Wendy Chioji Barcelona

On the second to the last night at dinner with my family in Barcelona, we each had to name what we liked most or learned most about the city. Mine was that the longer you looked at something, the more you noticed and appreciated. There’s detail and art in every building, every monument, even in the pavers on the streets. It’s not a city you can rush through; it’s a city you savor. Barcelona had been bumped off as my number one city by Lisbon a few years ago, but it’s taken back its spot.

To me, the best part about Barcelona is the architecture. I’m a huge fan of Antoni Gaudi, as I’ve said before, and we devoured a feast of his work. My favorite is the Casa Batllo, which he designed for a wealthy family. The color and the detail and the work and creativity he put into everything from the facade to the door knobs is mind-boggling.

Arguably, his most famous work is La Sagrada Familia, a fabulous, indescribable cathedral that’s been under construction since 1882 and still isn’t finished. Inside or outside, it takes your breath away. I was here a few years ago and this time, I noticed some progress with the stained glass windows and the area around the altar. Our guide says it won’t be finished for years, maybe decades. If you’re in Barcelona and can see one thing, this is it.

 

 

Gaudi’s patron was Eusebi Guell, and together, they built some of the most beautiful and fantastic projects I’ve ever seen. I showed you Palau Guell in an earlier post.. I also got to wander Park Guell, which is a planned, but failed, housing development, with the iconic dragon (lizard) that appears in postcards, books, magazines, you name it.

There’s La Pedrera, a multi-unit housing complex that still has some residential and business inside.

And Casa Vicens on Carrer de les Carolines. You can’t go in because it’s a private home, but it is for sale. After much investigation, I found out it can be yours for 27 million. Euros. After this Gaudi immersion, I have a new bucket list item: I want to see all of the Gaudi works I saw in a book I bought. I think I’m 6 down, 6 to go. I’ll for sure be back to Spain.

Also worth visiting in Barcelona:

• Picasso Museum which has a self-portrait exhibit running now.

•  Gracias Barrio, a hip and trendy neighborhood downtown.
•  La Rambla, the famous boulevard from downtown to the marina. Most interesting after 10 pm.
•  Barcelona Aquarium.
  

  Beautiful Girona

     We ventured out of the city to visit Girona, a gorgeous old city that was been under siege 27 times and been captured 7… A city begging to be photographed. And make sure you kiss the lion before you leave. I kept looking for professional cyclists I know live there, but I suppose they’re all busy this month (most of them, anyway).

      Also on the itinerary: The Dali museum in Figueres, which is cool, but not as comprehensive as I’d expected. And, the Freixenet Winery, which boasts 140 million bottles of cava (a sparkling wine that’s actually pretty good) and wine in its facility. The tour is great fun and you get a a big glass of the cava afterward.

  

  Some of the millions of bottles of cava at Freixenet
  

   

  The Benedictine monastery of  Montserrat was a great getaway from the city. By the tine we went there, I was getting tired of heat, humidity, people, and city smells. Montserrat is in the mountains, nice and cool, a terrific reprieve. You can buy locally-made cheese and honey on the streets and see the fabled Black Virgin statue in the basilica.

  

    Being on the Mel (that would be my dad, the admiral) tour, we crammed about two weeks of sightseeing in 6 days. This style of vacation hasn’t changed since I was a kid. I remember the family driving through New England in the station wagon, staying in a motor court, getting up at the crack of down, chugging orange juice and eating powdered sugar doughnuts and rushing out the door to get to the first attraction… an hour before it opened. Every day of vacation, every summer. You get used to it.

  Busy as we were seeing things, we still had plenty of time to eat things. Next post is all about food, with lots of pictures. You won’t want to miss it!