Barcelona

Because I was in Southwestern France and close to the Spanish border I thought it would be fun to go to Barcelona for 5 days. Many of my friends who have been there have told me that if I am near there I should visit the city. I am very happy that I did. I think that it is one of the best cities I have ever been to anywhere in the world. It took about 6 hours by train from Toulouse and I arrived there in the early afternoon.

Barcelona has a several thousand year history. One of its most famous citizens was the 19th/20th century architect Antonio Gaudi. Some of his most famous works are the Parc Guell,

 Casa Battlo,

and the Sagrada Familia Cathedral that has been under construction for more than a century with at least another 30 years to go before it is completed. 

 

There is very much to see in Barcelona. One birds eye way of viewing the city is from the Transbordador Aeri, an aerial gondola from the marina across the harbor to the hilly Montjuic District. The views from the  gondola car are magnificent and very 'exposed'. Looking landward one can see most of Barcelona from the Mediterranean to the hills about 8 km to the NW.  The view seaward is over the harbor including the commercial port area, sailing marina and cruise ship docks as well as the Barcelona World Trade Center.

 

The Ciutat Vella (Catalan for Old City) is quite large. The narrow streets open up every few blocks on plazas and/or parks. There are 1.6 million inhabitants in Barcelona.  Because of the many wide boulevards and large plazas and many parks the city maintains, at least for me, a feeling of spaciousness. It is a city that encourages the locals and the visitors alike to live in it and play in it.  I saw many young people as well as adults skateboarding on the plazas and boulevards with no harassment from the police. The local people all seem very friendly and helpful. 

I especially like the fact that at the crosswalks the pedestrian light signals are actually timed to how long it really takes a person to walk across an intersection. An older person or a mother with a pram and a couple of other kids can easily and safely cross the street with ample time. In America, in most cities, even a world class sprinter can't make it across most intersections in the time allotted to the pedestrian signal. 

Most of the parks I saw had play structures for the children and even some of the public sculptures had built in slides and stairs for people and children to climb on. Apparently in Barcelona function can equal fun.

There are many museums in Barcelona. I was able to visit two excellent museums while I was there. One is the Museu D'Historia de la Ciutat de Barcelona.  It chronicles more than 2000 years of history beginning with the ancient Roman colony of Barcino, up through the middle ages until the present. This museum features one of Europe's largest underground archeological sites and takes the visitor back to the ancient city of Barcino that had a street level 3-5 metres below the current street level. From that much lower level the visitor can follow a walkway that takes them by the Roman wall, the intervallum or inner wall and through inner streets where the people lived. This tour passes through the craftsmen's district and there are examples of places where laundry was done, cloth was dyed, fish paste made and where wine was pressed and fermented. It is a fascinating tour and well worth every Euro of the admission price.

The other notable museum I was able to visit, albeit too briefly because I had to catch the train back to France, is the Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya. As well as temporary exhibits they have six other permanent exhibits including Romanesque Art, Gothic Art, Renaissance and Baroque Art, Modern Art, Drawings, Prints and Posters, and Numismatics.  Unfortunately I was only able to quickly view the first three exhibits.

This museum is on a hill in the Palau Nacional. It overlooks a huge mall-like area reminiscent of the Mall in Washington D.C.  that goes from the Placa Espanya up to the Palau Nacional. Continuing up the hill from here one arrives at the site of the 1992 Olympics.

There are street musicians everywhere. In the plazas, in the subway tunnels, even on the subways playing for the passengers.

This Iranian man is playing near the top of Parc Guell. He is playing a hybrid santouri that is a cross between a tradtional Iranian and Greek santouri. He is not only a master santouri player but he also designs and makes them.

Everywhere in the city there are statues and monuments; in the parks, plazas and boulevards.

There are the traditional kind:

The floating:

The living:

As well as the more modern and unusual:

Even the grafitti has a bit of style:

What must be obvious by now is I really like Barcelona even though in 5 days I barely scratched the surface of all there is to see and do.  In the words of my former governator: "I'll be back!"