Barcelona

Good Morning! Labas rytas!

Well, Liz, we're not in Kansas, or Lithuania, anymore!

Harvesting artichokes? Definitely not Lithuania!

We decided to treat ourselves to a few days of relative summer (low 50s) in Spain. Flew WizzAir (!) from Vilnius direct to Barcelona - three and a half hours. The Acta hotel was nice and new, but the room was really small and featured an exceptionally uncomfortable couch - the only seating other than the beds. So we were motivated to get out and enjoy Barcelona - and what a city it is. Go to Barcelona! Don't miss it!

Some highlights -

Day 1 (January 21) -  Our hotel was close to a train stop, so we could take the train from the airport right into the metro system and get off very nearby - and then use the metro to get down into the heart of the city. Our first metro venture took us down to Catalunya square. (I'm not going to attempt very many of the Spanish or Catalan words! This is Catalonia - and many things were labeled with Catalan first, and then Spanish, and then English.)

This big square was one of the highlights, because the sun was bright and warm and blinding, and we could have just stayed there and soaked it up for the rest of the day.

But we didn't - we headed on down La Rambla,

the premier walking street in the heart of town.

Had some lunch,

some ice cream - always scooped to look like a flower. Took a look at one of the big markets -

This last one is candy - even the fried eggs are candy!

At the end of La Rambla you come to the harbor,

and the Christopher Columbus monument. He actually left on his first voyage from a port in Andalusia, west of Gibraltar, but after the voyage he came to Barcelona to report to Ferdinand and Isabella.

We could go on about day 1, but on to. . .

Day 2 (January 22) -

We bought a two-day pass on a tourist bus - an excellent investment. The bus took us to so many places we never would have found, and you could hop off and hop on again whenever you wished.

It was a bit cool on the uncovered upper deck, but we were determined to get whatever sun there was, and it was better for taking photos as well.

The bus immediately took us through an astonishing neighborhood of architectural marvels of late 19th century modernism. The architect who dominates Barcelona is Antoni Gaudi. Above is his Casa Mila.

Other things you see within a two-block area (Gaudi and others - I won't try to identify them) -

Go see for yourself!!

The bus took us up above the city -

to the Palau, filled with art we didn't have time to see!

We had forgotten, but in 1992 -

Barcelona hosted the Olympic Games. The stadium is up on Mont Juic, along with the Palau -

and nearby is the communications tower for the games, the Torre Calatrava -

designed for the games by the same Santiago Calatrava who gave us the "wings" of the Milwaukee Art Museum (2001). The Torre suggests a torch held aloft.

We had "hopped off" at the Palau, and then, after a little more bus touring, we hopped off again at the seafront,

 walked the beach a little, and then had perhaps our finest meal of the trip -

at the Cangrejo Loco ("crazy crab?") They offered several choices for first, second, and dessert courses, at a set price - we chose mussels, calamari, hake, salmon, and more - a really good value. And the waiters seemed glad to have us there.

In the evening we thought our adventures were coming to an end for the day, but, as we walked along downtown, a short and very dapper older man (75?) came alongside and said that we should try some of the sidewalk cafes we were walking past. He told us a bit about himself - that he had lived in New York for many years, in the leather business. And then, somehow, he guided us toward his leather factory and store, a couple blocks away. We thought he was just going to point it out, but no, soon we were inside and Liz was trying on leather coats! They were really nice, glove-leather quality, and the price, he said, was below wholesale (of course!). He was an amazing salesman, and we can't believe we escaped with our money still in our pockets, but we did! And we tried to avoid that street for the next two days, afraid he'd be looking for us, and that this time "The Leatherman" would win!

Day 3 (January 23) -

On the bus again, but soon we had hopped off and walked up the hill to Park Guell, named for Count Eusebi Guell, the patron of architect Antoni Gaudi. The park was intended to be an extensive residential area, but most of the lots didn't sell. But Gaudi's contribution to the effort is astonishing -

It's a major tourist attraction, and also, the day we were there, it was the place for student field trips -

We decided that that evening we would try to be a little more like natives and eat a little later - 8:30 - which is still maybe two hours before the real natives would come out for supper.

John Schott's friend, Jose, had recommended Senyor Parellada, so that's where we went -

A very classy place with good food - Liz had a tuna steak and I had paella. And at 10:30 we were glad the metro stop wasn't far away.

Day 4 (January 24) -

A lazy morning - like all our Barcelona mornings - with a good hotel breakfast.

Our bus touring was over. This was the day for Sagrada Familia, the Holy Family church, the iconic symbol of Barcelona. The church was begun in 1882, and the next year Antoni Gaudi accepted the assignment of continuing the design and construction. He rapidly modified the gothic design with his modernistic and naturalistic tendencies, and the result - still far from completed - is amazing -

I won't try to give a guided tour. If you're lucky(!) enough to see all our pictures some day, we'll give you all the details. For now, I'll just show you some samples (some are looking down on construction up on the church - I took a ride up in one of the bell towers) -

The eight towers now standing are bell towers. Ten more towers are planned.

The east facade is the nativity side -

shepherds, magi -

and even a small chamber orchestra of angels.

The west facade is the passion story -

the questioning by Pilate, Peter sitting in misery as he has denied knowing Jesus -

and the crucifixion.

Inside the Sagrada Familia there is a lot of light, and the columns evoke tree trunks and branches and palm fronds -

and around the whole nave are benches and a balcony -

so that the congregation can be surrounded by several thousand voices.

Gaudi only lived to see about a quarter of the project completed, although he left behind sketches and models. He died at age 74 in 1926 after being struck by a tram.

It's said that just as Gaudi took the design of the church in new directions, so he expected that, as another couple of centuries of work continued, there would be additional changes in style, and, certainly, in construction technique.

The central nave of the church is scheduled to be completed in thirty years. If there are really ten more towers to be built, then maybe our great-great-great grandchildren will go visit the finished project.

We spent over three hours at Sagrada Familia. I guess you could spend three years. An exciting and holy place.

At John's suggestion we headed back downtown to the Gothic Quarter to the Irati Taverna, a Basque place that specializes in pintxos -

little appetizers of all kinds - fish, bacon, a ham and mushroom mousse that was outstanding - served on little crustini. When you come in you're handed a plate and then you help yourself and are charged for each toothpick on your plate. Plus your drinks. Delicious and fun.

We had mounted quite a search for the tavern, investigating many small streets in the Quarter - I guess that's what we enjoy the most, checking out little streets -

the smaller and more mysterious, the better. And we had spotted a little cafe that we went back to for our last dinner of the trip. They offered a set menu - including first course, second course, big basket of bread, dessert, AND drinks, for just 11.50 euros. It was very much a family-run place, friendly and efficient. We were pretty early, of course - maybe 7 pm or so - but when we left we could hardly squeeze past all the other customers at the little tables. And another couple was waiting at the bar for our table. A great memory.

Day 5 (January 25) -

An easy train trip from our metro station and then WizzAir back to Vilnius - 1 degree F. We were actually very glad to be back, but very glad, too, to have discovered the mid-winter miracle of Barcelona.