I couldn’t get down to Barcelona soon enough, early in February as it turned out, to see my dear friends Dorca and Dan and to see this thing that I vaguely remember from my childhood in Florida called the “sun.” Since I arrived here, these friends have been my same-time-zone Skype buddies. They, like me, defected for a European postdoc and lifestyle after grad school. But unlike me, they actually knew the language of their host country. That, and the fact that they settled in Catalun-town a couple years ago made them ideal tour guides. Even though the Spanish sun turned out to be more stingy than I would have liked the weekend I visited, I always felt like I was basking in its warmth with the lovely D&D around!
Whoever came up with the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” may well have had Barcelona on the brain. So I will let pictures do most of the talking, with some supplementary narrative.
This corner of a gate in the picture (top left below), while lovely, seems like nothing after you look at the rest of the gate or the buildings in other pictures. But it was the very first shot I took of Barcelonian architecture so you could say I was easy! What steals the show, and probably what puts this formerly residential gate on the map of Gaudi’s work, is the frightful metal dragon rearing its head. Wow! Talk about a punishment for breaking curfew and trying to sneak through the front door late. In the bottom picture, I am rescuing from the dragon’s jaws my sheep-wolf, a stuffed animal who I kidnapped indefinitely from my cousins to be my travel companion. (He will appear in more pictures.)
After dragon-wrestling, Dorca showed me around the old city center. But what I found more picture-worthy was the self-serve tapas spot where we dined. You take as many little plates, each garnished with a toothpick, as you want, then pay based on your number of toothpicks. I guess it’s honesty policy than no toothpicks are “dropped.” The tapas were the “nouveau” flavor, meaning, I guess, that they contained ingredients OTHER than just ham and olives. Dan and their friend are color-coordinated because, as I was informed, Barcelonian men like to match when they go out.
I was very drawn to the “sea-side” of Barcelona, old but not as old as the city center. (Perhaps I am butchering my history and geography lessons from D&D….) So, be prepared for a lot of pictures in this series. First off, the maritime museum (top left below). I was kind of awestruck to learn that one of Columbus’s ship was built in it (like the birthplace of the birthplace of America, sort of). In all my shock, I was not prepared to go INSIDE. Maybe next time. So, you pick up your ship and head out to port (next picture to the right). Depending on which direction you take, you set your course for the Americas (right) or Africa (left). Leave it to the Barcelonians to plunk a Miro sculpture down in the middle of all these old buildings, as you see on the bottom of this cluster.
Espresso break #4 of the day. (I think their cafés are better than in Paris!!)
The tour continues in the more modern district up from the sea, a district jam-packed with Gaudi’s and other Modernista (is that the right word?) architecture. And my awe continues….If you look-squint to see the building in the top few pictures, you can see most peculiar awnings and roof. Word is that it tells a story of a dragon (again with the dragon!) by Gaudi. The next building on the right looked so much like a wedding cake it made me want a bite. Next stop (next picture down on the left): La Pedrera. Or "The Rock," I think. Yet another Gaudi creation. For some reason, I am posing how I think Salvador Dali, another Barcelona son, would---MADman is my motivation here. What’s mad, besides just this building itself, is that if you have a few thousand Euros a month to spare on rent, you can live here. We took a tour of one of the noninhabited apartments. Sweet, but so circular and curvy that I felt like I was in the Gravitron ride that I used to ride at State Fairs before I got too old and wussy. On the rooftop, you can see more unique window awnings and----I don’t know, giant chess pieces, as they are called? And, off in the distance looms Sagrada Familia for tomorrow….
Out on the town that night, Dan and Dorca posed in front of one of their favorite apt building (they are SO many jems, you can really be picky!) where they may one day buy an apt and their newfound favorite furniture store (where they will go to interior decorate), and Dorca and I pose (Dan’s cinematography adds to the bizarre effect).
And finally…Sagarda Familia. It took the last decades of Gaudi’s life to start to build. But if you compare what has been done (spectacular) to what is planned, based on extrapolation from Gaudi’s vision (super super super spectacular), I doubt that he could have finished even if his life hadn’t been taken in the tram accident (see Installment 1D). As the cranes indicate, construction continues. And a crane in the neck would be required, I think, to see the top of the highest steeple, once it’s finished. The differences between the old and new sections, the old and new styles (angels vs. more of those creepy chesspiece figures) are striking. Sheepwolf particularly liked how many flora and fauna Gaudi included in his baaaah-reliefs! It seems like maybe, just maybe, Spaniards, or at least Catalunians, are more religiously devout than Parisians.
This trip ends on a sweet note. The crowns on Dorca’s and Dan’s coat rack are the only remaining evidence of our Fete de Roi cake. The big “Feast of Kings” holiday is celebrated early Jan-Feb in both Spain and France. Each country has its signature cake. For comparison’s sake, I brought a flaky Parisian version to compare to the flufflier Southern counterpart. Dan got the piece with the toy. As long as doesn’t have dental damage from biting into the small ceramic figurine, he should have one year of good luck! Go Dan!
And I brought from Spain one of their own signature sweets: chocolate-covered pork rinds! All around, Mui exitante!
