Category Archives: Spain

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 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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pghwt8hwwMI 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 toContinue 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”

La Mercé: Great big giant heads, parades, fireworks, music, dance…

From the title, you get the idea. La Mercé is the annual festival of Our Lady of Mercy, one of the patronesses of Barcelona. It spans a week, this year Sept. 18-24 and there are more events than one person could get to. We went to see the giants and the giant heads before theyContinue reading “La Mercé: Great big giant heads, parades, fireworks, music, dance…”

Museums and Modernism-Modernismo 9.16.15

Barcelona’s wonderful museums include many that focus on artists and architects of the early 20th century. We are starting to make the rounds and may make return visits to both the Picasso Museum http://www.museupicasso.bcn.cat/en/ and the Miro Foundation. http://www.fmirobcn.org/en/ A great deal is made of modernism, but what that is remains puzzling. Definitions suggest thatContinue reading “Museums and Modernism-Modernismo 9.16.15”