Barcelona

Today is Barcelona, which is one of Spain’s most lively and dynamic cities, but Barcelona is really not Spanish at all….it is the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia. Located on the coast of the Mediterranean, it was a leading trading power in the 14th and 15th centuries. Today Barcelona is a busy, cosmopolitan place, a center of experimentation in politics and the arts. Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Salvador Dali, and Antoni Gaudi have all called it “home”.

There is a lot to see in Barcelona but being here only for the day we had to decide what we wanted to see for our first-time visit. We chose Gaudi, who combined art nouveau and modernism in his many works found all over town. Gaudi believed in natural and organic lines, with no trace of anything angular or mechanical. We decided to concentrate on seeing a few of his famous projects.

We were among the first off the ship and after a shuttle ride from the port to the Columbus Monument. You would think that Columbus is pointing toward the new world, but he’s not….he is pointing toward his hometown of Genoa, Ital. We started walking up the famous street, La Ramblas. It is a mile long street lined with shops, flower stalls and cafes. Early in the day, it was not very crowded. On our back way down at the end of our day, it was a mass of people going in both directions. We were always on the alert for pick pockets, and luckily didn’t have any problems.

Columbus Monument

La Ramblas in the morning

After reaching the top of La Ramblas we took the advice of our daughter Jen who visited Barcelona in 2010. “Take a taxi between sites, don’t try to walk it all.” We had lots to see and limited time so off we went to our first stop, Parc Guell, Gaudi’s colorful park. He intended this 30-acre garden to be a 60-residence housing project—a kind of gated community. But around the turn of the century (1900) that idea flopped as the high-income families it was intended for didn’t want to live so far away from the shopping and cultural activities.

Parc Guell

Serpent-like mosaic bench

Next we took another taxi ride to Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s most famous and persistent work, an unfinished church. He worked on it from 1883 to his death in 1926. Construction continues today and it is considered about 60% finished. Following the travel tips I had researched prior to this cruise, I booked our tickets for entry into the building over the internet and that proved to be the way to avoid the massive line of people waiting to buy tickets upon arrival. We breezed right by them all and exchanged our internet receipt for our entry tickets. A definite plus when we didn’t have 3 hours to wait in line. The inside appears to be finished as there was a big push to get that done before the Pope’s visit in November, 2010, when he dedicated the church. The outside is still very much in construction phase and will not be finished until approximately 2026. Local craftsmen often cap off their careers by spending a couple of years on the construction site. Gaudi knew that he would not live to see the building completed and recognized that later architects and artists would rely on their own inspiration to complete the project. There were many Gaudi drawings and blueprints in the museum beneath the building and plaster models made throughout the years that were used in construction. It was a most fascinating building and we wandered around for about 2 hours.

Sagrada Familia

Plaster model in museum

But it was time to move on to the next Gaudi building, the Casa Mila—Gaudi’s last major work before dedicating his final years to the Sagrada Familia. The Casa Mila was built to be an apartment building for the middle class. We were able to tour a typical apartment, all set up as it might have been when first occupied. A highlight was the jaw-dropping rooftop, where chimneys look like they could have inspired the Star Wars soldiers.

Casa Mila

The rooftop chimneys standing guard.  There are 30 of them on the roof

View of Sagrada Familia from rooftop of Casa Mila

Next on our list was the Casa Batllo, with skull-like balconies. We decided not to tour the inside of this as time was getting short and we were feeling a bit tired.

Casa Batllo

Close up of the skull-like balconies

So it was time to relax a bit at a little café on the La Ramblas, do a little people watching, and enjoy a little more gelato!

Before heading back to the ship, we walked through the Barri Gotic area and check out the remains of the old Roman wall that protected a smaller Barcino, as the city was called in ancient times..

Remains of the old Roman wall

Then it was down to the Placa Reial, a neoclassical square that has Gaudi’s first public works—colorful helmeted lamp posts.

Gaudi's first public work--a helmeted lamp post

A much busier La Ramblas at the end of the day

It was then time to catch the shuttle bus back to the ship and say “Adios” to Barcelona with hopes that we will return someday….there is so much more to see and experience.