Barcelonas unique art and culture, from Gaudi to Las Ramblas

Palau de la Musica Catalana
see all photos »

Our flight to Barcelona was delayed due to rain, so after the big rush we had some time to spare in the Air France Lounge. We finally got into Barcelona around 4PM, where we met up with Jessica who has flown in from Taiwan for the summit, and checked into our hotel, the Hotel Constanza, a modern boutique hotel just south of the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes at Bruc 33. My single room on the second floor was small, but functional. The upstairs sixth floor apartments where my colleagues stayed were larger with an efficiency kitchen, small bedroom area, small living area and a great deck. A decent buffet continental breakfast was included in our rate.

the sardana
see all photos »

Observation from a Foreigner #1

Europeans sure are energy conscious! The lights in hotel rooms wont even turn on unless you have your key in the light switch. This prevents one from leaving a room with the lights on. Lights in public restrooms are also set to motion sensors. Typically when walking into a restroom that hasnt been used recently one must wave your arms around to turn on the lights. Once in the stalls, which unlike US bathrooms are small rooms with floor to ceiling doors, make sure you know where the light switch is. Often the lights will go out when you are in there and these typically arent set to motion sensors, as I found out by flailing my arms around to no avail.

Temple de la Sagrada Familia
see all photos »

Barcelona: Day One

We soldiered on despite our jet lag and set out to see the city on foot. Our first discovery was the Palau de la Musica Catalana, designed by modernist architect Llus Domenec i Muntaner in 1891. The facade was marvelous and the guidebook promised that the interior was just as spectacular but the building was closed for a special event, so we had to satisfy ourselves with the exterior.

Just a bit farther down the road we came upon Barcelona Cathedral, which was mostly hidden under scaffolding. Although the Romanesque chapel of Santa Llcia (on the far right facade) remains, most of the cathedral is clearly Gothic. Dancers assembled outside the Cathedral to perform the sardana, a type of circle dance typcal of Catalonia. Apparently this dance is only for the very old or the very young as only 12 year olds and 80 year olds seemed to partake. We enjoyed tapas and sangria at an outdoor caf near the cathedral.

Temple de la Sagrada Familia
see all photos »

Next place we went to was La Rambla, where street vendors sell parakeets, chickens and blue roses (and you watch out for pick-pockets). Mercat de La Boqueria, Barcelonas most famous food market, had stalls with everything from thin asparagus to fish to figs to manchego cheese.

Barcelona: Day Two

We started the day at the Picasso Museum. Most of the exhibit featured his early works. Picasso was clearly a young guy with talent but perhaps no more than my own at that age. The most interesting things in the Museum were two rooms full of sketches and painting studies of Velazquezs Las Meninas (which I later saw in the Prado), illustrating the emergence of the style for which he is best known.

Temple de la Sagrada Familia spires
see all photos »

We walked a block or two to see the Museau de la Xocolata (chocolate). We didnt pay to go in, but looked like they had immortalized the countrys football (aka soccer) stars in chocolate from the shop in the lobby.

From there we took the metro to Gaudis famous Temple de la Sagrada Familia church. Still under construction, it is not expected to be done until 2030. After waiting one hour to go up in the lift, high up in one of the spires we had an excellent view of all of Barcelona and the other completed spires. The entire building is organic, mimicking forms found in nature. Of the two facades Nativity and Passion I preferred the Passion side (completed by Subirchs) with its more angular modern interpretation. Tragically, Gaudi was hit by a car and killed in front of the church in 1926. Today, modern architects oversee the continuing construction of the church.

rooftop of Gaudi's La Pedrera
see all photos »

We then walked to Gaudis La Pedrera (which means stone quarry) apartment house. This is a beautiful building with sensuous lines and fanciful wrought iron balconies. Monet-like paint treatment can be seen on the outside walls of the interior courtyard. Part of the tour included a large luxurious 1900s apartment decorated in the wares of the age. Real people still live in the apartments on the third to fifth floors. Gaudi designed every detail of the building, including the doorknobs. The large attic room felt like a monastery with its brick walls and archways. The best surprise was the roof top playland. Clusters of mosaic chimneys keep watch over the rooftop like shrewd knights. The special exhibit featured ruins in all forms of art, paintings as well as cinema, including scenes from The Day After Tomorrow. The ceiling of the exhibition room looks like it was coated with whisked egg whites.

rooftop of Gaudi's Casa Batll
see all photos »

Continuing the Gaudi tour our next stop was the magical Casa Batll near the Paseo de Garcia, totally renovated by Gaud from 1904 to 1906 on a commission from the textile industrialist Josep Batll i Casaanovas. Along with two Modernista works, the Casa Amatller by Puig i Cadafalch (1900) and the Casa Lle Morera by Domnech i Montaner (1905), the Casa Batll makes up the Manana de la Discrdia (Block of Discord). Today the first floor, attic and rooftop of Casa Batll are opened to tourists for a hefty, but well worth it, fee. The remaining floors are occupied apartments. The building has a nautical theme, reminiscent of Captain Nemos submarine Nautilus. Shades of blue permeate the building. The painted walls look like fish scales, the windows like portholes or fish eyes. The woodwork is extraordinary, providing ventilation between rooms and outside. The plaster ceilings undulate with life. The attic contains a washroom, originally used for laundry, a fire space, a water space and a whale (or dragons) rib room. This building features another roof top paradise with a dragon theme.

This evening we had dinner at Tragaluz (located at Passage de la Concepcio 5, an alley across from La Pedrera). Chic and fab. We arrived too early, even though it was 9pm, Spanish diners dont typically eat until 10 or 11PM. I had salad with warm goat cheese, veal scaloppini, a warm chocolate tart and a wonderful merlot/cab blend for only 20 EU.