Well, I return to you today worn out from what might have been an overly ambitious trip to Barcelona.  It was, however, worth it but I would like to return sometime and spend a number of days to soak it in.  Needless to say it was a beautiful and lovely city to visit with SO MUCH to see…

SO I started my day on the bus at 7am… those of you who know me, know that I´m NOT a morning person but who can really be grumpy when they are going to Barcelona.  (Just an FYI- I´m going to Bilbao on Saturday 6am bus- ugh!).  I arrived there around 11 and hit the ground running. 

The station I arrived at was the Nord (north)Estacion which was very close to the Arco Triumfo.  It certainly is quite a welcome to the city as it commands quite a presence and extends down to the beautiful Park Ciudadela- but that was a park I would see later.  I was pretty focused on seeing Gaudi architecture so I hit the ground running and headed towards his unfinished masterpiece, Sagrada Familia.  This is a cathedral that essentially consumed the last 43 years of his life, the final 12 almost exclusively.  It pretty much is the symbol of Barcelona (that and lizards?).  It still is under heavy construction as his vision is looking to be completed from donations that they have recieved from around the world.  They are looking to have the interior completed by next year and the exterior completed by 2030.

What is totally incredible is the impact nature has on his design work and how it translates to the building maintianing it´s organic qualities, including color.  The towers are topped with lovely colored inclusions that are directly inspired by wheats, grains and other hearty weddy flowers.  There was a wonderful exhibit showing his natural inspiration and comparing it to the sketches and maquettes for the building.   For instance, the palm flower is repeated throughout the building since it is the symbol for life.  The columns that support the building are inspired from tree limb connections… not a direct column to the top but branches off into many limbs to support the ceiling that is designed from sun, light and sun rays.  Truly just magnificent…   One thing I´m not mentioning is the SWARMS of people that you had to push your way through to see all these things.  There was a lift to the tower which I would have loved to go up in however I believe the wait was close to two hours and I was only at my first destination!  That will have to be reserved for next time.

As I continued through the building, there was a museum in the basement that housed all his sketches, paintings and maquettes for the project.  There is also an operating model making studio that over 300 craftsman use for various reasons  on the construction.  His model that had to beeen seen to believe is this cable and lead weight construction that he invented for the Sagrada Familia building.  He essentially hung weights are different heights and it served as a inverted model for the building.  OK…. This guy was a bit of a mad scientist and his methodology was so heavily laced with mathematics I struggle really to understand it but I love that he arrives at such organic forms as I already understand from my stupid Knitting Nature book that I have wanted to throw out the window for the past year, math is something that naturally appears in nature… but don´t ask me to explain it to you.

Anyway, I really could go on and on but that was only my first stop of the day I had many more.  The next adventure invloves me manuevering the submay to the Parc Guell which is nicknamed “Gaudi´s Utopia.”  It´s a beautiful park on a very high hill that overlooks the city.  I had quite the steep incline to climb but as one gets further to the top there are escalators.  It is needed.  It´s pretty steep.  But you get up there and you can see the whole city out to the water and it is nuts to imagine.  Then you wind through and start to see the steeples of the Gaudi overlook that are completely mosaiced and just sweet.  The sun was pretty hot up there but under the overlook it was breezey and nice.  Muscians played and there were many many street vendors trying to sell you bracelets, fans, wraps and paintings.  I caved and finally bought a fan because I was really struggling with the heat and sun.  SO my map was kinda vague as to where the Gaudi house was.   Gaudi lived in this house the last 20 years of his life and it is a lovely petite place.  As I was walking about to find it, I ended up coming on a place that looked very Gaudi but I wasn´t sure.  Because I was hot and spent, I jumped the fence because i could not even fathom finding the proper way to get in.  Really, it was a cute little window that I wanted to take a picture of that made me do it.  When I went into the house, it was filled with much of his furniture he designed.  It was not really displayed as he would have lived; just kinda lined up for people to see. 

From there I wound my way back through the park and onto the subway.  I was heading towards the  CCCB and the MACBA, the contemporary art museums of Barcelona.  I had a lot of hang ups with this one because there was so much construction everywhere- street, buildings and subways.  I had to make a connecting train on the subway but since it was under construction, they sent me outside and down and around the street to get the connecting train.  Sounds relatively simple but I didn´t understand this the first time and went back down and had to buy another ticket only to go back outside and not know where i was.  Finally I watched some other people and followed them and that seemed to work out.  I ended up in an area (street)called La Ramblas which was lined with beautiful mimes and outdoor vendors for parakeets.  This also was swarmed with people so I first walked the plaza across the street (which could have or might not have been the Plaza Catalunya- I found 3 plazas where I thought I saw that as the name so who knows but it was on my list of things to see so I did, 3 times).  Anyway, as I worked through La Ramblas I jetted off the side street to find the CCCB, MACBA.  When I finally found them, they were under construction and seemed to be setting up for a huge something or other.  MACBA was closed which was abummer because there was a John Cage show inside that I´m sure Dad would have liked me to report on.  I headed then to the CCCB and there was only one exhibit up and lots more construction.  I went in and saw a show on the “Quinquis” which is the name given the juvenile delinquents in Spain during the 70s and 80s.  Their were a number of movies made that romanticized the lifestyle however it was a horrid reality for kids who where around 14-18 years old.  They were trafficing drugs, committing petty crimes, lots of stabbings amongst the gang members, exlicit sexual encounters with women much older than them as well as their age.  This was in response to the high unemployment rate where kids could not get even their first job which was at 16.  Children went to school until 14 then were expected to work.  When they couldn´t find jobs and their home life was a shambles they created gangs and a method of survival where they had little scruples.  The gang, much like we see gangs now, became somewhat a support system or family and they all were very tight.  It was pretty shocking footage to see as well as their living situation both at home and in prison.  The lifestyle seemed to consume so many.  As it was romanticized in the films the actors then were found to fall into lifestyle and kids from the lifestyle fell into the movies.  Many had an early demise either by being killed or drug overdose.  Needless to say, very intense.

After that I headed back to the La Ramblas and down to the Gothic area of town.  I saw the main cathedral of Barcelona which was also under construction… I walked through and found the Picasso Museum which was unexpectantly in a very small alley.  The museum is dedicated to Picasso´s development so much of the work is from when he was younger, beginning around 12 years old.  The wing that shows the work he did in reponse to Velazquez was closed which was a shame.  I would have liked to see that but there was a lovely slide show outside that you could see.  The latest pieces of work I saw were pretty much the beginning of his blue period and his ceramics (but I´m not really a fan of the ceramics).

From there I headed for water!  I was hoping to sit on the beach a little bit however I was feeling pressed for time to make it back to my bus (and not miss it).  I walked the port pretty much and saw a sculpture based off of Lichtenstein.  I was hoping to find the Frank Gerhy building however I just didn´t and was beat and hungry so decided to head back to the station.

On the way back I walked through the beautiful Park Cuidadela and up towards the Arco Triumfo and settled in at the station for my four hour ride home.  I totally slept like a rock last night and am still feeling it all today!  BUT- Raquel has an opening tonight and I must finish up in the studio since I leave for Madrid next week (and am in Bilbao on Saturday).  I can´t believe I´m in the last stretch of my trip!!

ps… please realize i took over 150 pictures yesterday.  it was hard to choose!! but catch up with me when i return and check them all out!