TakeBetsywithyou

When we last visited Barcelona in 1989, Gaudi’s masterpiece, the basilica Sagrada Família was a skeleton of a building, so what an incredible thrill to see it today, in full (or much fuller) with spectacular spires with colorful mosaics and pinnacles topped with clumps of grapes and wheat symbolizing the communion wine and bread (Christ’s blood and body).

And so thrilling to walk inside and see the basilica’s huge interior flooded with light from the intricate stained glass mosaic windows, blues and greens, and yellow, oranges, reds. I felt like I was walking through a magical forest with shapes and products from nature – towering trees, flowers, sunlight, color.

Our guided tour was excellent and at the last minute, we got to go up into the tower which was a highlight, seeing the exterior ornamentation up close and personal and spectacular views of the city stretching down to the ocean.

When we arrived we were told the tower was closed due to the strong winds. But we showed up any way, just in case, at our 11:15 tower tour time and it had just reopened!!

On another day of clear blue sky and sunshine (although the wind added a chill), we walked about 20 minutes to La Pedrara/casa mila, another Gaudi masterpiece. The self-guided audio tour was really fun because we got to visit the rooms of an apartment and see how Gaudi designed interiors. Walking outside around the roof top with its sculptural elements was another thrill.

We stopped at a great bakery for some sandwiches and later at a posh hotel bar for lemonade and beer and still later for delicious cheesecake at a tiny bakery near the stunning Palau de La musica Catalana, designed by a colleague/rival of Gaudi. We were too late for an interior tour (they end at 3:30) but walked in the ornate cafeteria and lobby. And the dazzling exterior is a fanciful explosion of mosaic tile work. next time, we’ll attend a concert, as my sister recommended!

Dinner was creative tapas at Gresca Bar and this time we were seated next to the open kitchen which was fascinating. Quite a production to watch the kitchen staffers managing to churn out five to seven plates per table.

The food was good too (profiteroles with anchovies, tomatoes) although with tapas the portions are so small (and often pricey) that it’s hard to know when you’ve had the equivalent of a meal. My favorite might have been the dessert – a light and fluffy, not too sweet, take on French toast served with a dollop of melted chocolate.

We had a quick and easy 1 hour flight on budget airline Vueling from the small Santander airport to the huge Barcelona airport. The airline didn’t even ask for any identification, just our boarding pass and there was no hassle with carryon luggage. The bus into the Barcelona’s equivalent of Times Square but not as garish (plaza de catalunya) was quick and easy and cheap (7 euro each) and got us about 12 minutes walk from our charming hipster hotel Casa Bonay, where we had dinner at 9 pm (Spanish style) at Bodega Bonay, one of the hotel’s restaurants which turned out to be Italian tapas.

This morning we went on a 3 hour architecture tour with an architect/engineer professor that stretched into 3.5 hours. There was one other lovely couple from Tucson. The tour was good but a little too much time was spent on the engineering intricacies. I was more interested in Antonio Gaudi’s art, design and personal story rather than the construction details. But we did see three of his major buildings (outside only) and were told Casa Mila (aka La Pedrera) is the one to tour inside, beyond the church which we will visit tomorrow. It’s the city’s classic modernista building.

Casa Batllo, the Gaudi that is more outrageously Gaudi, has alas been turned into a tourist trap but is well worth gawking at from the street. It’s next to two other fascinating modernista/art nouveau buildings by other less famous architects on the “Block of Discord” (because the three whimsical buildings, built side by side, clash in a wonderfully discordant way.) I didn’t know about the Gaudi/salvador Dali link but it makes sense. Gaudi was the Dali of architecture and influenced Dali.

The weather was great, sunny, crisp, near 60 so we walked all over, dipping into various old neighborhoods (barri gotic, el born) and stopping at La boquera market, eating a sandwich and fried anchovies as we strolled past dozens of food stalls. We strolled along the ramblas and watching break dancers in front of the cathedral.

Dinner was tapas at Colmado Murria a beautiful old deli (so beautiful it costs 5 euro just to step inside.) Next time I’ll book one of the few tables or countertop stools in the store, beside the gorgeous deli counters. We were in a sweet little “inside “ room with only four tables.

We had an excellent cheese and meat board fresh from the deli counter, a tapas of raw salmon with a slice of cured bacon, creamy black rice with white seafood, and a rich macaroni and cheese that looked nothing like the Mac and cheese at home.It had dark meat and cheese encrusted penne dotted with a dark sauce. We ended up meeting an American who is the grandson of Charles Eames (of Eames chair and my high school Cranbrook fame), a titan of American Modernist design which seemed fitting after a day of Gaudi.