Barcelona Day 3 (Sep 8 2008)

Another email reminder of my trip...oh yes, the exhausting day.

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Just a quick note before bedtime. Its about 10:30 pm here, and I am exhausted. I went on the Barcelona bike tour today, I saw a lot of stuff, rode along the beach!, but I don't know who thought a 4 hour ride on cobblestone was a good idea?

Love,
Me.
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This was the day I took the fat tire bike tour


The tour was aweseome, and I would recomend it to anyone that asks, but, four or so hours is a long time on a bike if you're out of practice (as I am), and you have to ride on very busy (and bumpy) streets. Pain and fear aside, I got to see so much more than I'd be able to on a regular day. I do wish that Dan got to do it along with me, but someone has to work =)


We started at the Plaza Sant Jaume. Back in the Roman period this square was (and still is) where important government buildings were found. On one side there is the Palace of the Generalitat (the government of the Autonomous Community of Catalunya) and on the other stands the City Hall. This square has been witness to some of the most important events in recent Catalan history, such as the proclamation of the Catalan State in 1931 or the return of Josep Tarradelles from exile in 1977.

Then headed to

Museu d’Història de la Ciutat



The museum is housed within the former Royal Palace (11th to 14th c.), King Martin watch tower (1555), the Saint Agatha church (14th c.) and the Padellàs house (16th c.)



Next was the Cathedral of Barcelona



which encompasses part of the original Roman Wall!




We passed the gorgeous Palau de la Musica Catalana



And Barcelona's only bull fighting arena.







We rode through the Parc de la Ciutadella, and posed for pictures before the Arc de Triomf, yes exactly like the one in Paris.



Another trip to La Sagrada Familia



Then off to the beach!!






Lastly we came to the Santa María del Mar and the Fossar de les Moreres, where an eternal flame burns to commemorate those that died in the 1713-14 war of succession.



Finished with the tour, I walked back to the hotel, first back up the Rambla where I stopped to watch some of the street performers.







Then I stopped at the Plaça de Catalunya

The Plaça de Catalunya is a large square in central Barcelona that is generally considered to be both its city centre and the place where the old city (see Barri Gòtic and Raval, in Ciutat Vella) and the 19th century-built Eixample meet.

Some of the city's most important streets and avenues meet in Plaça Catalunya: Passeig de Gràcia, Rambla de Catalunya, La Rambla or Portal de l'Àngel, in addition to Ronda de Sant Pere, Carrer de Vergara or Carrer de Pelai. It has an area of about 50,000 square metres. It is especially known for its fountains and statues, its proximity to some of Barcelona's most popular attractions, and for the numerous flocks of pigeons that gather in the centre.







I made it back to the hotel, showered and slept until Dan got home from work. When I woke up, I was too sore to imagine going out to find a restaurant, so we ate in the hotel's restaurant, and spent a quite night in.

Barcelona Day 2 (Sep 7 2008)

Another email home to jog my memory =)

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Hi all! Today was a great day. We slept for most of the first part, headed out around noon. We made our way to Case Mila - one of Gaudi's buildings, which was amazing, then to Sagrada Familia, the most amazing church. Had lunch at a cute little street side cafe, and dinner at a fancier place. I had paella, Dan had a lobster risotta, both had ugly heads on the shellfish ;(

Hope everything is good with you all. Talk to you soon.

Love, me.

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We walked from our hotel back to the Rambla, and one block beyond to find the Casa Milà, one of Antoni Gaudi's creations. We found it the night before, but wanted to come back to take the inside tour...which is a MUST! The tour takes you to the roof, which is another freakin world. I could fill this whole blog with pictures from up there.

Casa Milà ("La Pedrera ")

Casa Milà, commonly known as La Pedrera is the largest civil building designed by Antoni Gaudi. The apartment block was constructed between 1906 and 1910. It was Gaudi's last work before devoting himself to the construction of the Sagrada Familia.

On the outside, the undulating balconies look like a series of waves. The iron-wrought balconies were designed by Josep Maria Jujol, who improvised on the spot. Some people see the facade as a cliff-like rock with caves. During construction, people dubbed it a quarry, or 'Pedrera'. To date, people still call the building 'La Pedrera' rather than 'Casa Milà'.



The roof is probably the most extraordinary of the building. It features a number of surrealistic colorful chimneys. Many of them look like warriors in a science fiction movie, others look more frivolous. The roof also features a bench similar to the one in Park Guell. From the top of Casa Milà, you have a nice view over the Eixample district.










When we were finally able to tear ourselves away from Casa Milà, we made our way fown to la Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's (unfinished) masterpiece.

The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família

The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família is a massive Roman Catholic church under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Construction began in 1882 and continues to this day.

Originally designed by Antoni Gaudí, who worked on the project for over 40 years, devoting the last 15 years of his life entirely to the endeavor, the project is scheduled to be completed in 2026. On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudí is said to have remarked, "My client is not in a hurry". After Gaudí's death in 1926, work continued under the direction of Domènech Sugranyes until interrupted by the Spanish Civil War in 1936.

Every part of the design of La Sagrada Família is rich with Christian symbolism, as Gaudí intended the church to be the "last great sanctuary of Christendom". Its most striking aspect is its spindle-shaped towers. A total of 18 tall towers are called for, representing in ascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, the four Evangelists, the Virgin Mary and, tallest of all, Jesus Christ.



The Church will have three grand façades: the Nativity façade to the East, the Glory façade to the South (yet to be completed) and the Passion façade to the West. The Nativity facade was built before work was interrupted in 1935 and bears the most direct Gaudí influence. The Passion façade is especially striking for its spare, gaunt, tormented characters, including emaciated figures of Christ being flogged and on the crucifix.





The church plan is that of a Latin cross with five aisles. Gaudi intended that a visitor standing at the main entrance be able to see the vaults of the nave, crossing, and apse, thus the graduated increase in vault loftiness.

The columns of the interior are a unique Gaudi design. Besides branching to support their load, their ever-changing surfaces are the result of the intersection of various geometric forms. The simplest example is that of a square base evolving into an octagon as the column rises, then a 16-sided form, and eventually to a circle.



On the corner of the Sagrada Familia lot, in between Sardenya and Mallorca streets, you will find situated a small structure which Gaudí built using Catalonian brick (29x14x4 cm) between 1908 and 1909.

Although it was a provisional construction destined to be a school for the sons of the men who were working on the temple, it is considered one of the most important works of Guadinist architecture.



After our visit to the church we stopped for a quick sidewalk lunch at Mengi Mengi. (In Spain a "bikini" is a grilled cheese sandwhich).

Then onto the Casa Batlló

Casa Batlló is a building restored by Antoni Gaudí and Josep Maria Jujol.
The local name for the building is Casa dels ossos (House of Bones), because of its skeletal organic quality. It was originally designed for a middle-class family and situated in a prosperous district of Barcelona.

The building looks very remarkable — like everything Gaudí designed, only identifiable as Modernisme or Art Nouveau in the broadest sense. The ground floor, in particular, is rather astonishing with tracery, irregular oval windows and flowing sculpted stone work.

It seems that the goal of the designer was to avoid straight lines completely. Much of the façade is decorated with a mosaic made of broken ceramic tiles (trencadís) that starts in shades of golden orange moving into greenish blues. The roof is arched and was likened to the back of a dragon or dinosaur. A common theory about the building is that the rounded feature to the left of centre, terminating at the top in a turret and cross, represents the sword of Saint George (patron saint of Catalonia), which has been plunged into the back of the dragon.







After a good hot shower and a long nap, we were ready for dinner. Unfortunately, I don't know if we were ready enough...





And back to the hotel to dream of shrimp heads.

Barcelona Trip Report Day 1 (Sep 6 2008)

I'm sorry to say, that the trip was so long ago that I'm going to have trouble organizing this...luckily, I have some of the emails I sent out, so this may help...

DAY 1

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Saturday, September 6, 2008

So, we got here fine, our plane was on time, but we sat on the plane for about an hour before it took off because of traffic. The plane was SMALL, but the flight was uneventful.

We got to the airport, took a cab to the hotel, got here around noon, Spain time, and fell asleep. We're unpacked and showered, and about to go out explore the town.

Talk to you all soon.

Love.
Me.

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We left the hotel, and after wandering around in everywhich direction, stumbled upon something that looked impressive...

The Plaça d'Espanya

Plaça d'Espanya is one of Barcelona's most important squares, built on the occasion of the 1929 International Exhibition, held at the foot of Montjuïc, in the Sants-Montjuïc district.




The Venetian Towers

The Venetian towers count amongst Barcelona's most curious landmarks. They draw their name from the fact that they were built by Ramon Reventés to resemble Venetian bell towers and served as an entrance portal to the grounds of the 1929 International Fair.




From here we walked (and walked and walked) the The Rambla, my primary "must see" of Barcelona.

The Rambla

La Rambla is an iconic and busy street in central Barcelona, popular with both tourists and locals alike. A 1.2 kilometer-long tree-lined pedestrian mall in the Barri Gòtic, it connects Plaça Catalunya in the center with the Christopher Columbus monument at Port Vell. Usually full of street theatre, cafés and market stalls, it serves as the emotional hub of Barcelona



It was here that, famished, we stopped for dinner at Meson Cinco Jotas. Two cervazas, a salad, some tapas, and two more cervazas later, we were ready to continue.






We walked the stretch of The Rambla, window shopping and people watching, until we reached the Monument a Colon (Columbus Monument)

Monument a Colon

At the end of the Ramblas, close to the waterfront, this monument is one of the unmistakable city features. It was erected in 1886, for the 1888 Universal Exhibition, by Gaietà Buïgas commemorating the reception the Catholic Monarchs gave to Columbus in Barcelona once he arrived from America the first time. The statue is 7 metres tall and the whole monument has more than 51 metres high. There are sculptures depicting the Kings Elisabeth and Ferdinand, allegorical figures and lions at the column base.



Rambla de Mar

We reached the waterfront, took a leisurely walk along the pier, stopped at a wonderful waffle stand for some warm, chocolaty goodness, then took a taxi back to the hotel for a well deserved rest.

Chasin' Waterfalls

Billed as the city’s biggest public art project since “The Gates,” The four giant waterfalls created by Danish artist Olafur Elliasson are made up of largely visible scaffolding, designed to match the scale of the surrounding buildings so it would blend into the urban landscape.

Dan and I went to see the Waterfalls yesterday. For the best views we decided to take a 3-hour circle line tour of the city, guaranteed to pass all four waterfalls.














We happened to have an awesome coupon, but the trip would have been worth it, even if we had to pay full price. And there was plenty to see, even if the Waterfalls aren't your thing.

Slow week...

Sorry. There hasn't been very much going on, so here's some new picks, again courtesy of Dan.

He moved his department to a new office, this is his view. Enjoy.