Landed at 8am. Plan was to get the rental car, drop our bags and car at hotel, then take the subway into the city. A few snags. I downloaded a great map on my iPad. Zoom way in, zoom way out. Perfect for both city streets and country lanes. Problem was I left my iPad at home! Forgetting the former, I decided not to bring it due to alleged theft problems both in hotels and in cars. We did bring a spiral bound map, but worthless in the cities. After asking twice, we got sorta in the right part of the city, then happened upon a street we recognized and found the hotel. Luck, really.
Subway into town, our adventure begins. Mostly walking today. The Placa de Catalunya to the Waterfront. A nice big city promenade lots of people cruising about. We stop at the Fountain of Canaletes for the required picture. Legend is if you drink from the fountain, you are assured of a return visit. Water was OK to the taste, the smell around the fountain was not. But a memory was made. That is me bent over.
Next, La Boqueria Market. A huge market hall. Everything dead and alive, animal, fruit and vegetable is sold there. Origin goes back to 1200AD, the roof added in 1850. Huge, entertaining. Continuing, the 200 foot tall Columbus Monument, for you-know-who. Their favorite-favorite son. He came to Barcelona in 1493 after “discovering” America. The monument was built in 1888 to help with getting Barcelona on the commerce map.
Our favorite cathedral was the Santa Maria del Mar for the interior. Architecturally “pure” since it was completed in only 55 years! Catalan Gothic. Only one in the world. The Barcelona Cathedral was less impressive, but the couple below were singing Ava Maria and other songs just outside. The acoustics were as phenomenal as were their voices. Incredible.
Finally we visited the Picasso Museum. (Ah, no pictures here) We have all seen some of his art in museums all over the world. Here is where they display the rest of them. 4,250 are in this collection! What a prolific artist. He was painting till his death in 1973 when he was 93. Although all weren’t on display, with jet lag seriously kicking in The Blue Period, The Rose Period, Pointillism Influence and Cubism started to melt together. He had a curious and unique artistic relationship with Salvador Dali in the 1930’s and 40’s. So, a good number of Dali’s paintings were on display as well. Very interesting, but equally overwhelming. Incredible talent tho………
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