Spain
MUHBA Temple d'August

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    • Day 36

      Hola Chica 🇪🇸

      August 15, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      I pull into Barcelona Sants and am greeted by a familiar voice. My long time friend Rosie, stands awaiting my arrival and helps me drag my luggage to the hostel. We spend the evening catching up on all the news from back home and plotting out tomorrow’s escapades.

      When we finally make it to bed, we’re both kept awake by the bloke in the bed above, snoring like a chainsaw. Safe to say it proves to be a rather sleepless night.

      Nevertheless we hop over to the Sagrada Familia the next day and take a wander round. Built by Antoni Gaudi, the Catholic Church remains unfinished despite the ground for the project being broken in 1882. There are 3 facades to it, one representing the nativity, one representing the crucifixion and the stations of the cross and one dedicated to ‘the glory’ of Jesus. Looking at it, it’s easy to see why it’s taken 141 years to build. The designs and details are incredibly intricate. It also looks a lot like someone’s changed their mind on the design every few years as none of the designs are particularly cohesive, with architectural hallmarks from a huge variety of styles and eras. One things for sure though, it’s an impressive building. When Gaudi died in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was completed and looking up at the eclectic building today, I wonder what he’d make of it. The project is scheduled to be finished around 2026 however covid has delayed things somewhat so it sounds like the completion date is anyone’s guess at this point.

      Rosie takes me for my first ever Spanish churros, which prove to be incredible and then we take a wander down La Rambla which is one of the most well known streets in Barcelona. Lined with shops and stalls for tourists, it’s worth a short wander. My Spanish is almost entirely non existent and so Rosie acts as translator.

      After a short siesta and a shower to cool off from the Barcelona heat, we head out to see Park Guell. Another creation from Gaudi, this time created by the request of a rich Barcelona man to house 61 families. It’s now open to the public and is a popular tourist attraction. We spend a few hours wandering around and watching parakeets fly over head.
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    • Day 4

      Barcelona Day 3

      August 23, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

      Last night in Barcelona.
      We shipped our "good clothes" to Santiago today and headed out into a slightly cooler afternoon for dinner.
      Stumble into an amazing small square with 4 restaurants, all with outdoor seating.
      Had the best octopus and sangria.
      Then off to tour a Guadi house with a concert on the rooftop.
      It was a great way to finish it Barcelona portion of the trip.
      Hollie has added some of her photos from the past couple of days.
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    • Day 30

      Plaça del Rei

      May 21, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

      Plaça del Rei was the palace courtyard of the centre of power of the medieval city, the Palau, built in the 9th century, which was the official residence of the Catalan counts from the 8th century to the early 15th century. Even though it contains Visigothic and Roman remains, the style of the building is predominantly Gothic.

      On one side of the Palau Reial is the Torre Mirador del Rei Martí (King Martin’s Watchtower) and on another side, on Barcelona’s old Roman wall is the royal chapel of Santa Àgata, with ceilings and altarpieces by Jaume Huguet inside. In front is the Palau del Lloctinent, (now the Archive of the Crown of Aragon), which dates back to the 16th century and has a Renaissance patio in its interior.

      The Saló del Tinell, features a series of semicircular arches of great architectural value.

      The old Casa Clariana-Padellàs, is home to the Museu d’Història de Barcelona.
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    • Day 12

      Guru Walk durch Barcelona

      November 14, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      Wir haben gestern spontan eine Guru Walk City Tour gebucht und sind um 11h am KFC mit dem Guide verabredet. Denise ist Deutsch, supernett und erstmal in Bedrouille, da nur 4 Teilnehmer gekommen sind. 15 Minuten zu spät kommen dann unsere beiden "Retterinnen". 😜. Alle happy, dass die Tour nun doch starten kann.

      Es geht los bei der größten Baustelle Spaniens: Sagrada Familia.
      An irgendeiner Stelle wird hier immer gearbeitet. Das ehrgeizige Ziel, die Sagrada zum 100. Todestag Antoni Gaudis im Jahr 2026 nach 144 Jahren abzuschliessen, wird wohl nicht einzuhalten sein. Durch die Corona Pandemie erlitt der Bau finanzielle Einnahmeverluste. Er finanziert sich nur über Eintrittsgelder und Spenden.
      Aber Gaudis Berechnung lag eh bei 200 Jahren 😉
      In dieser langen Bauzeit vermischen sich natürlich einige Architekturstile miteinander. So finden sich in und an dem Gebäude Elemente der Neugotik, des Modernisme und der Moderne.
      Die Geburtsfassade an der Ostseite der Basilika, die Gaudi zu seinem Lebenswerk machte, zeigt die Geburt Jesu und Teile seines Lebens. Die Detailtreue lässt erahnen, warum die Verzierung dieser Fassade so viel Zeit in Anspruch nahm. Drei Portale, die die christlichen Tugenden Glaube, Liebe und Hoffnung symbolisieren, umfassen diese biblische Geschichte.

      Die Passionsfassade auf der Westseite der Kirche ist das genaue Gegenteil der Geburtsfassade. Statt der reichen Verzierungen findet man hier klare Strukturen und große Figuren. Besonders ins Auge fallen die sechs schrägen Säulen, die die Fassade stützen. Schon an den unterschiedlichen Stilen ist erkennbar: Hier war nicht derselbe Meister am Werk. 1986 begann der Bildhauer Josep Maria Subirachs mit der Verzierung der Passionsfassade und die Arbeiten sind noch lange nicht abgeschlossen.
      Außerdem fehlen noch die 21 Säulen und zwei Kapellen an der Fassade der Herrlichkeit auf der Südseite der Sagrada Familia. Hier ist aber das Kernproblem eher, dass mindestens ein gesamter Wohnkomplex der Stadt mit zig Eigentümern und Mietern vorher dem Erdboden gleich gemacht werden muss, damit überhaupt ausreichend Platz dafür ist.

      Vorbei an Casa Mila und der schönen Straßendekoration gehen wir zum nächsten Gaudi Werk: Das Casa Batlló.
      Gaudì hatte ganz offensichtlich "Gaudì" daran😜 einen Geldgeber, den Textilfabrikanten Josep Batlló i Casanovas, zu finden, der seine Ideen finanzierte. Er wurde beauftragt, ein vorhandenes Wohnhaus umzubauen. Es sollten die Fassaden und der Innenhof neu gestaltet werden. Dazu brauchte Gaudì zwei Jahre (1905-1907) Alles ist rund, kein Zimmer hat rechte Ecken, die Fenster, die Türen sind rund und fließend geformt. Die Fassade erzählt eine Sage und stellt ua Totenköpfe, einen Drachen, Knochen stellvertretend für geopferte Kinder und die Barcelona typische Fledermaus dar.

      Auf unserer weiteren Tour durch das gotische Viertel - Barri Gòtic, bekommen wir noch viele tolle Häuser, deren Geschichten und Sagen erzählt und einen sehr lebendigen Eindruck von der Stadt.

      Die 3,5 Stunden fliegen viel zu schnell vorbei. Ich hätte noch gerne weiter mit Denise die Stadt erkundet.
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    • Day 21

      Festes de La Merce Fri 22 Sep 2023

      September 22, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      Left again about 7.40pm and walked to the Festes de La Merce opening ceremony in the Gothic Quarter and saw the end of the opening parade. There was speeches on a screen with some fireworks followed by some of the festival giants moving through the crowd. There was a folk dancing display and a brass band on stage. We then left and had Tapas for dinner nearby and got back to the apartment in 9 Placa de Les Ollies, El Born Barcelona just before 10pm.Read more

    • Day 22

      Around Barcelona Sat 23 Sep 2023

      September 23, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      We then walked to the Jewish Quarter and looked around. Unfortunately the historic synagogue basement was closed so we walked back to the 9 Placa de Les Ollies for lunch at the healthy food restaurant next door. After lunch and a rest we took the train from Barcelona-Sants and traveled one station. There was a festival drum parade on La Rambla on arrival we were not expecting.Read more

    • Day 23

      Gothic Quarter & Port Vell Sun 24 Sep

      September 24, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      Returned to 9 Placa De Les Ollies El Born Barcelona and dropped off some stuff. Then walked to a festival event in the Gothic Quarter main square. There were so many people arriving that the police closed off the area after we had got in. We saw a a parade of Giants entering the main square and then moved to the rear of the square to see acrobatic displays. Then back to 9 Placa De Les Ollies El Born for lunch and a rest. I went out and purchased food at the nearby Aldi which was a challenge as I could not read any lables and the staff did not speak English. Out again around 3.30pm and walked towards Port Vell encountering some of the Festival Giants on the way. Reached Port Vell around 4pm with its statue of Christopher Columbus and visited the Maritime Museum. It is located inside Barcelona Royal Shipyard a shipyard and former military building of Gothic architecture. Construction of the building started during the 13th century. The major exhibit in the museum is a full-size replica of the Royal Galley, made on site by artisans. The original craft was 60 metress long, with a beam of 6.2 metres and a depth of 2.08 metres. It was driven by 59 oars and 236 rowers. In additional, the original ship had a mainmast and a foremast with lateen sails. It was built in the Barcelona Royal Shipyard in 1568, as part of a great fleet that was to stand up to the Ottomans. We left the museum after 5.30pm and walked back to 9 Placa De Les Ollies El Born Barcelona.Read more

    • Day 37

      Barcelona - history & food

      September 6, 2015 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      Did the usual history walking tour, this time featuring the Barcelona cathedral (#1, note the little angels above the door, each is unique), a quiet square with a chapel damaged by bombing in the Spanish civil war (#2) which I didn't know much about before this tour: Spain was suffering under a fascist dictator from just before WW2 until he died in the mid 70's.
      Barcelona is proud of its (dangerous) tradition of making human pyramids, so we saw some modern art depicting the height of the tallest (#3). Wow.
      Finished off the day with a sangria de cava (sangria made with the local version of champagne) and paella (seafood risotto), both Barcelona specialties, and another trip to the beach.
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    • Day 5

      30 May Hospital St Pau

      May 30, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

      Hospital St Pau was incredible modernisme architecture with views down to Sagrada Familia.
      Met Jacky and Michelle for lunch at Zed and enjoyed tapas and white sangria.
      Metroed back for quick look at cathedral, then home dinner of empanadas and pumpkin salad.Read more

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