Barcelona

We traveled to Barcelona for a long Valentine's weekend.  To see all of our pictures from the trip, including a great many of Sagrada Familia, please click on this link.  The link will direct you to our online photo album.  Once on the site, click on 'view album' which is in blue lettering in the center of the page.  You can then choose to view photos as a slideshow or individually. I've included descriptions of each photo which you can view by clicking on 'view slideshow' and then clicking on 'options' in the upper right hand corner of the slideshow page.  Check the box marked 'view captions.'  You can also adjust the speed at which the slideshow progresses in the options window.   

Departing for Spain was a morning of planes, trains and automobiles.  The balmy Mediterranean temperature felt tropical next to the snow we'd left behind in Germany.  The kiddos were not reluctant to test their Spanish on obliging Catalans and received many smiles and pats on the head for their efforts.  I, for one, was glad to hand over the translation reins to J for a time, though he said that the Catalan dialect sounded more French than Spanish and was difficult to understand at times with its lisping 'c' and 'z' sounds.  

We used an agency to procure a rental from a local gentleman who met us upon arrival. Interestingly enough, the gentleman asked us to pay in cash, required no credit card deposit to protect against unforeseen damages or cleaning costs and entrusted us with two sets of keys. The apartment was well-appointed, rented for a song, and located just off La Rambla in what I think must have been a middle-eastern neighborhood.  As a result, shop windows near to our apartment were filled with baklava, doughy pastrys, schwarmas roasting on their vertical spits, and advertisements for tandoori restaurants.  The air smelled of incense, urine, peppers and salt.  The atmosphere was loose and lively; from where we slept, we could hear people carrying on in the street below into the early hours of morning with loud voices and tones betraying a kind of inebriated passion.  When compared to Germany with her mandatory quiet hours, Spain seemed to be the most Bacchanal of places.  The juxtaposition of the two cultures was not lost on the kiddos:  on several occasions, they remarked on the tactility and easy natures of the Catalans (in Germany's defense, I will say that the sanitation in Barcelona was lacking).

J and kids at Parc Guell, designed by Gaudi and situated on a hilltop.  It was necessary to climb nearly 500m to reach the hill's crest and enter the gated park.  Here, you see the Parc's Dragon located at the main entrance.  It was impossible to photograph the fountain without capturing other visitors in the frame.

Parc Guell (there should be an umlaut over the 'u'); J and I seated on the undulating, mosaic-tiled benches.  The benches formed a large semi-circle at the center of which was a large sandy area where children played, lovers kissed and peddlers sold goods like head massagers and Gaudi-inspired earrings.  The benches crowned a balcony looking over the city and the Bay at a distance.

Log at Porta Vell, a reinvigorated harbor that connects La Rambla to the Sea.  Near to the port is the Barcelona Aquarium, the largest in Europe, where J and the kiddos spent the better part of one afternoon.  This area was congested with walkers, people picnicking and napping, restaurants offering pitchers of inky, orange-laced Sangria, and adolescents riding bikes and skateboards along the walls.  The timing of our stroll seemed propitious as we happened upon a flea market at the base of the Columbus Monument near to the Port.  I walked away richer in ephemera and books though I longed for some of the heavily ornamented gilded frames.

Everywhere we travel, J and I make an effort to talk about the history and significance of the sites we visit.  Below, you'll see J on the steps of Santa Maria del Mar, a fine example of Catalan gothic architecture, reading from our tour book.  As you can see, the kiddos were not quite as interested as we would have liked though once inside, they were interested enough to take in the tombs and altar pieces with wonderment.  One could smell incense, thick and heavy, outside of the cathedral.   Inside, the redolent scent permeated from the walls in the same way that grease and a layer of nicotine cake the walls of cafes.  The smell of a cathedral is always one of the most appealing facets for me.

While in Barcelona, we paid a visit to the chocolate museum; after all, Barcelona is the port where Spaniards, returning from South/Central America, introduced the decadent confection to Europe.  Aztecs consumed their cacao beans mixed with chili pepper, vanilla, thickened with flour and served cold.  Hot chocolate in Barcelona is served warm and is so thick that one must consume it with a spoon rather than swallowing successive, watery gulps; it is the consistency of just mixed pudding.  The chocolate is made from at least 70% chocolate solids which gives it a glossy appearance and a dark, earthy taste.  All of the kiddos cited the museum as their favorite Barcelona attraction.

Sculpture of a bull fight made entirely from chocolate

Barcelona Cathedral, much like the pan handlers seated on its stony steps, begged money for restoration.  Inside, its cloisters were full of citrus trees and geese swimming in Koi ponds.  In lieu of the usual candles available for purchase to light in prayer, one inserted coins into a slot and a light under a plexiglass box was illuminated for a set period.

How can one visit Spain and not think of the Armada, The Virgin Mary and the Inquisition led by Ferdinand II and Isabella?

Valentine offerings available at one of the many flower stalls on La Rambla.  The fragrance was intoxicating, and I noticed that many passersby lingered at the stalls inhaling deeply.

A seafood stall in La Boqueria, a market begun in the 12th or 13th century.  Fishmongers would prepare fish for customers making for a snowfall of briny scales as the fish were cleaned with tools resembling vegetable peelers.  The market was phenomenal and offered seafood (some still alive), fruits (CHERRIES in FEB! and evident Moorish influences in the variety of dried fruits and honey soaked fruit offered), nuts, vegetables, spices, olives, pickled garlic, chocolates, and meat (particularly the much revered Iberian hams).  We purchased picnic items daily from the market.  

Kiddos at Montjuic fountain during an evening show set to music.  I was delighted that a portion was set to Barber's Adagio for Strings.

Sagrada Familia.  Gaudi's contributions are everywhere to be found in Barcelona, but this cathedral, as yet unfinished, is certainly his pièce de résistance.  Gaudi drew inspiration from nature and the effect and incorporation in the design (in even the seemingly infinitesimally details) is staggering.  Completion is optimistically set for 2026 - nearly 140 years after construction began.  It was affecting to witness the construction of a cathedral; we watched as workers sculpted stone and crafted ornate plaster pieces to be incorporated in the interior columns.  I thought such craftsmanship died long ago.  Again, click on the link highlighted at the beginning of the post for extensive pictures of the cathedral.

The kiddos did not want to return home and repeatedly asked if we could move to Spain if only for the paella, climate, and abundance of fruit.