Gallivanting Grandma

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Today was our day to climb Montjuic, pronounced “mon-jew-eek,” the hill overlooking Barcelona’s harbor and city beaches.  

Besides a spectacular view of the city, there are many things to do and see, for example: the Fundacio Miro, ruins of an 18th century castle, the Catalan Art Museum, and the 1929 World Fairgrounds.

We took the Metro and a bus almost to the top of Montjuic to visit the best of Joan Miro’s artwork in the world.  The collection is housed in a fabulous building specially designed in 1975 by Josep Lluis Sert to showcase Miro’s amazing art.  Unfortunately, photography was not allowed in the galleries, but I took a few photos in the outdoor spaces. 

Then we rode the circa-1929 Teleferico del Puerto – Aeri del Port cable car down to the harbor peninsula known as Barceloneta. We rode from a station on the side of the hill to the top of a tall tower and onward to another tower by the beach. It was great fun and the views of the city and the harbor were amazing.  

 After a quick elevator ride down the last tower, we were on the beach and the Mediterranean Sea!  

It was a long walk back to our hotel on the Ramblas but we did it! It was good to explore another part of Barcelona and admire the architecture. 

We enjoyed a couple of recouperative ‘cavas’ and patatas bravas in a little outdoor cafe behind the hotel.  

Later at night, we ventured out for homestyle paella at Restaurant Vigo.

 Amazing food in Barcelona!!!  We shared tomato bread and fried chorizo for appetizers and a delicious seafood paella for an entree. 

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

We’re enjoying cloudless bright blue skies and low 70 degree temperatures. Barcelona resembles Nice, France but without the hustle & bustle. People are friendly and easygoing and the city seems to come to life as the day goes on.

The ancient narrow streets are a maze of intersecting alleyways and it’s fun to walk along and bump into something new: a shop or monument or tiny square.

Today we visited the Picasso Museum to see their paintings by the artist – no lines to get in and no photos allowed. The Museo occupies five converted palaces dating from the 13th to 15th centuries and has an excellent collection of early Picasso works.

Then we explored the old Jewish quarter and the huge Gothic cathedral nearby.

A traditional Gothic cathedral was interesting to see especially after Antoni Gaudi’s version yesterday. But the electronic candles (below) were too much!

There’s not much left of the Old Jewish Quarter after Queen Isabella ousted all the Jews and Muslims in 1492. Today there is a small synagog located below ground level, down ancient stone steps, and a shop nearby which sold biblical artifacts. 

We had discovered, tried, and enjoyed ‘pintxos’ so tonight we wanted to have ‘tapas.’ We went to a small local place named Elisabet’s a few blocks away from our hotel.

The clock above actually had “Grand Central Terminal” printed on its face. We felt a bit nostalgic for home as we shared delicious tapas: tomato bread, patatas bravas Bolognese, fried calamari, and jamon croquettes. Yummmmm…….

Monday, November 16, 2015

It was a gloriously sunny day with the temperatures in the low 70s. This morning we continued our exploration of Gaudi’s architectural genius with visits to two major sites. Public transportation to Park Guell is challenging because it involves walking up a steep hill, so we took a taxi to the entrance. 

Gaudi must have had an amazing sense of playfulness because his designs are filled with whimsical touches. The buildings at the entrance to Park Guell look like gingerbread houses covered with frosting.

The park was financed by Eusebi Guell and built on a hill overlooking the city of Barcelona. Visitors can see the Mediterranean Sea in the distance from the overlook. 

  
The Basilica of the Sagrada Familia is still under construction with planned completion in 2026 to mark the centennial of Gaudi’s death. Gaudi began his famous church in 1882 but died unexpectedly before completion. The western facade is clean and modern while the eastern facade resembles a gray sand castle. The interior is magnificent:

  
The interior is like a gigantic stone forest with colorful stained glass windows illuminating the massive space. In the afternoon, sunlight filters through yellow, orange, and red stained glass windows bathing the entire interior with warm golden light. 

Later, at night we tried another “pintxos” restaurant in the Barri Gotic simply called: El Pintxo. I could get used to this lifestyle! :-)

Sunday, November 15, 2015

We had a late start today. I guess the excitement and jet lag finally caught up to us. After a late breakfast, we discovered the lovely roof-top lounge of our hotel with fabulous 360-degree views of Barcelona. 

The roof looked like a fun place to lounge on hot summer nights. Ah, to be young again….

We walked to another Antoni Gaudi mansion, the magnificent Palau Guell, which had been the residence of the industrial tycoon and patron, Eusebi Guell, built in 1888. The Catalan art nouveau building was an early Gaudi ‘Modernisme’ design but showed some of his original concepts. 

The parabolic entryways, whose shapes became Gaudi signatures, were designed for horse-drawn carriages.

The Palau Guell, like all the other Gaudi designs, is included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The roof was a complex of undulating tiles and whimsical chimneys. 

We walked through the center of the old city known as Barri Gotic (Gothic District) to the Born District to visit the Picasso Museum. After we saw the very long line and discovered that we would have a three-hour wait to get into the museum, we decided to save it for another day. Later, we learned that the Picasso Museum has free admittance on Sundays. 

The lovely Placa Reial (in the Catalan language) is pictured below: 

It’s fun to walk along the shady narrow ancient alleyways and imagine what they must have been like five hundred years ago. Today, they’re lined with inviting little shops and cafes.

The Catedral de Barcelona is a huge complex of hodgepodge architecture. The Gothic church is surrounded by Roman and modern buildings which reflect the history of the city. 

After resting at the hotel, we ventured out for a simple tapas supper at a nearby restaurant named Macareno. We shared a plate of jamon (cured ham), pa amb tomaquet (tomato bread), and patatas bravas. Yummm……….

Then we joined the crowd of locals and tourists who stroll along Las Ramblas in the cool dark evenings. The flower shops close about ten o’clock but the restaurants are open late and the newsstands are supposed to be open all night. 

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) is the most famous architect who contributed to Barcelona’s “Modernisme revolution.” He experimented with new construction techniques to create both practical and decorative buildings and objects. 

We rode the Metro to ‘The Block of Discord’ where three Modernista facades stand out among the classic style residences along the wide boulevard of Passeig de Gracia. 

Liceau Metro Station:  

We first visited Casa Batllo, Gaudi’s famous extravagantly designed residence, which he created for a wealthy textile merchant.

The exterior has been described as having the appearance of the scales of a giant reptile and the interior as the bones of a sea creature. I would describe the house as ‘whimsical’ and a lot of fun.

Even the roof, with its spectacular views of Barcelona, was enchanting:

Afterwards, we walked a couple of blocks to La Pedrera – Casa Mila which was an apartment building Gaudi designed and built in 1906.

Most of the building is occupied by residents but tourists can visit parts of the building to learn about Gaudi’s architectural process. An apartment was furnished as it would have looked during the early 1900s:

The roof was an undulating complex of tiled steps around 30 functioning chimneys.

We took another Metro to Sagrada Famalia, the cathedral which Gaudi designed and began building before his sudden death in 1926. The city of Barcelona and wealthy benefactors have continued construction hoping to complete the magnificent church by 2026.

Since today seemed to be ‘Gaudi Day,’ we thought we could visit the cathedral this afternoon. But when we arrived the line to buy tickets was so long we decided to save the tour of the cathedral for another day. The weather was perfect: high 60s and sunny.  We didn’t want to waste our time standing in line so we took the Metro back to Las Ramblas.

We rested for a while at the hotel then went out for supper. The ancient narrow alleyways are well lighted and many people were out.  It was difficult for us to adapt to Barcelona’s meal schedule: a late lunch, tapas snack 5 to 7 at night, and dinner after 10pm. Tonight we went to Taverna Basca Irati for Basque “pinchos” or ‘pintxos’ in the Catalan language.

Pintxos are eaten standing up at a bar. Visitors walk in, find a place among the locals, order a drink and ask for a plate. The young woman behind the bar didn’t seem to care what you ordered. I saw everything from glasses of wine, cava (bubbly wine), beer, and soda. Then you carefully look over the plates on the bar heaped with delicious-looking choices.

You reach over and help yourself. The idea is to save the large toothpicks holding the pintxos together so, at the end, the woman counts up the sticks and you pay accordingly.  They were all one price: 1.85 euros each and one or two euros for drinks.

The yummy treats included salmon, tuna, octopus, jamon (ham), sausage, beef, peppers, potatoes, cabbage, etc., etc.  Every single pintxos was delicious!