Our exploration of Barcelona took us to the waterfront, where we found the Royal Shipyard - now a museum. Construction began in 1285 and consisted of fortified walls with four towers (two of which still exist). Plans were always for this structure to be used to build and store galleys for the Aragonese Armada, including all of the rigging and accessories. Thus, it not only served as a shipyard, but also an arsenal. Over the succeeding centuries, the building was enlarged several times. It was even moved inland a few meters due to severe flooding caused by the construction of the city port. Looking at it now, we had a hard time imagining how they got the ships out of the building and down into the water. There had to have been some sort of "canal" leading to the port from the building, but all evidence of that is long gone. The museum is full of all types of ship models, from simple dug-out canoes to modern day container ships. Perhaps the most impressive, is the full-scale replica of the Royal Galley for John of Austria (the original having been built in 1521). We would have loved the opportunity to climb aboard and explore every nook and cranny of that ship. The most unexpected portion of this visit was our chance meeting with Tortell Poltrane from Germany, President of Clowns without Borders. The parallel between his life and Lorraine's was amazing. Both were professional clowns for years (Tortell's in a circus and Lorraine's as a private entertainer). Both had three children, all of whom also worked as professional clowns. And each taught others the art of clowning. It was wonderful watching the two of them swapping stories about their careers and being amazed at how similar their lives had been. Partners with Tortell this day was Joan Sallas, a genius at paper folding. In the space of a few short moments, Joan had created two distinct paper hats for both Tortell and Lorraine. This was an absolutely wonderful day.
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