Two Days in Barcelona

Barcelona divides easily into 3 aspects over the two days we were there. Maybe such a division is obvious specifically because we had such a short time.

First, we were forced (forced!) by a kerfuffle in our hotel reservation, to stay in the only place that had space where Julianne had points to use. So first, a few pictures of our surprising miracle, W.

Oh, the view from the 10th floor, right on the beach. Looking inland at night, the harbor and beyond it the hill with a fort on top that we didn't get to. A busy harbor, boats coming and going at all hours, including big cruise ships and ferries heading all over the Mediterranean, and in the early morning, fishing boats coming back from their night of labor.

 Who could resist the reflections? This is late at night, looking at the same view as above.

The view from our breakfast place, looking north (the pictures at top look south). I don't know those people - but I put them in for a sense of scale. This beach used to be all industrial, but some years ago Barcelona hosted the Olympic Games, and then they completely redid the bedraggled waterfront into a major recreation and beach area. It's got restaurants, bike shops, surf shops, an actual carnival, buses, and a harbor that hosts fishing and commercial boats. The development lasted and succeeded.

Oh, the early morning mist, oh the sailing boat. Out of sight to the right are a whole lot of barges and tankers, but never mind the actual economic backbone of Barcelona's harbor... just concentrate on the romance of the sea and the beauty of the pre-dawn light.

Second focus of our short visit, the Gaudi masterpiece, Sagrada Familia basilica. This church isn't finished yet, but it's farther along than it was in 1982 when I was there last. Then, the city seemed trashy and old, with actual bugs in our beds and so much noise, unbelievable. A city of motorbike maniacs, I thought then.

Julianne proposes that one reason for the evident poverty and lack of energy at that time (for instance there was only one stonecutter tap-tapping at Sagrada Familia, which was still open to the sky) was that the Catalonia region was anti-Franco, never supported him, and therefore didn't share in any of the rewards of the dictatorship. Could be, very like. I certainly wasn't looking at political economy in those days. These days Barcelona is booming, its economy the strongest in Spain. Sagrada Familia has been declared a World Heritage site, and I will say they have a handle on how to generate income from tourists.

The facade of main entry to the basilica is called Nativity, and here's the iconic carved scene. The entire face of the church is intricate with carvings of animals and plants. For instance, a barnyard of chickens:

On the other side of the church is the Passion. This carving moved me, with its rougher style, which is typical of the carvings on this side:

There's still a lot of work going on over on this side, where it's noisy and maybe a little dusty. The noise penetrates inside, but constant quiet music reduces its impact. The emphasis inside is on the light, which is beautifully managed by the stained glass and the shapes of the columns. Further, the ceiling, the organic shaping, the carvings. Ah!            

                           

Well, it could be that that's long enough for this posting, and a high  note to end on. Next posting, item three in our experience of Barcelona, the city itself. For now, enough.

by Nancy