These photos are of a private residence designed by Gaudi. It was AWESOME.
Barcelona Day 2 Friday
6 pm
I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know this city – my feeling is that you could spend a very long time here and not get bored. I have only begun to scratch the surface. I think it was a very good idea to take the tourist bus these two days to get an idea of the layout of the place. Tomorrow I plan to try the metro system.
Some of my impressions are:
· This is a very sophisticated place.
· It is full of incredibly beautiful architecture over many centuries – the gothic area which is built upon Roman ruins, the Modernistic – full of the amazing architectural masterpieces of Gaudi and others, the waterfront – previously shanty towns and factories and now futuristic business buildings, shopping areas, and modern apartments, and then other neighborhoods that previously were other nearby towns each with their own character.
· Although it is densely populated there is a lot of open space, green parks (with lots of wild parrots) screeching. Many more than in San Francisco.
· Art is much appreciated (for instance today I witnessed several classes of young children (??7-10) visiting the Picasso Museum and clearly paying attention to their teachers’ discussion of the paintings.
· This isn’t Spain – it is Catalonia. I think there is much more difference than just the preferred language.
· Gaudi was definitely a genius but I think he was pretty odd. The Sagrada Familia clearly demonstrates this. Who would design such a place knowing that it couldn’t be completed in the next 200 years (and actually expect that it would be completed so long after his death? However the private residence that I saw today – Casa Battlo? Sp? was absolutely beautiful and felt to me like a dreamscape. For me, I appreciated his genius far more in this than the huge and complex Sagrada Familia.
· Picasso’s genius is easy to appreciate. While the Museum here doesn’t have a huge collection of his most famous works, it does let you see his art develop over time. The most interesting is about 50 different interpretations/studies he did from an old master (Valesques) painting.
· The “touristy” stuff is a bit much although I have enjoyed rambling on the Rambla. One needs to be very guarded from pickpockets.
· I visited the massive market which has amazing displays of fruits, vegetables, fish, fowl, and meat (including “parts” that Tony Bourdain would swoon over).
I missed John a lot today. This is definitely the kind of place he delighted in traveling to and researching ahead of time. Somehow I did feel like he was with me and that in my mind I shared my thoughts with him. On our last trip to Catalonia, in the fall of 2002 before his brain tumor was diagnosed the following March, we planned to come to Barcelona. However, we were so relaxed enjoying the Costa Brava at the end of that trip we decided to delay Barcelona until our next trip here. Of course that never happened. I am enjoying my solo status on this trip but I wish John (the old pre-tumor John) was with me. I sure do miss him.
10:30 pm
I went out walking tonight. I headed to the Rambla but found it much more entertaining in the squares off of it. First large square had live Catalan music with a group of young Catalans dancing the “levitating” dance. They were wearing traditional costumes. It was great.
Then on the opposite side of the same square there was an incredible “choir” of about 40 people dressed all in black. They were very theatrical and sang a wide variety of songs with much gusto and a lot of dancing/mugging/and general theatrics. They did a medley of Mexican songs such as the Mexican Hat Dance (with lots of aiyee yai yahs). Other songs included Oh Happy Day and Alleluja. Amazing.
Later in the square adjacent to the Gothic Cathedral there was live Catalan music and folk dancers (some pretty senior) in costumes who were teaching any interested person how to Catalan dance. It was a great sight with lots of positive vibes. Unfortunately I didn’t take my camera with me tonight.
6 pm
I am thoroughly enjoying getting to know this city – my feeling is that you could spend a very long time here and not get bored. I have only begun to scratch the surface. I think it was a very good idea to take the tourist bus these two days to get an idea of the layout of the place. Tomorrow I plan to try the metro system.
Some of my impressions are:
· This is a very sophisticated place.
· It is full of incredibly beautiful architecture over many centuries – the gothic area which is built upon Roman ruins, the Modernistic – full of the amazing architectural masterpieces of Gaudi and others, the waterfront – previously shanty towns and factories and now futuristic business buildings, shopping areas, and modern apartments, and then other neighborhoods that previously were other nearby towns each with their own character.
· Although it is densely populated there is a lot of open space, green parks (with lots of wild parrots) screeching. Many more than in San Francisco.
· Art is much appreciated (for instance today I witnessed several classes of young children (??7-10) visiting the Picasso Museum and clearly paying attention to their teachers’ discussion of the paintings.
· This isn’t Spain – it is Catalonia. I think there is much more difference than just the preferred language.
· Gaudi was definitely a genius but I think he was pretty odd. The Sagrada Familia clearly demonstrates this. Who would design such a place knowing that it couldn’t be completed in the next 200 years (and actually expect that it would be completed so long after his death? However the private residence that I saw today – Casa Battlo? Sp? was absolutely beautiful and felt to me like a dreamscape. For me, I appreciated his genius far more in this than the huge and complex Sagrada Familia.
· Picasso’s genius is easy to appreciate. While the Museum here doesn’t have a huge collection of his most famous works, it does let you see his art develop over time. The most interesting is about 50 different interpretations/studies he did from an old master (Valesques) painting.
· The “touristy” stuff is a bit much although I have enjoyed rambling on the Rambla. One needs to be very guarded from pickpockets.
· I visited the massive market which has amazing displays of fruits, vegetables, fish, fowl, and meat (including “parts” that Tony Bourdain would swoon over).
I missed John a lot today. This is definitely the kind of place he delighted in traveling to and researching ahead of time. Somehow I did feel like he was with me and that in my mind I shared my thoughts with him. On our last trip to Catalonia, in the fall of 2002 before his brain tumor was diagnosed the following March, we planned to come to Barcelona. However, we were so relaxed enjoying the Costa Brava at the end of that trip we decided to delay Barcelona until our next trip here. Of course that never happened. I am enjoying my solo status on this trip but I wish John (the old pre-tumor John) was with me. I sure do miss him.
10:30 pm
I went out walking tonight. I headed to the Rambla but found it much more entertaining in the squares off of it. First large square had live Catalan music with a group of young Catalans dancing the “levitating” dance. They were wearing traditional costumes. It was great.
Then on the opposite side of the same square there was an incredible “choir” of about 40 people dressed all in black. They were very theatrical and sang a wide variety of songs with much gusto and a lot of dancing/mugging/and general theatrics. They did a medley of Mexican songs such as the Mexican Hat Dance (with lots of aiyee yai yahs). Other songs included Oh Happy Day and Alleluja. Amazing.
Later in the square adjacent to the Gothic Cathedral there was live Catalan music and folk dancers (some pretty senior) in costumes who were teaching any interested person how to Catalan dance. It was a great sight with lots of positive vibes. Unfortunately I didn’t take my camera with me tonight.
Barbara,
ReplyDeleteThis is a lot of fun to read! Kind of like living vicariously through this great adventure. Maybe you could become a tour guide for Rick Steves : )
~ Michael