Barcelona
21 June 2015 | Barcelona, Spain
Ros Brice
This section of the Trilogy odyssey is with Garth (skipper) and Ros, Peter and Sue Lucey and John Brice as the trusty crew, all experienced Trilogy adventurers. This journey has started in the seaside city of Barcelona in the Catalonia region of Spain, prior to meeting up with Trilogy in Valletta, Malta. The June temperatures are pleasantly warm both day and night and we have slipped easily into the routine of enjoying ourselves.
The jewel in the crown of Barcelona is the genius of Antoni Gaudi, the fanciful architect who left evidence of his playful ideas all over the city. Modernisme, a flamboyant Catalan creation, erupted in the late 19th century, and was personified by the visionary work of Gaudi and his contemporaries. In the late 1850's, Barcelona was a rapidly growing city, fuelled by industrialisation and it was deemed to be time to breakdown the Medievil walls and dramatically expand the city. With a blank slate before them and abundant interest from upper class residents to custom design a new home, architects were in high demand. Gaudi was strongly influenced by the natural world, which heavily influenced his designs. Key features of Modernista buildings include: parabolic archways, organic shapes (bones, shells, branches, leaves), fanciful chimney pots, colourful tiles, bud like cone-shaped towers, mosaic covered surfaces, sculptural details of fauna and flora, tree-like columns, and exquisite details such stained glass, wrought iron and ceramics. Modernist architects relied on the skills of artisans who were heirs of the guild masters and who knew what could and what could not be done with these materials. There was no concrete used, but rather stone, unclad brick, exposed iron and steel frames were features of the new style.
No visit to Barcelona would be complete without a visit to the glorious but yet unfinished La Sagrada Família, a temple which became an all consuming passion for Gaudi. There are distinctly different styles used on the various facades, the Nativity Facade being the artistic pinnacle of the building. Internally, the pillars soar heavenward, with forms inspired by trees and branches which create the effect of a forest canopy above. The stained glass, in hues of red, blue, green and ochre create an inspiring harmony of light within the vast space. There is still much work to be done to complete the structure, which is being funded by the 2.8 million tourists a year.
There are many other Gaudi buildings to behold and although we saw the facades of several, we visited the La Pedrera and Parc Güell. La Pedrera was built between 1905 to 1910, as a combined office and apartment block. The building has an elliptical inner space and an extraordinary rooftop, with chimney pots looking like medievil knights. When the owners would not agree to a tall statue of the Virgin Mary up there too, Gaudi resigned in disgust. The Parc Güell originated in 1900 when Gaudi was employed to create a miniature city of houses for the wealthy, surrounded by landscaped grounds. The project was a flop but not before Gaudi had created a fanciful collection of steps, a market square, two gatehouses and many walkways which have become a UNESCO World Heritage site. The clever thing about the market square is that the flat stone and gravel rooftop acts to filter any rain and mountain seepage through the inside of the market columns to a cistern below the market floor. Barcelona has a very dry climate and therefore this makes eminent sense.
Enough about Gaudi! There is a whole lot more to Barcelona than Gaudi and we scampered our legs off taking in other experiences. We booked to stay in a B&B called Barcino147
but to our great confusion, we found ourselves being shuffled off to stay at the owners own apartment home, which was somewhat grander. Ferran was a generous host and we even spent our last day touring a selection of his hidden treasures of Barcelona. The highlights of our four day visit were (apart from Gaudi): discovering the pleasures of eating tapas and drinking house made vermouth in quaint old bars that had huge legs of jamon dangling from the rafters; visiting the Museu Picasso, which is housed in five contiguous Medievil stone mansions and which gave many insights into the various phases of Picasso's unceasing artistic development, including engravings, ceramics and the complete Las Meninas series; attending an inspirational Spanish guitar concert performed by Barcelona 4 Guitars: two men, two women and four guitars, in the very beautiful Modernista venue Palau de la Música Catalana; jostling through the Mercat de la Boqueria where the most exquisite fresh fruit, cheese, meat, fish and delectable treats were displayed and later quaffing copious Sangria and tapas at a stall; wandering down the wide and very lively boulevard known as La Rambla in the late afternoon to the waterfront and enjoying a seafood paella; and our day trip with Ferran to the highest peak near the city, which offered an outstanding view over the city, to Monserrat and even the Pyrennes; then south to the beach village Sitges for lunch and return trip via the hinterland vineyards and Olèrdola, a strategic mountain archeological site that was inhabited continuously from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages, due to its unequalled geostrategic location, the cliffs that surround the mountain and the availability of a water supply.
Next stop: Malta!
Sent from my iPad
Sent from my iPad