On the way to the second largest city in Spain, Barcelona, we stopped in two very interesting small cities, namely, Peniscola and Tarragona. While Peniscola is a very small town on the Mediterranean, Tarragona is an old historial city in Spain. They each have their own charms and we were certainly very happy to visit them as they provided us a more complete picture of Spain.
Peniscola was quaint, almost perfect for a quick stop on a bus trip! We walked up to the top of the fortress (built by one of the Pope Benedicts) and shopped for some gifts:
Then we stopped at Tarragona, 
a Catalonlian strong hold! (You see more of these flags here than Confederate flags in South Carolina!)
We had our lunch there, and it was quite good!
Roman walls and ruins of a theatre! The city was originally a Roman town.
The walls needed support!
We finally reached Barcelona and found it to be a very busy city. People were everywhere. The hotel, NH Calderon, where we stayed, is right in the middle of the city and it is near the Golden Block!
The next morning we took the city tour and saw quite a bit. I am posting some pictures of the city, which I took on different occasions, to show you the beauty of this place. It is really unnessary to tell you when I took them! However, note that several Gaudi buildings and those of other prominent architects are featured!
The one on the right (here and below) was designed by Gaudi.
The Olympic Stadium!
Impressive coloums at the Cathedral of the Sea!
On the second day, we went on an optional tour of Montserrat and the Codorniu Winery. The rain today caused my pictures to be not as clear as I would like, but it gave us some unusual glimpses of the mountains. You could see the clouds rising through the mountain ranges!
Note the cable car (called the zipper) in the center!
The Black Madonna which was the reason for the establishment of the Monastery.
The winery
Our Program Director Elena 
Yes, those are bottles behind us and drinks in our hands!
Our last tour in Barcelona was titled The Gaudi Experience. It was a tiring trip but we were amazed by Gaudi's work. Both Janice and I considered his art very busy and difficult to digest all at the same time!
The following pictures show the magnificent and very unusual Sagrada Familia basilica, whose construction began in 1882 and is scheduled for completion in 2026.
Inside views
This is the back!
At the final dinner, we all felt that we would miss the group. It was the end of a very friendly get-together! The three tables (minus me and Cookie) are below:
