winifredcreamer

One Weird Dude–Dali

Now that you know we’re talking about Salvador Dali, I can assure you that he was immensely creative despite being as weird as a two-headed cat. We rented a car and drove to Figueres to visit the museum that Dali designed himself. That’s part of the problem, letting a surrealist design his own space. ItContinue reading “One Weird Dude–Dali”

October’s bright blue weather and a semi-abandoned science zone

That was the name of a poem I had to memorize in about 3rd grade–I don’t remember anything but the title. The description is very apt, as the days have been exquisitely blue and bright, even as the sun rises a bit later and sets a little earlier every day. We’ve visited two large cityContinue reading “October’s bright blue weather and a semi-abandoned science zone”

Gaudi Week, Day 5. We blink.

Sagrada Familia, the still unfinished masterwork that consumed the final years of Gaudi’s life, is the single must-see work of Gaudi’s for anyone visiting Barcelona. That’s not my opinion, that’s from tourist statistics that suggest 85% of visitors to the city make a stop at the church. It’s now a ‘minor’ basilica (no resident cardinal)Continue reading “Gaudi Week, Day 5. We blink.”

Gaudi Week, Day 4–Museums of Catalan Crafts

After seeing places built by Gaudi himself, it’s not quite as interesting to go to a museum. On the other hand, museums often have the furnishings that have been removed over the years from the houses and buildings that Gaudi designed. The Museum of Catalan Modernism is a relatively small collection, but with some fantasticContinue reading “Gaudi Week, Day 4–Museums of Catalan Crafts”

Gaudi Week, Day 3–Casa Batlló

First, it’s Casa Bai-OH (skip the t, skip the ll sort of). This apartment building is arguably the most distinctive structure Gaudi worked on. He transformed an existing building by adding curved balconies to the exterior and adding two stories and an exotically curved peaked roof. There are a series of references to a skeleton,Continue reading “Gaudi Week, Day 3–Casa Batlló”

Gaudi Week, Day 2–Parc Guell

We have been to Parc Guell twice, once to see the section outside the pay zone and once with a ticket. There is more than enough for both visits. Inside the ticketed area is the best known feature of the park, a long sinuous tiled bench that runs around the perimeter of a plaza thatContinue reading “Gaudi Week, Day 2–Parc Guell”

Gaudi Week, Day 1-Palau Guell

We embarked on Gaudi week, trying to see all the surviving architecture of Antoni Gaudi (Gau-DEE) in the Barcelona area. In no particular order: Casa Guell was the in-town home of Eusebi Guell, Gaudi’s principal patron. Without Guell, I wonder whether Gaudi would have had a career and would have ended up a muttering madman.Continue reading “Gaudi Week, Day 1-Palau Guell”

Barcelona architecture page–ongoing

The Boqueria Market is one of the dozen open air markets in Barcelona. The logo and entrance archway in stained glass are considered to be moderniste. Since there are more than 100 structures considered moderniste (anything not strictly classical), I’ll keep adding interesting images. Stop back again. The rounded corners at theContinue reading “Barcelona architecture page–ongoing”

Last 24 hours of the Merce festival/spectacle

We watched a projection called Awakening the Dragon, at the Casa Batlló, one of Antoni Gaudí’s bests known architectural works, the night before the end of the festival. It does look like a big lizard is crawling around the roof. The roof line, altered by Gaudi, is an undulating form that was said to beContinue reading “Last 24 hours of the Merce festival/spectacle”

Correfoc: A crack in the Gates of Hell

Barcelonans are fearless. They make human towers up to eight people high: Keep in mind that the people you see at the bottom of this photo are the second tier. They are all standing on people underneath. Also note the size of the child climbing to the eighth level–the one wearing the helmet… BarcelonansContinue reading “Correfoc: A crack in the Gates of Hell”