Barçelona con Emmy

Emily and I took a short weekend trip to Barcelona. It was lovely to travel with her and see a new city. We learned a lot about ourselves and our equally laid-back and sponteneous natures. The catchphrase of the weekend was "next time we'll...." Through our craziness and obstacles, we still had an amazing time and saw more of the city in two days than I had expected. Go team!

Water spigot in the cloisters of the Catedral.

Cloisters of the Catedral.

Geese enjoying the rain spout downpour.

Complete with fountains, gargoyles, geese, plants, and fish, these cloisters were gorgeous even in the downpour.

Waiting in line for the Picasso Museum. The museum has a great collection of works spanning more of Picasso's lifetime. It skips most of the cubism (collage cubism in particular), which I thought was odd, but it has an extensive collection of his academic work and the pieces he made for fun in his later years. I especially loved his pidgeon paintings and his studies of Velaquez's Las Meninas. His versions of the masterpiece are fascinating and inspiring. A great way to accquaint yourself with the most prolific artist of the last 100 years. Also a great way to stay dry for a few hours.

Next stop: Museo Xocolate! Our tickets were in the form of dark chocolate. The entire museum smelled of chocolate. We were in heaven. Barcelona was Europe's entry point for chocolate and we saw many shops selling yummy coco treats.

Little boy made of chocolate.

Cocolate Tin Tin!!!

Everything in almost every tableaux was made from different kinds of chocolate.

Puddle jumping near the marina.

We stopped by the Sagrada Familia at night. See the "En amorada con Gaudí" post for more pictures.

We awoke Sunday morning to clear skies and birds singing. We were so grateful! We raced down to the water and to our suprise there was a parade! These two were scoping out the action.

Smart dog.

There were groups of people dressed in costumes. Some of them seemed to be latin american groups in semi-traditional dress with semi-traditional dance moves. They rocked. Then there were the ironic groups piping music and in funny costumes. The pope had a retinue of scantily clad nuns (some in drag) dancing provocatively. They were hilarious.

Emmy's first time at the Mediterranean Sea.

The sevillana dancers were dancing to pop music. Hmmm.... This girl reminded me of my awesome niece Greta, who rocked the sevillana dress for Halloween this year.

"Where are my people? And what the hell is a smurf?"

I didn't remember smurfs having tails....

This was my favorite group. They had a drum corps and dancers (as a good portion of the groups did). There were about ten cockroach dancers and about three pesticide dancers. They would do dance moves such as "the swarm" and "the spray." The pesticide guys would take a gulp of water and spray the cockroaches, who would flip onto their backs and wiggle their arms and legs. I loved the red noses of the pesticide cans, but couldn't quite manage a photo.

I snapped this photo as this cockroach decided to chase me around a bit. And yes, I squealed.

Papa Smurf!

It was right about here that I decided I am in love with Barcelona. To my right were the crashing waves, ahead is the Olympic Village, and behind a beautiful skyline. Sigh.

Olympic Village ahead!

Adding to my street art collection.

I learned a lot of lessons this weekend. One of them was that I need to always travel with multiple memory cards, no matter how short the trip. Here I am weeding out the shots that perhaps were not worth keeping.

I love this picture. I don't know why.

Emily and I had a juice while enjoying the plaça outside the iglesia Santa Maria del Mar. This picture proves that shooting with a flash has its advantages.

Check out the arabic influence in the design of the arch. Lovely.
(Ignore the nervous smile I give when I let someone else use my camera.)

On the avenue to the Arc de Triomf. The mujedar influence and red stone make it my favorite archway yet.

Our next adventure was at the Sagrada Familia. See the previous post for those pictures.

View of the city from Parc Güell.

Spire of Casa Gaudí in Parc Güell.

Beautiful casa in Parc Güell.

Twilight.

These guys were great. Loved the energy, crowd participation, and lyrics. Perroflautas con actitude.

Iconic Mirador. The light was getting tricky, so if you want to see more descriptive pictures, look up Parc Güell. Way cool.

This was taken at the entrance to Parc Güell. I was sad to start our voyage home, yet so happy to have such a great friend and traveling companion. Thanks Emmy, for such an amazing weekend.

En amorada con Gaudí

La Sagrada Familia is the most ethereal, spiritual place I have ever experienced. Never before has a church made me feel like I did in the Sagrada Familia. Perhaps it was because the temple is more modern than any other large church I've experienced, yet still utilizes many of the gothic elements that bring your gaze skyward. Perhaps it is because there is so much light and hope and joy in the design. Whatever it is, this masterpiece of design and spirituality took my breath away.

My photographs hardly do the exprience justice as thumbnails. Double click on the photos and they will open full size in a new window in your browser. Better yet, visit the temple yourself.

There are to be three façades to La Sagrada Familia: Nativity, Passion, and Glory. This one depicts the Passion. The sculpture was designed by an incredible artist, Josep Maria Subirachs during the 1990s.

The temple was blessed by the Pope and declared a Basilica in November 2010 (the interior having been finished in 2009). Of all the works I learned about in Art History, this is the one masterpiece still in progress. The exterior is set to be finished by 2025.

Chapels surrounding the apse. The glass is only tinted in this area, and while most churches depict scenes and represent biblical stories, these abstract splashes of color were designed to conjur principles and teachings of Christ. Emily noticed the fish eyes in one chapel and quoted, "Follow me, I will make you fishers of men."

The Apse. The white light at the top is a skylight, brining your eyes straight up to heaven.

The use of different stones provides depth and softness to an otherwise cold material. In this image you get a taste of how massive the interior is and how far the apse reaches.

The plain glass windows in the nave combined with the light colored stone make the interior of this temple a joyful place, rather than the dark dank interiors of most large churches.


The artistry of the organ is downplayed, but the reflections of the stained glass are spectacular.

Reflection on plain glass window looking out toward the Passion façade.

This façade depicts the Nativity. It celebrates the life and joy of Christ. Much of the decoration is inspired by nature and the joy that Christ brought. I remember thinking this was hideous in Art History and that I had no intrest in visiting this particular church. Upon closer inspection, it is interesting, but not my favorite part of the temple. I like the theme of this façade, but prefer the design of the Passion. The Glory façade began construction in 2002.

Close-up of the façade.

Gaudí developed this method of string and weights to utilize the powerful elements of hyperbolas. His use of geometry in the design of the interior is overwhelming.

The museum in the crypt beneath the temple explains the tragedies and triumphs of the Sagrada Familia in detail. Antoni Gaudí was in no hurry to finish the temple, stating that his benefactor was in no hurry. However, on the way to work one morning he was hit by a tram. Because of his ragged attire no cabs would take him to the hospital. He was taken to a poor hospital where his friends eventually found him the next day. When they offered to take him to a better hospital he replied, "I belong here among the poor." He died shortly after at the age of 73.

During the Spanish Civil War, just 10 years after Gaudí's death, angry civil war fighters set fire to his workshop. They destroyed many of his maquettes, drawings, and plans. After spending time in the interior and witnessing the genius, beauty, and dedication first hand, these tragic stories nearly brought me to tears.