We arrive in Barcelona... In the summer season of 1992 my husband and i were being fortuitous to be able to show up at the Opening Ceremonies for that Summertime Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. The Games with the XXV Olympiad were being to become played in Barcelona and it is actually an experience we're going to not soon forget about! We were being that has a team of people that were being keeping to the Island of Mallorca and were being flown by airplane to Barcelona in time to be hosted to a usual Catalan lunch in a restaurant known as Con Travi Nou at three o'clock within the afternoon. My husband and i like garlic so appreciated the alternatively heavily garlicked fish entree (Angler) along with the usual accompaniment of potatoes. The 1st class, judging within the plates all over us, couple people today savored. In addition to a skinny pastry was a scrambled egg with shrimp and a mushroom development. After a leisurely lunch we were being dropped off and started the long hike nearly the Olympic Stadium. We were being to stick to guides waving yellow flags. There were being a lot of teams of people subsequent different coloured flags that working day as well as people today and tiny loved ones teams heading up the hill to Montjuic and the Olympic Stadium, so we had to pay for attention in order to not be separated from our team. © Peggy Woods - All Rights ReservedOlympic flags everywhere you go! Following are a few pics with the properties all clad in Olympic flags as we were being driven through the metropolis and also to the Catalan restaurant. Lots of also activity Catalonian flags. Barcelona is a seacoast metropolis within the northeast space of Spain. Because the capitol of Catalonia, Barcelona has long been a tourist space due to its Mediterranean weather and alluring cityscape's and countryside. Many generations of settlement have built this metropolis a fascinating mixture of medieval regions that happen to be cramped and crowded as well as other spacious and inexperienced regions. There is a separatist movement that has been doing the job in the direction of separating Catalonia within the rest of Spain and creating it into an impartial country. The language has its somewhat different twist and their meals is usually unique. Many artists have known as this space property. Among them are Dali, Picasso, Miro and Gaudi. Barcelona won the distinction of internet hosting these Olympic Games in 1986 and worked diligently to remodel their metropolis giving Olympic venues and getting ready their metropolis to host the onslaught of not just wonderful athletes from all over the entire world who'd be competing, but in addition the crowds of people that would probably be looking at their metropolis for that first time. Lots of with the venues were being accomplished a complete calendar year in advance of this spectacle. The metropolis was shined up and was readied to put over a unforgettable display! Olympic Stadium...below we appear!  Our team was dropped off and started the long hike nearly the Olympic Stadium.  While pausing to absorb the surroundings and perform some Olympic pin trading, we had to maintain a watch on our guides sporting the yellow flags. We certainly didn't wish to be separated from our team as hundreds of people were being milling about...most all of them creating their way nearly the Olympic Stadium for that opening ceremonies. The Olympic Stadium held anything like 70,000 people today!  It was a very hot working day in Barcelona and most with the people today were being all sporting shorts, or as a minimum, incredibly snug outfits with good going for walks footwear.  This was our first Olympics to show up at in particular person and we had no idea the amount of enjoyment it was going to become trading Olympic pins with people today from all over the entire world.  Most people today had their Olympic pins connected to their outfits, hats, or baggage that they may have been carrying and sometimes people today would tactic us planning to trade pins. Some people spoke our language (English) and some others didn't. But that has a questioning look and smile although gesturing and keeping out one particular or two of their pins although pointing to one of ours transmitted the message fairly nicely.  Some avid Olympic supporters who knew the worth of certain pins were being dieheart traders over a mission to improve the worth of their holdings. Whenever they spotted a desired pin that they wished to add to their selection, frequently they'd offer you two or 3 pins in exchange for that one particular they wanted. Most, like us, were being merely happy to trade ones during which we would have had duplicates for some others that were different. Olympic pins not just various based on the country but in addition other Olympic Games in decades past. Logos for organizations worldwide were being also built into olympic pins. That turned out to become fairly a activity!  Mist from fountains executing water ballets to audio assisted awesome us off as we were being mingling along with the masses creating their way up Montjuic on that incredibly warm working day.  Montjuic Park sits atop a rocky hill that is in a top of 173 metres in Barcelona.  The creating that dominates the top with the hill as one particular methods it within the street stage is the Castle which was utilized by the military services for a lot of decades. It now properties a Army Museum. Many lovely gardens can be found within the major of Montjuic and we merely caught a glimpse of many of them as we were being going en masse in the direction of the stadium.  There is a Spanish Village on Montjuic that's housed behind partitions and displays replicas of properties from around Spain. Museums of many styles will also be on this space with the metropolis. We were being equipped to spend a while within the Miro Foundation on an additional working day after we arrived back for on the list of Olympic occasions - Men's Diving.  Obviously one particular could spend a lot of times on Montjuic exploring most of the a lot of different venues, but that was not our target of this eventful working day.  The a lot of fountains continued to deliver a spectacle of aquatic magnificence and far appreciated mist as we held climbing the hill.  Once atop the hill and past the Castle, we caught our first evaluate the composition that could be lit later that evening and burn as the Olympic torch all over the summer season game titles.  All 70,000 people today coming into the Olympic Stadium had to undergo safety which included a metal detector and all handbags were being lookup. Many mounted police were being in proof.Opening Ceremonies festivities get started!  The mayor of Barcelona, Pasqual Maragall, and the president with the Worldwide Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch welcomed all people to the Olympics in Barcelona. King Juan Carlos I declared the XXV Olympiad game titles open. Borne by six Spanish Olympic athletes and two volunteers, the Olympic flag entered the stadium to considerably fanfare. A memorial to cities and athletes that participated within the past Olympics was accomplished. The XXV Olympic Games were being inaugurated along with the most lovely of ceremonies. 80 musicians sounded the Olympic opening and about 800 performers dressed in colorful outfits representing bouquets and birds welcomed one particular and all along with the term of friendship, Hola! The rose is the image of Catalonia and these first pics display the symbolic flower.Catalonian pride Several seats about from the place I had been seated were being some folks demonstrating not just a Catalonia flag, but a Freedom for Catalonia banner. Security from both equally ends with the row during which we were being seated approached them and coerced them into offering the banner nearly them to become removed. They complied peacefully of which I had been happy. The Welcome Montserrat Caballe and Jose Carreras sang the Welcome although 600 dancers who were being dressed in white danced the thousand-year-old sardana, the dance of Catalonia. They finished up becoming a member of hands and forming the five Olympic rings which symbolize the Olympic Games At one particular position white doves were being released all of sudden filling the stadium along with the fluttering of wings and it was an exciting sight to look at them vanish to the evening skies overhead.Sun, Hercules and Mediterranean Sea  The purple and yellow flame like costumes represented the sunshine and the sunshine can be an attribute of Hercules. The legend instructed by this part of opening ceremonies has Hercules environment off underneath the security with the sunshine over a journey to check out the entire world. The blue garbed people today become agent with the Mediterranean sea. A ship sets out onto the sea nevertheless they are attacked by monsters. Victorious eventually, the men uncovered a metropolis and legend has it that metropolis became Barcelona. This glorious web site was accompanied by audio and far theatrics. At one particular position we were being all invited to don our sun-like masks and the full viewers was abruptly part of the surroundings. To at the present time I've held among these memento masks.Land of Passion This following bit of theatrics was thunderous as 360 drummers descended within the steps with the stands and built their way on right down to the sphere each of the although pounding out a rhythmic sample on their own drums. Another 300 muscians joined them within the center with the stadium. Placido Domingo then began to sing a like serenade to a woman sporting a purple costume who was riding a black stallion. It absolutely was Cristina Hoyos who takes place to become a globe renowned flamenco dancer. Flamenco then can take center phase and ends the drama with design and style and beauty.The Parade of Athletes 172 teams of athletes from all over the entire world started pouring into Olympic Stadium one particular group in a time. This was a happy second for nearly all people included and far cheering and flag waving occurred as the stadium started to fill along with the colors and users from every single group. The athletes were being grouped by delegation and the Olympic subject within the conclusion is a mixture of colours keeping somewhere around twelve,000 furthermore people today. Some with the athletes who were being to contend early the subsequent morning didn't just take part on this ceremony in order to preserve their stamina for that game titles hoping to win Olympic medals for his or her respective nations.Olympic torch is lit and the finale... Wouldn't you understand...I had to operate away from film! The Human Pyramids were being not able to be captured on film. This was an awesome spectacle! 2,174 men and women climbed in addition to one another forming twelve dwelling pyramids to the stadium subject. It symbolized the twelve nations developing a European group. It was dark if the Olympic torch entered the stadium and laps were being operate via the bearers eventually passing the flame to an archer. This was a second of significant drama as the archer shot the flame lit arrow nearly ignite the cauldron atop the Gate of Olympic Stadium. All of us held our breath hoping that he would strike his mark.....and he did to considerably applause and cheering. This Olympic fireplace would continue on to burn working day and night time right up until the shut of Olympic competitions. During the class of this opening ceremony we were being entertained by some excellent audio which includes the official song, Mates for life, composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Famous opera singers that were an integral part of this ceremony included Placido Domingo, Montserrat Caballe, Jose Carreras, Jaume Aragall, Teresa Berganza and Joan Pons. The evening was culminated by a roar of stunning fireworks! We started the exodus down the hill catching final views with the illuminated properties and fountains. Catching a one:30 AM constitution flight to Mallorca, we lastly bought to bed following three:00 AM. In subsequent times we were being to check out some Olympic game titles plus much more of Barcelona and the lovely Island of Mallorca. But being able to become a part of an opening ceremony function for that Summertime Olympic Games in Barcelona will always are living on inside our reminiscences.