Barcelona!

We visited Barcelona from 12/17-12/20. What a truly unique city! The Catalan culture and language, the architecture by Gaudí, Picasso and Miró museums, Las Ramblas, La Boqueria, so much to see and experience!

Gaudí's style is so unbelievable to behold. Such color, shape, and breath. His buildings are truly like no others on earth. His Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) church is remarkable - he worked on it from 1883 until his death in 1926 and it is still unfinished. It is not expected to be done for another 50 years at least. Parts of it seem like they are melting away in the rain, others are amazing shapes bordering on Gothic. The large, towering spires that rise above all in Barcelona will not even be the tallest ones when it is completed. We went up in one and experienced breathtaking views of the city.

The back side - the only side Gaudí saw completed in his lifetime.

The front of the church. We went up in the two spires on the right side. A little freaky!
















Some views from up top:














Spires on the other side.

















The back side from up top.

















We also visited Gaudí's Parc Güell - made famous in many films and postcards. The winding benches, mozaics, and labyrinthian paths were a treat for the senses. Another magical spot!










Smile!













Unbelievable!

















We did quite a bit of rambling up and down Las Ramblas (the streams), a mile-long boulevard leading from Plaça de Catalunya, a huge plaza dividing the Barri Gótic (Gothic Quarter) from the new city, to the Mediterranean Sea. As James Michener says of the Gothic Quarter, "it is not often that one finds in the heart of a modern city an ancient one existing as a kind of soul imprisoned in stone yet mysteriously vital..." Las Ramblas is full of life and energy, but I would love to have seen it 40 years ago. It was renown for its shops at one point, but now many of them have become fast food and tourist shops. It still has wonderful street performers - like these fairies with Maddy and Max - a bird market, and the most amazing food market I have seen anywhere on earth (including India, which up until now was my favorite) - La Boquería.

Seemingly miles of fresh fruit, produce, candy, meat, fresh fish, prepared food, and more. If this market were near my house in Ashland, I would never go anywhere else! We ate here daily and marveled at its beauty. OK, we're food crazy, but I think anyone would love it. Even Maddy and Max thought the produce was beautiful.

But nothing compared to the candy stand for them!

They each got a huge bag of hand-picked candy that lasted them about 5 days. Don't tell the dentist!

We took a million pictures of this delicious market. I'll try and limit it to a few below:









Lovely fruit and vegetables. The fresh squeezed fruit juices (so many choices!) were delicious.









Dried fruit and nuts, spices, mushrooms, chocolates, olives, anything you could want!









I didn't try these sandwiches, but was tempted by the label - "sandwich orgasmic"! There were also "burrito orgasmic, pizza orgasmic, etc."







Café con leche and tortilla for breakfast - so delicious. Spanish tortilla is not at all like tortillas from Mexico. The traditional Spanish tortilla is like a potato omelet. We also had one made with peppers and zucchini that was incredible - Max even loved it! He said, "I don't care if there is zucchini in it - I love it!"



We also visited the Picasso and Miró museums - two of my favoite artists. The Picasso museum was a fascinating exhibition of his development, from 12-year old prodigy to the end of his life. Most interesting were his "copies", more interpretations, of Velasquez's "Las Meninas". Compare this work with Velasquez's "Las Meninas" in the "Entry 3 from Madrid" blog. Visit the Museo Picasso here.


The Miró museum was just a pure treat for the eyes - probably my favorite museum of all I've seen here so far, although that is hard to narrow down. His creations are so playful and improvisational, they are a breath of fresh air to me. Check out the Fundació Joan Miró here. There were also several works by Alexander Calder, one of my other favorite artists, including his Mercury Fountain which was captivating.

The Miró museum is located on Montjuïc (Mount of the Jews), a former Jewish burial ground. Also there were beautiful gardens, a palace, and the Olympic Stadium from the 1992 Summer Olympics.

All in all, it was a beautiful four days in Barcelona, but we are all glad to be "home" in Madrid!

Adios!