I made a list of my favorite places in Barcelona. I’m not sure why I never posted it, so here it is now. It is followed by my notes on “useful to know” items for Barcelona and Europe more widely. Barcelona Highlights Best way to spend a Sunday (many stores are closed): Montjuic park. VisitContinue reading “From the Vault: Barcelona”
Category Archives: Spain
We leave Barcelona
I am sorry to be leaving Barcelona. It is a walkable, livable city, architecturally rich, with a new vista or decorated facade around every corner. Most people have a balcony and there are lots of people in the streets. There are many daily markets and even more appear on weekends. People take festivals and traditionsContinue reading “We leave Barcelona”
Gaudi Day, the Sagrada Familia church
We were going to use our ICOM cards to visit Sagrada Familia, but it requires waiting in the long ticket line and then returning for the timed entry, often late in the afternoon. We caved and bought the online tickets. Even waiting until the end of October didn’t diminish the crowds much, though we gotContinue reading “Gaudi Day, the Sagrada Familia church”
Roman Tarragona
Welcome to Roman Tarragona! Tarragona, Roman Tárraco, was the capital of Hispania Citerior during the Roman Republic, from about 197 BC until 27 BC when the emperor Augustus arrived. He stayed until his death in 14 BC, making Tarraco both capital of his new province Hispania Tarragonensis and the unofficial capital of the Roman Empire.Continue reading “Roman Tarragona”
Roman Barcino (Barcelona)
We spent two full days exploring Roman Barcelona and now, much later, a day in Tarragona (we could have stayed a week), visiting the Roman ruins there. Archaeology is alive and well in both cities. This post is on Barcino, the next on Tarraco. In Barcelona, there is an ongoing program of archaeological excavations inContinue reading “Roman Barcino (Barcelona)”
The apotheosis of Modernism–Lluís Domènech i Montaner
I started with a list of 130 buildings considered part of architectural “Modernisme” in Barcelona. I began collecting them like postage stamps. (some are on my post “Barcelona Modernism”). Whenever Jonathan decides to rest his knees, I go out and look at a few more buildings. This reached its logical conclusion the other day whenContinue reading “The apotheosis of Modernism–Lluís Domènech i Montaner”
A lighthearted look at the Romanesque
The 11th and 12th centuries were a busy time in the Pyrenees, people were building churches in every little valley and painting them from roof to doors with frescoes. That was a lot of work and a long time ago. Time passed. At the beginning of the 20th century when museums were building their collectionsContinue reading “A lighthearted look at the Romanesque”
A Cabinet of Curiosities in a park full of wonders
It was our week in Montjuic Park, where we spent one day walking from the castle along the ridge, looking at the commercial harbor. We watched a container ship back in to a slip. I was sure it would all be done electronically, after all, a person is so small that the idea of pullingContinue reading “A Cabinet of Curiosities in a park full of wonders”
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”
Llywindatravels 2022 