Ah, Barcelona.
I never posted any pictures from May's trip to Spain because I don't take pictures. I buy postcards! I present my shrine to Gaudi and the great artists of Spain:
My mother actually did take many pictures but hasn't had time to send them to me yet. Eventually I will have more photographic proof of my trip.
We made complete tours of 4 art museums in Madrid and Barcelona. Without a doubt, not a single piece approached the power of Guernica, set like a crown jewel in its display room at el Museo Reina Sofía. The history of the painting is nearly as awe-inspiring as its presence: painted in 1937 for the World's Fair in Paris, exhibited throughout the world, held by the MOMA until the 1980s; at Picasso's stipulation the painting was never exhibited on Spanish soil until that country's authoritarian regime was replaced by a democratic form of government.
We also visited several buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí: Casa Batlló is the most inspired piece of architecture I've ever visited! I felt as though I were Alice in an underwater Wonderland. Completely brilliant. The price of admission is higher than some other sites because the property is still owned by the original family, not by the government, but the experience is well worth it. (And, of course, who could not love Gaudí's mosaic lizard at the entrance to Parc Guëll? He was worth multiple postcards.)
The other absolute highlight was attending a service at Montserrat and hearing the Escolania, the Boys' Choir, sing. The basilica is only 400 years old, but shrines have been present on the mountain since the 9th century, and the monastery was established in the 11th century.
And, of course, we ate lots of pig in its many glorious forms. If I had the opportunity to travel more often, I'd return to Barcelona in a heartbeat. Since I don't, if I return to Spain I'll be headed to Granada, and from there make my way slowly to Marrakech. Mmm.