In my previous Top Comments diary, I concentrated on the sights we saw on our vacation to Barcelona related to the modernist architect Antoni Gaudi. Today, I'll tell you about the rest of our trip. (Warning: Photo heavy.) For details, jump past the orange calamari tapas...
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On the day we were to depart for Europe, hubby discovered that the departure time international flight (from Detroit directly to Barcelona) had been moved to a significantly earlier time--and that our flight to Detroit had necessarily been changed to a flight to which we could never get to in time. So hubby got on the horn with the airline and managed to rearrange our flight plans in such a way that we would make it to Barcelona on the same day, albeit a bit later than originally planned. Instead of flying directly to Barcelona, however, we flew to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, and got a connecting flight to Barcelona. I managed to sleep for most of the flight over the Atlantic, so I was not too much of a zombie when we arrived in France.
When we finally got to Barcelona, we hired a cab to take us to the B&B where we had a reservation. The B&B is in a section of town called the Eixample (meaning extension). In the late 18th and rely 19th Centuries, as Barcelona began to become industrialized, they realized that the city had to expand beyond the traditional, old, walled city; the direction of expansion was to the north, away from the Mediterranean Sea, toward higher elevations. The neighborhood is full of classic Beaux Arts style buildings, as well as more modern structures. The Passeig di Gracia, called Barcelona's Champs Elysee, runs northward from the old city through the Eixample. The B&B was just a couple blocks from this major thoroughfare, and very close to a subway stop. We ended up getting a 5-day subway pass, which made getting around town very convenient and for a very modest amount of money.
On our first morning, we made fast friends with the woman in charge of providing breakfast to the B&B guests, and she said she would meet us later that day in front of the Cathedral for a tour of the old city, called Barri Gotic. Here's the cathedral. It is old and gothic, but the facade actually dates from the 19th Century--not as old as the rest of the structure.
We met our new friend and guide, who then led us to the place Columbus, newly back from his first trip to the New World (though he never knew that it wasn't Asia), met the King and Queen of Spain. The royal pair sat on the portico below as Columbus approached.
After seeing this, we then took a tour of the Barcelona History Meuseum. Barcelona was originally established by the Romans, who called it Barcin. There are still four surviving columns from the original Roman temple, though they are mostly buried. Indeed, excavations over the last century have revealed evidence for a variety of businesses in the old Roman city. For example, here's a photo of what remains of a wine-making facility, which lies under the old palace:
Here is a mosaic, also underground, from early Christian Roman times:
After the underground Roman ruins, displays advanced to Medieval artifacts, including a special show of haggadahs from that era, including lovely illuminations.
Later, Mar also pointed out the location of the original gate to the Roman city. They were between the two towers on the right in the photo below. All of the towers were part of the wall around the original Roman city:
Though we visited it on a later day, we also saw another museum in the district, called the Frederic Mares Museum. It is stuffed with Medieval art, including many, many wood-carved religious icons. One piece that struck me was the tomb of a knight, shown below, depicted with his faithful dog as his feet. It reminded me of the US soldier's funeral with his dog mourning before the casket. There are some constants in human culture.
In addition to all the old art, there are at least three floors of the Frederic Mares Museum that are just chock-full of old stuff--you name it, they got it: Tools of all kinds, clocks, cameras, games and toys, hats, combs, typewriters, bicycles, smoking pipes, just about anything you can think of in everyday culture. We flew through these upper floors of the museum, but depending on what your obsessions are, you could get lost up there.
We of course walked up and down las Ramblas, a pedestrian market that runs from the Placa de Catalunya down to the statue of Columbus (of which I did not take a photo). In fact, despite walking down las Ramblas several times, I took very few photos of it. The walkway has a carnival atmosphere. It's lined with tapas restaurants, flower shops, souvenir shops, and gelato shops. Various unlicensed vendors are also trying to sell toys or handbags or whatever else you might want to buy. However, when night falls, it does have its seamier side. Hubby was actually approached by a young woman asking if he was interested in, um, participating in a business transaction. Boy, was she barking up the wrong tree! Also, there are many pickpockets along las Ramblas. After one traverse, I discovered that all of the zippers of my backpack had been opened. Fortunately, I had nothing of any value in it, and nothing was stolen, but I was far more careful in that part of town after that experience.
My only photos of las Ramblas are this one, of a very unusual building, with a dragon and an umbrella sticking out the corner:
And also a shot of the entrance to La Boqueria. We got there too late in the day to get any coffee, sadly. Maybe next time.
You can see the ham legs hanging from the concessions near the entrance. Interestingly, the place reminded me most of Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.
We attended a performance of the Flamenco Barcelona company at the Gran Teatre del Liceu. The Teatre is actually a new building, though located in the old city. It's style is clearly influenced by Gaudi and the other gaga architects of Barcelona. I did not take any photos of the performance, but I did take photos of the interior of the teatre. Behind and above the stage:
The ceiling:
The performance itself was thrilling. It's remarkable to think that anyone's feet can move so fast and with such precision as they do on these dancers.
I'm running out of time and photos. Let me leave you with just a few final shots. First, of a bridge between two buildings crossing a narrow road in Barri Gotic:
And a couple of shots of the dancing water fountains at the Placa de Catalunya, at the north end of las Ramblas:
No time to relate about the fabulous Romanesque and Gothic art at the Art Museum of Catalunya. And I realize I still haven't said anything about the food! Well, I've gotta stop somewhere...
On to the comments!
TOP PHOTOS
August 26, 2015
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