaces accompany the “royal” status.

      John Culbertson's 1786 property sale and a Culbertson Memorial