Barcelona

This city gets very, very high marks from us. We had not chosen one of the packaged excursions for this port of call, thinking instead that we would simply wander the city. We were more leisurely in getting the day started and enjoyed the view of Barcelona from the dining room while we explored the city map and came up with a plan for at least a starting point. At the center of the city is a medieval part called the Barri Gotic, which dates back to the twelfth century and is filled with narrow stone streets and many fascinating old buildings. The city is also home to many significant museums, parks, plazas, promenades, and important pieces of architecture.

We decided to start with the Picasso Museum in the Barri Gotic, to take a taxi there, and then to wander from that point through this old town and to other areas as things attracted our attention. One thing that impressed us right away was how clean and lively the city seemed to be. It was Sunday, and Barcelona residents were out in their city simply having a good time, enjoying the sunshine, the clear air, balloons and street vendors, museums, parks, and street musicians. We had experienced Rome on a Sunday years ago, when they closed selected streets there to provide the residents with a citywide park-like atmosphere. Both that experience and this one in Barcelona were delightful.

Unfortunately, there was so much enthusiasm for being out and about that our plans for the Picasso Museum were the same plans that hundreds of others had. We waited in a long line for quite awhile but were told we would likely not enter for at least an hour. So, we reluctantly abandoned that part of the plan and proceeded with our stroll. Barcelona is almost a museum in itself, since it is filled with marvelous buildings and structures, both new and very old. We stopped to enjoy a small orchestra and dancers. As we continued, we came almost immediately upon a band (brass and drums) in uniforms and accompanied by banner bearers and a contingent of elderly ladies dressed in elaborate black dresses with fancy headpieces and another group dressed in long colorful dresses. They all marched very slowly, stepping almost side-to-side as they proceeded. It reminded us at first of a New Orleans jazz funeral march, though even more sober. We could not decipher the Spanish wording on the banners, but this was certainly a Catholic Christian observance, perhaps in honor of the Virgin Mary.

Prior to arriving in Barcelona, others had told us to watch for the city’s many instances of avant garde architecture by Antonio Gaudi. So, we set out to find a few of these structures, the most spectacular of which is the Catedral de la Sagrada Familia, the spires of which we had seen from our ship. Before we got to it, however, we found other instances, including the Calvert, Ametlier, Batlio, and Ferrades houses. Much of Gaudi’s work is protected by the UN World Trust. He used recycled materials and featured some brightly colored mosaic surfaces in areas of the structures. The Catedral is impossible to describe. You might see if you can find a picture of it via Google, or you can wait until we get home. Gaudi started it in 1882, and it was not finished when he died in 1926. It appears not to be finished even today, as there were cranes all around it and obvious construction still taking place. Nevertheless, it is extraordinary in the truest sense of the word.

Barcelona rates as one of our favorite destinations ever, and we would certainly love to visit again and to have more time to see its many museums and regional attractions.