Monday, June 10th
Our flight from Lisbon was uneventful, just the way they’re
supposed to be. We arrived around noon, collected our bags and took a taxi into
the city. This is the first time in Barcelona for both Liz and I and we are eager
to take in the city, particularly its renowned architecture.
We arrived at our AirBnB an hour or so before check-in. Our
host, Santiago, met us at the apartment and allowed us to store our bags there
while the final cleaning of the unit was completed. Liz and I were both
thrilled to see that the apartment building has an elevator allowing for easier
transportation of our too many, too big bags. With the bags properly stored, we
went out to find lunch.
Unlike our other AirBnB’s, this apartment is in a
residential section of Barcelona. To date, we have largely stayed in the
historic and more touristy locations within the cities we have visited. It was
great to simply be living among residents, although, with a population of 1.6
million (4.8 million in the greater metro area), Barcelona is a bustling city.
Our AirBnB is excellent. Great location, recently renovated
with large windows facing the street. For the next week, it proved to be an
excellent location for exploring the city.
A Brief History of Barcelona
Barcelona is the capital of the autonomous community named
Catalonia. An autonomous community is roughly equivalent to a state
in the US although there are some important differences. These differences
arise from the fact that long before the country of Spain existed, the Iberian
peninsula was inhabited and occupied by a number of kingdoms the size of which
varied from time-to-time resulting from wars amongst the kingdoms or invaders from
other lands. These kingdoms had existed independently for many centuries and it
wasn’t until 1479 that Spain was first organized under a single king, but, even
then, this was only a loose affiliation of kingdoms. Catalonia arose out of the
former Kingdom of Aragon.
During the next several centuries, further attempts to
solidify Spain as a nation were taken, but always ran into fierce resistance
from the highly independent former kingdoms, particularly the Basque region and
Catalonia – both regions that have their own languages. I have written earlier
about the Basques and their language which has almost no familiarity with any
other language in the world. Catalan, by contrast, is a language with Latin
roots and is spoken, not only in Catalonia, but also in Valencia and in parts
of France, Italy and Andorra where it is the official language.
The Spanish Civil War, which broke out in 1936, was largely
a conflict among those that favored the autonomy of regions (Republicans)
versus a strong central government (Federalists). The Federalists won this war
and General Franco rose to power installing a brutal central government that
suppressed any and all efforts to encourage autonomous regions. Following
Franco’s death in 1975, Spain adopted the Spanish Constitution of 1978 which
sought to strike a balance between the central government and the independent
regions. The second article of the constitution reads as follows:
“The Constitution is based on the indissoluble unity of the
Spanish Nation, the common and indivisible homeland of all Spaniards; it
recognizes and guarantees the right to self-government of the nationalities and
regions of which it is composed and the solidarity among them all.”
As the constitution “guaranties the right to
self-government” to the autonomous regions, in 2006 Catalonia passed laws that
provided, among things, an autonomous Catalan system of justice, a new
territorial division, the status of Catalan language and the symbolical
declaration of Catalonia as a nation. The central government was strongly
opposed to these new provisions and, in 2010, the Constitutional Court of Spain
(their Supreme Court) declared these provisions to be in violation of the
Constitution and, therefore, invalid.
This repudiation by the Court did not sit well with
Catalonia. In 2017, a referendum was held and, as a result, Catalonia issued
its symbolic declaration of independence from Spain. Proverbial “hell broke
loose” following this with several Catalonian political figures being jailed
for rebellion and sedition and others, including the former president of Catalonia,
forced to seek exile in other countries. Today, this is very much an unresolved
issue, although during our visit, except for the numerous posters requesting
the release of political prisoners, you would never know that Catalonia is
anything other than a happy autonomous community within Spain. Stay tuned. This
is not over as it is a drama that now extends for nearly a millennium.
Old Town
Later that afternoon, we took a walk into old town which is
comprised of three districts: Barri Gòtic (the Gothic Quarter), El Call (the
Jewish Quarter) and La Ribera where you will find the Picasso Museum and the
soaring Gothic church of Santa María del Mar.
We spent our time in the Gothic Quarter where we visited the
Barcelona Cathedral. Also known as the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint
Eulalia, the Barcelona Cathedral was built between the 13th-15th
centuries and it is beautiful. Part of the tour includes an elevator ride to
the roof where you can walk the length of the cathedral outside providing
exceptional views of the city underneath.
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| Barcelona Cathedral |
After our cathedral tour, we walked the 1+ miles back to our
apartment. Along the way, we encountered one of Gaudi’s architectural creations
– Casa Batlló.
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| Casa Batlló |
From Wikipedia, “Gaudí became part of the Modernista
movement which was reaching its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
His work transcended mainstream Modernisme, culminating in an organic style
inspired by natural forms. Gaudí rarely drew detailed plans of his works,
instead preferring to create them as three-dimensional scale models and molding
the details as he conceived them.”
During our stay, we also visited Park Güell, La Pedrera and
his signature achievement, Sagrada Família.
Park Güell is a real estate development on Barcelona’s
northern periphery. Eusebi Güell commissioned Gaudi to design a park, situated
within a natural park to include a grouping of high-quality homes, decked out
with all the latest technological advancements to ensure maximum comfort,
finished off with an artistic touch. While the park portion of this project was
completed reflecting Gaudi’s unique association with nature, the housing
development was a commercial failure. Ultimately, only two houses were built,
neither designed by Gaudí. One was intended to be a show house, but on being
completed in 1904 was put up for sale, and as no buyers came forward, Gaudí, at
Güell's suggestion, bought it and moved in with his family and his father in
1906 where he continued to live until his death in 1926.
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| Park Güell with Gaudi's house in the center |
La Pedrera (aka Casa Milà) was originally built as a private
residence for Pere Milà and his wife, Roser Segimon. From the outset, it was a
controversial building earning its more popular name, La Pedrera, which means
“stone quarry”, because of its unusual appearance. Today, it is a UNESCO World
Heritage Site and one of the most visited sites in Barcelona. It is definitely
worth a visit and don’t forget to go all the way up to the roof.
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| The rooftop at La Pedrera |
But Gaudi’s signature project is definitely the Sagrada Família.
In 1883, Gaudí began as chief architect, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art
Nouveau forms. Gaudí devoted the remainder of his life to the project, and he
is buried in the crypt. At the time of his death in 1926, less than a quarter
of the project was complete.
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| Sagrada Família |
Again, from Wikipedia, “Relying solely on private donations,
Sagrada Familia's construction progressed slowly and was interrupted by the
Spanish Civil War. In July 1936, revolutionaries set fire to the crypt and
broke their way into the workshop, partially destroying Gaudí's original plans,
drawings and plaster models, which led to 16 years work to piece together the
fragments of the master model. Construction resumed to intermittent progress in
the 1950s. Advancements in technologies such as computer aided design have
since enabled faster progress and construction past the midpoint in 2010.
However, some of the project's greatest challenges remain, including the
construction of ten more spires, each symbolizing an important Biblical figure
in the New Testament. It is anticipated that the building can be completed by
2026, the centenary of Gaudí's death.
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| Sagrada Família |
Tuesday, June 11th
We woke up to rain this day which was a welcomed relief as
we have been going non-stop ever since this adventure began six-weeks ago. We
found a place to get a couple’s massage, went grocery shopping and got desperately
needed haircuts. I had carefully researched a place to get my haircut and
decided on BCN Cuts with it 4.6 star reviews and a short walk from our
apartment. When I arrived there at 1:45, it was closed although the lights were
still on. I rang the doorbell a few times to no avail.
It was then that I noticed another barber shop directly
across the street, The Barber Job, and I strolled over. While they were open,
they explained I would have to wait until 2pm, when siesta time was over,
before I could get a cut. That explained why my first choice, BCN Cuts, looked
open, but was locked – it was siesta time. I contemplated heading back to my
first choice, but here I sat at The Barber Job, so I stayed put.
What a mistake! At 2pm, this young man, with a terrible
haircut, comes up to me and says he’s ready to cut my hair. I should have run
for the door, but, alas, I didn’t. I sat down in his chair, showed him a
picture of myself with a haircut that I wanted him to approximate, he nodded
his head enthusiastically, and off we went.
Out came the electric hair clippers which he immediately ran
from the base off my neck to the top of the back of my head. At that point the
damage is done and there is no going back. He proceeded to run the clippers
everywhere around my head, except the top, as if he was in a hurry to mow the
lawn. Then he used scissors to cut some of the hair on the top of my head,
pulled out a mirror and asked if it looked OK. I told him it was perfect, he
nodded with satisfaction, I paid and then left happy to still have both ears in
place.
When Liz returned later in the day from her hair cut, she
stared in amazement at what had happened to me. I then took this picture to capture
the tail of two haircuts.
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| Who went to The Barber Job and who went to the hair salon? |
Wednesday, June 12th
The next day, we decided to do the “hop-on, hop-off” bus
tour of Barcelona as a way to get the lay of the land of this rather large
city. The bus has three routes: the Red line which covers the city center; the
Blue line highlighting northern Barcelona; and the Green line which runs along
the beaches. We started on the Blue line, switched to the Green line and ended
on the Red line. It took most of the day, but was a great way to see the city. We also incorporated a lot of walking into
our day as we explored many of the sights nearby the many bus stops.
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| Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar |
That night, we had dinner at Teresa Carles, an excellent
vegetarian restaurant.
Thursday, June 13th
Today we had breakfast at Bergamonte for the third day in a
row. The TripAdvisor ratings were excellent with particular praise for their
croissants and coffee. One reviewer said that he hadn’t had coffee that good since
visiting a specialty coffee place in Seattle (not Starbucks). We quite agree.
The baked goods, beyond the croissants (which are excellent), are amazing and
the coffee is the best we have had in a while. Liz has written about being
homesick for half and half (which is absolutely the case), but the lattes at Bergamonte
help you to forget about this longing.
Liz’s neck has been bothering her the past few days, so she
made an appointment with a chiropractor whose website claimed he spoke excellent
English. As it turns out, he’s from the UK and has set up shop in Old Town.
Further, he knows what he is doing and Liz’s neck pain simply melted away.
Almost next door to his office is the Picasso Museum. While
Picasso was born in Málaga (where we also went to a museum), he moved with his family
to Barcelona when he was 14. This museum in Barcelona houses over 4,000 works
of art by Picasso. It is extensive, inspiring and a must visit when in
Barcelona.
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| Picasso Cubism |
After Museu Picasso, we walked to La Pedrera – Gaudi’s last
private house commission discussed above – for a tour. The tour begins on the
roof which is spectacular and then descends into the attic where you are able
to see some of the models he created for this building and from there you
descend into the home which, frankly, was the least interesting part of the
tour.
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| La Pedrera from the ground floor |
After La Pedrera, we headed over to Sagrada Família for
another tour – this one was with a guide which is a good way to go because you
get expedited access, otherwise the wait can be hours. With 3 million visitors
annually, it is the most visited tourist attraction in Spain. (BTW, the
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is the second most visited with 2.6
million; the Alhambra in Granada is 3rd with 2 million; and Mezquita
Mosque and Cathedral in Cordoba is 4th at 1.5 million).
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| Sagrada Família |
Sagrada Família is a spectacular building. Again from
Wikipedia, “Describing Sagrada Família, art critic
Rainer Zerbst said "it is probably impossible to find a church building
anything like it in the entire history of art", and Paul Goldberger
describes it as "the most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic
architecture since the Middle Ages". In my opinion, it is worth coming to
Barcelona even if the only thing you do is visit Sagrada Família.
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| Sagrada Família |
Friday, June 14th
This day is a blur for both Liz and I. I recall that we
spent a lot of time in the apartment and I worked on the blog posts for
Portugal, but we don’t remember much more than that.
Saturday, June 15th
For our last full day in Barcelona in rented bikes and rode
them all over the city. Mostly we headed down the length of Avenue Diagonal
until we reached the waterfront and then rode along the Mediterranean until we
reached Old Town. Once there, the crowds were enormous and riding bikes became
increasingly difficult. Eventually, we managed to get through and find our way
back to the rental shop. In all we covered around 15 miles and got to see some
parts of the city that we hadn’t before. The bike ride was a really good idea.
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| Frank Gehry's "Goldfish" sculpture along the waterfront |
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| Gaudi's "Fountain" in Parc de la Ciutadella |
Today we fly to Athens where we will spend one night in a
hotel and then head to the harbor to begin a one-week sailing adventure among
the Greek Isles. Our traveling companions will be Ted and Ellen Lamboo. Ted was
a colleague of mine at Bentley Systems and we have become close friends over
many years of working together. Liz and I are excited for this next leg of our
adventure.
Musings….
Loved Barcelona! Got a great vibe as soon as we arrived.
Helped that our AirBnB was very comfortable. Nice location, away from maddening
tourist crowd but still in the mix of it. Vibrant city with lots to do and see.
And, of course, all things Gaudi which I loved. Fun to wander along the various
neighborhoods and observe all the architectural influences of that time period.
We relaxed a bit more here - not the frenetic pace of
trying to see everything - enjoyed just wandering. Weather, with the exception
of the first day, was fantastic - perfect temp for walking and site-seeing.
Felt like you could spend a good deal of time in this city. And we even tempted
fate and acted like locals. We both got haircuts (and a root touch-up for guess
who?), massages and a pedicure - even went to a chiropractor! Also the first
place that offered a full array of vegetarian restaurants - more so than even
San Francisco. Enjoyed the food and ambiance a great deal.
Starting to miss “normal” like showers that don’t leak
all over the bathroom, cooking in a stocked kitchen, clothes dryer, familiar and friendly faces, and the grandkids;). But can’t complain - unbelievable opportunity to
see and experience all that this wonderful continent has to offer. And we’re
enjoying every minute of being together. We’re in a groove I guess….;)!
Up next…sailing.
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