Onward to Barcelona, the capital of the Spanish area of Catalonia. Having never been to Spain, I wasn't sure what to expect but was not disappointed. It was interesting that the people of Catalonia are their own nationality with their own flag, language, and culture that is different from much of the rest of Spain. After talking with some locals, it was very apparent that this community would like to secede from the country of Spain in order to become their own country. And this is why I travel...How would I have ever known anything about Spanish history and it's current politics without traveling here?!
Below is some typical architecture of apartments. Each and every balcony was useful with herbs, other plants, laundry, or flags to display patriotism. It was quite a romantic town to walk about.
Of course one of my favorite things to see is graffiti. That's not a joke. I like to see what those artists have to say and how they interpret life differently in each place. It also puts an edge on things to remind us of that "secret" life that no one wants to speak of.
Here we are searching for some more traditional art. I would have bought some too if it hadn't been too big for my suitcase!
Just your normal stroll with butchered and cured legs of pig on the table. Cut to order. Blech!
Now this fresh market was more like it. Booths and booths of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other concoctions. Yummy!
Here's a better view of all the goodies. There was so much to choose from. I just love browsing markets like this!
This was a fun booth. Oils and lollipops...tons of each of them.
Some more graffiti. This whole area was surrounded by walls and each one was painted up. I loved it! I think it would have been the perfect setting for a movie. Maybe a remake of Outsiders.
Our hostel was off the main road by less than a block. It was fabulous to just walk outside and stroll up and down the main drag of Barcelona. This street is called La Rambla. During the day it is filled with booths, restaurants, merchants, and food carts. At night, it's filled with people strolling hand in hand, kissing on benches, and laughing. What a marvelous site!
One cannot visit Barcelona without visiting a Tapas restaurant. Seriously, they are everywhere, so you'd have to be dull to avoid it. Their way of life was interesting, because they eat lunch, nap, eat tapas, drink, hang out, THEN eat dinner at like 10pm. No folks, I'm not just talking about the weekends. This is every night. So, we tried to get in that habit, but more often than not, we just ended up not eating any meals. The food here was great. I wish I could say that about the other tapas we tried. There was lots of pork, which left me out. But, also lots of smoked salmon and anchovies. Now, I love seafood, but this diet was not my cup of tea.
This was some interesting art on a walk to the Picasso Museum. It's funny, because Barcelona is filled with this rich history and has a historic vibe, but right in the middle of it all something modern like this surprises you.
Some more classic Barcelona.
This is the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, also known as the Cathedral of Barcelona. We actually found this by accident as we were wondering the streets on our own self-guided tour. We didn't venture in, but the exterior was magnificent. This church was opening in 1450 and is dedicated to Saint Eulalia. She was a martyr at age 13 during the Roman times, and so, there are 13 white geese on the inside of the church to represent the age at which she was martyred.
No visit to Barcelona would be complete without the Gaudi tour. Well, we make one up and just visited the sights on our own. Gaudi was a famous Barcelonian architect who started the Catelonian Modernist Movement. His works are very unique and equally breathtaking. Our first stop was Casa Batllo, known as the House of Bones locally. It was opened in 1877 as a private residence. Now, it is a National Heritage Site where people can view most of the home. The outside is a mosaic of colored tiles that changes color depending on the sun. The lines of windows and balconies are fluid have no predictability.
After entering the house, we were guided up this staircase. It is said that it was modeled after a dinosaurs backbone. It was intricate and detailed much more than this picture can show.
This is stained glass work above the doors that separated the two rooms. Notice that the doors would have to be oddly shaped to fit where I am standing. The magnificence of this house cannot be shared with pictures. I have a hundred more from the many levels of this house as well as the gardens and rooftop, but really, you must visit in order to appreciate its uniqueness.
Our next stop was the Picasso Museum. This was interesting for me, because I saw the traveling exhibit from here when it was in San Francisco a few years back. This location had those exhibits and so much more. It was really interesting to see his progression in art as well as the distinctness of his different periods. My favorite periods were his Blue Period and his Post-Classic Period.
A brief stop with more tapas. Yes, they look delicious. But, they weren't. In fact, they all tasted like sardines. Not good.
Leaving the Picasso Museum, we wandering upon this street art. These look like photographs of people, but they were painted on the wall. It was really neat.
Next stop...Gaudi's Sagrada Familia. Honestly, this is the most spectacular building that I have ever seen. Ever. The outside is still under construction, but the inside is breathtaking. The building of this cathedral was started in 1882, but in 1926 when Gaudi died, only 25% of it was complete. Thankfully, he had most of the plans and scale models complete. There are only a few things that had to be designed and completed by others. Currently, they are hoping to have it complete by 2026, the anniversary of his death.
From far away, the outside looks like its melting, but really it is composed of hundreds of small biblical scenes. This one is the Passion Facade. It's interesting how intelligent Gaudi was because of the use of symbolism. There are three entrances to the building, symbolizing faith, hope, and charity. Each facade means something else too. The passion, the death, and the nativity. You can tell just how huge this cathedral is by seeing me standing near it. In the picture above, I was across the street. Below, I am at the top of the stairs at the entrance.
On these doors are etched the texts from the gospel of St. Matthew and St. John which recount the last days of Jesus' life. The doors are so large that just the bottom portion need be opened for even the tallest person to walk through.
Once inside, I had trouble breathing. First, it was huge. I could see all the way up to the top of the spires. Then, the colors. With beautiful stained glass everywhere, it was like living in a rainbow. The colors were changing and leaping around the room. It just felt magical. Nothing about the place felt boxed in or traditional.
Just another idea of the largeness of the cathedral.
This was just a little secluded nook where the glass made it magical. Little spots like this were all over the Sagrada Familia.
This is the pipe organ, which seems really ordinary, but the reflections of the windows on the pipes made it extraordinary.
This is the second entrance where in fifty different languages you can find the phrase, "Give us this day our daily bread."
Here is some of the detail a bit closer up. It really does appear to be melting from far away, but then you get close and the figures come out of nowhere to tell a story.
And a bit closer.
The next day, we headed down to the pier. Barcelona is known for summer fun and beaches, but so far we hadn't even seen the water. Plus, we needed a break from all the sightseeing. We just hung out here and did some shopping and eating in order to fuel up for another day full of touring.
At this point in the trip, we were tired. This was our third country in 3 weeks AND we were on our way home to the States from Japan. So, we decided to pile all of our remaining sights into one package...a double decker tour bus. Yes! But, be warned. Many of these pictures were shot by chance with Mark's hand shooting up above the railing in order to avoid getting off the bus too often. As was the one below. According to the guided (recorded) tour, this is new architecture that emulates a fish from the sea with its scales.
This is the Hospital de Sant Pau where Gaudi was taken after he was hit by a streetcar, and where he eventually died from that injury. We made fun the entire bus tour, because at that point we were pretty sick of hearing about Gaudi. We learned where he was hit, where he lived, where he drank, where he died...who cared by the end of it all?!
So then, of course, the last main sight on our list was Park Guell. This park was designed and built by Gaudi in the early 1900's. He meant for it to be a housing development with its own gardens for sustainability. However, it was not successful, so it was turned into a city garden. It still has the home where he lived and all of his original designs.
This winding bench was at the top of the hill. His mosaic surrounded the entire thing. Each seat was uniquely designed and had a different color scheme. It didn't hurt that this was a great view of the city.
This is one of the entrances to the park. You can see the benches with the view from the previous picture at the top of this one. I loved how everything was whimsical and fun instead of square and traditional.
This is the famous Gaudi Park Lizard. This playful piece is famous all over the city and you can't leave without buying a small one to take home.
A statue of Christopher Columbus at the circle near the port.
This sculpture was done by Roy Lichtenstein and introduced for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. It is known as the Barcelona Head.
This lovely structure is the Torre Agbar, or the Tower of Agbar. It is primarily an office building, but does house some local offices such as the water office. It was only recently opened in 2005 and has since been affectionately known as The Penis Tower. Many residents weren't happy about it at first, saying that it didn't fit the stereotype for Barcelona style, but really I think that Barcelona has its own style and it fits right in. It's really neat too, because it lights up at night in all different colors. Frankly, I think it would fit right in on the Vegas Strip!
Here I am, enjoying the day in my seat. We were all gung ho at first, getting out and walking around at different stops. But, by this point we decided that we would just get pictures from our seats on the bus.
After a quick trip back to the hostel to rest and rejuvenate, we were back at it that evening. As you can see I was ready to rock and roll.
This is Barcelona Arena which was formerly used for bull fighting. Now, it has been converted into a recreational complex. No, this isn't where they play soccer. I think it's too small for the crowds. But, it's still beautiful.
This was a beautiful fountain in the center of a roundabout in downtown Barcelona. It was very pretty at night.
We made a special trip downtown to see the Magic Fountain of Montjuic. The site of the fountain is important because it is where the Four Columns used to be located. These four columns represented the Catalanism Movement, but were demolished in 1928. Now, every half-hour, the fountain is lit up with the attention from onlookers as a light and music show erupt. On our particular visit, the music was all Disney themed and the children and adults alike were mesmerized.
Considering it was a long and rainy trek from our hostel to the fountain, I was lucky to be this energetic. At this point though, I was already soaked and a bit more water wasn't going to hurt. Besides, it was my last night in Spain.
On the way back, I convinced Mark that I HAD to take the train if I was to keep up my good spirits. Here I am waiting for it to arrive.
Of course, the best part of taking public transportation is people watching. On this night, the Euro Cup was being played between Spain and Italy. The Spanish won 4 to 0 and of course they went wild. So too did this young lady who was draped in a Spanish flag and passed out in the subway before 10 pm.
This was a scene from the previous night during the semi-finals. All of the local shop owners and passerby's stopped to cheer on their team. It was fun to watch and their excitement was contagious.
The headlines on the newsstand the next morning show that the entire country was proud of their team's success. And that, was a wonderful way to end an even better European vacation.
