Barcelona

Left Mazamet at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning for our three day side trip to Barcelona. Arrived around 11:30 a.m., found a parkade and checked into our hotel. Greater Barcelona has a population of 4.5 million and Barcelona proper a little over 1.6 million. It is the second largest City in Spain, after Madrid. The City hosted the Olympics in 1992 and in preparation for the games, the port area, which had previously been run down and littered with abandoned factories, was totally transformed and is now a sought after neighbourhood. The City is also known for the artistic works of the architect, Gaudi.

Barcelona is in the Catalan area of Spain and Catalan is their official language. All signposts, reading materials, menus, etc. are in Catalan first, then Spanish, then English. Robin speaks a bit of Spanish, and it came back to him very quickly. The Catalans understand Spanish, so not an issue. We could make out some of the Catalan words. For example "open" in Spanish is "abierto" and in Catalan is "abert". Catalan is a totally separate language and not a derivitave of Spanish.

First thing, we bought tickets for the Hop on/off bus, which was in Plaza de Catalunya, only two blocks from our hotel. We took the Central line and toured the main part of the City for 1 1/2 hours. We have found that the hop on/off bus option works well when you only have a few days in a big City. It gives one a sense of the City, then you can decide where you want to visit. A great view of the wonderful mixed architecture and the many green spaces of the City.

After the bus route, we had a quick lunch. Brenda an I had a glass of sangria...very nice on a warm day. Walked to the Casa Batllo and La Pedrera, which are only a few blocks apart and very close to our hotel; both Gaudi architectural works.

Casa Batlo

Casa Batllo is one of Gaudi's masterpiece and is a Unesco World Heritage Site. A striking facade and an ultra modern design inside the building. The colours are brilliant and designs are taken from nature. It is a remodel of a previously built home and was finished in 1904. Oval windows, sculptured stone work and wavy lines; not sure if there are any straight lines in the building. Much of the facade is decorated in broken ceramic tile. The roof is arched and is likened to the back of a dinosaur or dragon. The roof architecture is playful and colourful, a real delight. We were able to visit the complete building.
Gaudi was born in 1852 and died in 1926. As a child he was ill and spent much time with his mother in the countryside. It is said that this time in the country was a great influence to his work. He also spent time in his Father's boiler- making shop and became familiar with volumes and shapes. He earned a degree in architecture at the University of Barcelona.

La Pedrera

Next we visited Casa Mila "La Pedrera", another Gaudi building. The building is comprised of two apartment blocks that are linked by an inner courtyard and common facade. In this building one is able to visit the attic, where you can see Gaudi's plans and scale models of his projects. Items that influenced his work are also on display. Then you go up to the Roof Terrace. As in his other building, the terrace is the area where Gaudi really exercised his playful and imaginative nature. Undulating forms of various shapes, sizes and colours dot the roofline, but all served a purpose as chimneys and ventilation shafts. Once again broken tile shards, stone, marble and glass are used. Finally a tour of the apartment which represents the bourgeois lifestyle of a family in the early 20th century. It is fitted out with furniture and household items of the time, as well as some of Gaudi's design elements.

Had been hearng fireworks all day. Found out that the summer solstice is celebrated in Catalonia on the 23rd of June on the day of the Holy Saint Joan. They celebrate with campfires and fireworks and fire-crackers in all the streets. On this shortest night of the year, huge wood fires are built in all the squares and roads and young and old celebrate until the morning hours. Heard the firecrackers going all night and saw remnants of firecrackers everywhere the next day.

Went out to a Tapas bar near the hotel. Food was good and also an interesting way of eating your meal vs. only one entree. Glad to report that the wine in Spain is just as good as in France! A few sprinkles on our way to supper, but weather held out for us today (around 27 degrees) during our touring.

Monday, after the fireworks and we head out a little after 9 a.m. The streets are so quiet, it's as if you could make an apocalypse movie! Robin sees a security guard and asks if it is a holiday and we are told that it is a holiday for all of Catalonia today. So we figure we should be first in line at Sagrada Familia....wrong! Actually, not too bad, we only wait in line for one hour to get in and it was worth the wait. Took us about 15 minutes to walk from our hotel, which was in a very convenient location.

This basilica is hard to describe, another Gaudi gothic style treasure. It was started in 1892 and is still to this day under construction, although Gaudi died in 1926. He worked on the cathedral for 43 years, it was during the last 10 years of his life that he was totally dedicated to the building of the cathedral. It is a Unesco World Heritage Site. It is due to be completed in 2026, the centenary of Gaudi's death. They are still working off his original plans. The completion of the cathedral is being financed by private donations and entry fees.

Computer based technology has been used to accelerate construction of the building, which had previously been expected to last for several hundred years, based on building techniques available in the early 20th century. Current technology allows stone to be shaped off-site by a milling machine, whereas in the 20th century, the stone was carved by hand.

Sagrada Familia

The outside of the basilica is in a gothic style mixed with art nouveau. The doors are made of bronze and are 5 meters high and sculpted with the entire text of the "Our Father" in Catalan and so has "Give us this day our daily bread" in fifty languages. Carved statues abound the outside of the building. The inside of the cathedral is filled with numerous columns in different shapes and made of different materials. Gaudi wanted one to think that they were in a forest when they were inside the church, so the columns represent trees. The ceiling is sculpted wherever one looks. The chandelier is spectacular and the crucifix with Christ is very moving. Stained glass windows abound, however some of the windows are plain. Not sure if this is to let in more natural light, or if they will be changed to stained glass in due course. The choir loft can hold up to one thousand people and of course detailed railings skirt the loft.

Gaudí's original design calls for a total of eighteen spires, representing in ascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, four Evangelists, the Virgin Mary and, tallest of all, Jesus Christ. Eight spires have been built as of 2010, corresponding to four apostles at the Nativity façade and four apostles at the Passion façade.

Claire at Tibidabo, the highest point of Barcelona

Got on to the hop on/off bus, but another route, which would bring us to the area known as Tibidabo the north part of the City. We then had to take a street car ( similar to the San Francisco street cars) , then transfer to a funicular to get to the top. There is a family amusement park there and a church, which overlook the City. The Temple de Sagrat Cor was interesting as it was a church built on top of another church. Beautiful views from here. Gave us a sense of the whole City, including the port. To get down, we took a local bus, another funicular, then the Metro to get back to our hotel.

Brenda kindly asked the hotel for a dinner recommendation and we opted for seafood restaurant on the port. We all decided to have paella, and certainly this was the right choice. The waitress loved giving Robin a hard time. When he tasted the wine, he said "bueno" and she said..."what not muy bueno" ..from then on, the kidding continued. She brought bread with a tomato olive oil spread, salami and salted grilled peppers for a starter. We had our main course and desert, then the waitress brought some tradtional almond cake and finally a glass of grappa. Then went for a walk along the boardwalk of the port, a cab back to Catalunya square and a night cap while watching Nadal lose in the first round at Wimbledon.

Robin in the Barri Gotic area of Barcelona

Tuesday headed off to the Picasso museum. On our way there we walked through the narrow streets and alleys of the Barri Gotic before going to the museum. A lovely old area with many small artisan shops. At the museum, about a one hour wait. This museum has the most comprehensive collection of Picasso's work. A study of his early work, depicts many different mediums and a very classical style. A visit to Paris influenced his work (including Lautrec and many others) and he developed the "Picasso" style we know so well. Unfortunately unable to take picture inside the museum.

One last lunch in Barcelona, back to the hotel to pick up our luggage. Start walking the block and a half to the car park, then all of a sudden........oh! Oh! I know without a doubt that I threw out the parking stub for the car park. I had so many stubs from museums, trams, hop on bus, metro, etc. that I got rid of them that morning in our room. We go back to the hotel.....Marc ( the young man at the desk who had checked us in days earlier) Marc....I hope you can help. I proceed to tell him what I did, and he proceeds to call the cleaning staff. A maid shows up about five minutes later with a bag of garbage.....yes, I do go through the garbage. Fortunately, each room's garbage is in its own clear garbage bag. A few minutes into te process, I spot our garbage.....thank heavens we had wine in our room, much easier to spot your garbage when there is a wine bottle in it! I start going through the garbage, and YES, there s the parking stub. Meanwhile Brenda and Robin waiting patiently. We give Marc a tip for helping us out and thank him profusely. Back to the parkade....yikes...one hundred and five Euro to get out....talk about adding insult to injury! All part of the travel experience. Robin and Brenda still speaking to me after "the episode".

Robin and I have put Barcelona on our "come back" list, as we simply did not have enough time to fully discover it.