Last day in Barcelona

We're packing up, ready to head west again.  While it's been fun, we are looking forward to getting back to the English-speaking world.

exterior of Picasso Museum

Today we visited the Picasso Museum.  Since he studied here in Barcelona, the thrust of this collection is on his early days.  Unfortunately, they do not allow photography in this museum, so I can't share much of what we saw.  The initial sequence of rooms follows chronologically, so it is possible to see how his style developed, then began to change as he was exposed to other art styles.

First Communion, his first work to be shown in a formal exhibition, was featured in the second gallery.  It reflects the demands of his academic studies -- a realism style, like everyone else's at the time. Much of his other work from the period -- things like sketches of places around Barcelona -- show that he was already starting to break away from the norms, developing his own style.

He had tried to study in Madrid, but broke away from the formal schooling to hang out in the Prado Museum and admire the work of El Greco and Diego Velasquez.  He wrote that those two artists inspired him.  The museum has one original El Greco that formed the basis for a number of Picasso's sketches and paintings.  But probably the best, was his homage to the famous Velasquez painting Las Meninas (Maids of Honor), seen here thanks to an internet search:

Three years before his death, Picasso donated 57 paintings in his Las Meninas series to this museum.  In a couple of galleries you can see everything from a black and white recreation to totally cubist renditions.  It was very interesting.  Photos here, too, are off the internet.

On the way home I got some photos of the Palau de Musica.  We had dinner across the street at Tosca a couple of nights ago, but I didn't have my camera.  This is one of the city's concert venues, and the night we went to dinner it was hosting a Flamenco Gala.

We also saw some interesting artwork outside a contemporary art museum near the cathedral.

Piel de Metal (Metal Skin), Julio Nietes

 

What a difference a day makes!

This was Sunday.

wide promenade, lots of people

This was Monday.



wider promenade, only seven people

It was grey and breezy when we started out to visit Barceloneta -- the city's old port area.  It's like Fisherman's Wharf plus a plaza.  The street is lined with seafood restaurants, there's a wide plaza that goes to the original quay wall, and, behind a shiny new fence is a big yacht basin with some very expensive yachts.

This is Port Vell.

yachts registered in the Cayman Islands

We walked past all the boats, and, just as we caught view of the Mediterranean, it started to rain.  Then it dumped.  We grabbed a quick shot of a local TV crew trying to do a stand up along the surf line -- it was so windy at that point they could barely keep their umbrellas under control. 

 

W Hotel, port landmark

a lone photographer braves the winds

 

We retreated to the warmth and safety of a Foccacheria for a cup of coffee.  We thought the squall would blow over.  After 30 minutes it was still coming down, so we gave up and walked back to the subway station for the ride home.

Parc de la Ciutadella

No, we did not leave Barcelona for Paris.  This Arc de Triomf was built in 1888 as the main gate for the Exposition Universal de Barcelona.  Today it is the unofficial entrance for the Citadel Park, with its wide promenade linking one of the city's bus stations (Nord) to the 70-acre patch of green. 

This area had originally been just another city neighborhood, but Phillip V of Spain razed the neighborhood in 1714 to create the largest fortress in Europe.  (This was Catalonia's fate for losing the war of Spanish Secession.)  It remained a citadel until 1869, then most was torn down.  A sort of urban renewal project got started, resulting in the 1888 expo to show off the "new" city.

As it was another beautiful day, thousands of people were out enjoying the park.  There was just enough wind that the bubble guy didn't have to work very hard.









The park has a few buildings, but the real draw is the warren of trails.  People were riding bicycles or walking their dogs, children were playing on the grass, and we even found a couple of folks practicing their tightrope walking skills. 

Seeing a glint of gold through the trees, we set off across the park to check it out.  Before we got there, however, we found a large gazebo full of people dancing.  It seems we had stumbled across the Sunday afternoon meeting of the Barcelona Swing Association.  We sat on a nearby bench and enjoyed the music!



 


The golden chariot atop this fountain was what had lead us to this corner of the park.  This fountain was designed for the 1888 Expo by Josep Fontsere, with a little help from an aspiring young architect named Anton Gaudi.





The statue in the center is Venus (atop a clamshell) and the crowning glory is Aurora.  Behind the arch, is a door to what was once the city's aquarium. 

 

No explanation is available for the whimsical dragons, although one guidebook mentions that Barcelona is a city of dragons and that you will find ornamental dragons decorating the city.



lamp post near Arc de Triomf

dragon on wall on Las Ramblas

At one corner of the park we saw the Castel de Tres Dragons... even though the dragons out front looked more like iguanas.  This was the Museum of Zoology, also built for the 1888 expo. 


























Next to it was the Museum of Geology, which was created in 1892 when a prominent scientist, Francisco Martorell i Pena left the city his entire collection and library.  We liked the way they showed off some of his rock collection.

next to last rock on the right is a bomba volcanica - that's a good sized chunk of rock!

Our real goal for the afternoon stroll had been the Picasso Museum.  Sunday afternoons are free admission.  When we got to the museum, the line was two blocks long.  Scott's ankle could not take standing in line for that long, so we gave up, came home and bought tickets to see the museum on Tuesday.

Now you see it, now you don't.... this sculpture turns.

 

 

An Olympic Stroll

Since it was another gorgeous day, we decided to take a stroll through Monjuic Park --not the area facing the port that we had visited on the last trip, but the northern area.

We left the subway at Placa Espanya, and started up the hill toward the Palau Nacional.  The fountains at the base of the hill are the famous "magic fountains" (the nighttime light & water show set to music).

The palace sits near the top of the 567-foot hill. There are steps, but escalators go up to all but the last level, so we didn't put Scott's ankle to the test.

The Palau was built for the 1929 International Exposition, but today houses the National Museum of Catalan Art. 

Behind the Palau we found the Greek theater and the Olympic area, dominated by the 65,000-seat stadium.  The stadium was originally built to host an anti-fascist alternative to the Berlin Olympics, but the event was canceled due to the outbreak of the Spanish civil war. 

Olympic Statium

Palau Sant Jordi &Torre Telefonica

To the west of the stadium are some of the venues built for the Olympics, including the Palau Sant Jordi (gymnastics & handball) and the Piscines (swimming).  Towering over the plaza is a striking tower.  Initially, I thought this was the Olympic torch, but it turned out that it is a 446-foot telecommunications tower built to support the games.  It represents an athlete carrying the torch.











As you look down the hill from the Palau Nacional, you can see the Placa Espanya and, beside it, the former bull ring.  When we were here last, they were in the process of turning it into a shopping mall.  We had to check out the finished product.  About the only original thing left is the outside brick walls.  Inside is four levels of shops, restaurants, a movie theater, and exhibition space.  The rooftop deck provides panoramic views.

the original walls

standing in the center of the ring, ground floor

heading for the top

Placa Espanya

Sagrada Familia

In past visits we had seen the outside of the Holy Family Church, so this time we decided to venture inside.  The church was begun in 1882, but the real effort began in 1883 when Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi took over the project in 1883 and transformed it into a combination of Gothic and Art Noveau.  On his death in 1926, the project was less than a quarter done.  Construction was disrupted by the Spanish Civil War, and when partisans burned it in 1936, the original plans were lost. His friend continued the project, and subsequent architects have pieced together much of his plans and are trying to apply modern techniques while keeping to his original ideas.

It is being built relying entirely on donations, so it progressed slowly.  Designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and high levels of tourism in Barcelona have helped, and, by the time Pope Benedict consecrated it as a basilica in 2010 the project was 50% complete.  They are hoping to complete it by the centenary of Gaudi's death.

The outside is fascinating.  Eight towers are complete, and work is underway on the final five (the concept is a tower for each apostle + the tallest tower for the Holy Family).  The two facades are very different in style - the nativity façade was completed by Gaudi; a local sculptor, Josep Suribachs, completed the passion façade using a more modern style.

over the door, Nativity façade (Gaudi)



the Passion façade (Suribachs)

The first impression as you walk in is how bright and colorful the place is.  Stained glass windows let light in from every direction.  We were there at two o'clock, so the strong afternoon sun was pouring though the red west windows. 

looking toward the altar

light playing among the columns

Up around the altar are a series of alcoves.  Some are being used for A/V presentations about Gaudi, calling him "God's Architect."  Others are places for confession, prayers and contemplation.




provided in four languages -
Catalan, Spanish, English & French



alcove, with confessional

The interior was designed by Gaudi to be like being in a forest.  The columns are the trunks of the trees, and the decorations on the ceiling are like leaves.  It's an amazing effect.  The pictures don't do the place justice.

We had looked into going to mass there, and found out that they only use the church a couple of times a month... and you have to request tickets through the Bishop of Barcelona's offices at the old cathedral.  (It is sad to have such a beautiful church and use it so little.)  



The Lord's Prayer in Catalan. This sculpture is by the Eucharistic entrance.