Barcelona
Josh took his first trip out of the country (except for Canada) this November. We went to Barcelona, Spain, for a week in mid-November. We took and easy and spent time wandering around the city on foot, taking in the architecture, the history, the art and the culture. It was fabulous!
Our first day there, Josh hiked us all around up and down the hill (twice because I got hungry and we couldn't find a place to eat in the park) to Park Guell. Park Guell was originally designed by Gaudi to be a gated community -- but he was ahead of his time, so no one bought the mini-mansions. Evenually, it was abandoned due to financial disaster. Ultimately, the city of Barcelona bought the property and turned it into a park.
The next day, we went to Sagrada Familia, Guadi's unfinished basilica dedicated to the "Sacred Family". It's an absolutely fantastic building and so cool to able to see a work-in-progess. Gaudi's original plans were mostly destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, so other architects and artisans add on to the church as seems fit. I guess a lot of architects and other artists dedicate time to the church after they have become renown. The result is fascinating and beautiful.
For reasons that we don't understand, there were a bunch of Storm Troopers, a Darth Vadar and a couple of Princess Leias hanging around getting their pictures taken outside of Sagrada Familia.
We also went to the art museum in Barcelona. It has the best collection of Romanesque frescoes anywhere in the world. Also, we took the cable car and funicular up to the fortress. Josh was pretty nervous in the cable car.
The Cathedral in Barcelona has Gothic architecture with internal buttresses. Wealthy families and organizations would pay to decorate a chapel. Throughout the years, so many people wanted to pay for a chapel, that they built cloisters on the outside to accommodate more chapels. We saw a chapel decorated before Columbus discovered America and the baptistery where the Native Americans Columbus brought back were supposedly baptized. 13 geese guard the cloisters in honor of St. Eulalia who was tortured 13 ways for her faith. The cathedral offers an elevator to the roof, where you can walk along the rooftop on a catwalk. That was a little nerve-wracking.
Casa Mila was an apartment building built by Gaudi. It was his last major project before he dedicated his life to Sagrada Familia. The outside of Casa Mila is neat with the balconies and not square facade, but it's the roof that is amazing. Also, Gaudi designed all the load-bearing walls on the outside, so the internal walls can be moved around at will. It was truly an amazing building and I can't believe the effort spent on all the details.
Our first day there, Josh hiked us all around up and down the hill (twice because I got hungry and we couldn't find a place to eat in the park) to Park Guell. Park Guell was originally designed by Gaudi to be a gated community -- but he was ahead of his time, so no one bought the mini-mansions. Evenually, it was abandoned due to financial disaster. Ultimately, the city of Barcelona bought the property and turned it into a park.
The next day, we went to Sagrada Familia, Guadi's unfinished basilica dedicated to the "Sacred Family". It's an absolutely fantastic building and so cool to able to see a work-in-progess. Gaudi's original plans were mostly destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, so other architects and artisans add on to the church as seems fit. I guess a lot of architects and other artists dedicate time to the church after they have become renown. The result is fascinating and beautiful.
For reasons that we don't understand, there were a bunch of Storm Troopers, a Darth Vadar and a couple of Princess Leias hanging around getting their pictures taken outside of Sagrada Familia.
We also went to the art museum in Barcelona. It has the best collection of Romanesque frescoes anywhere in the world. Also, we took the cable car and funicular up to the fortress. Josh was pretty nervous in the cable car.
The Cathedral in Barcelona has Gothic architecture with internal buttresses. Wealthy families and organizations would pay to decorate a chapel. Throughout the years, so many people wanted to pay for a chapel, that they built cloisters on the outside to accommodate more chapels. We saw a chapel decorated before Columbus discovered America and the baptistery where the Native Americans Columbus brought back were supposedly baptized. 13 geese guard the cloisters in honor of St. Eulalia who was tortured 13 ways for her faith. The cathedral offers an elevator to the roof, where you can walk along the rooftop on a catwalk. That was a little nerve-wracking.
Casa Mila was an apartment building built by Gaudi. It was his last major project before he dedicated his life to Sagrada Familia. The outside of Casa Mila is neat with the balconies and not square facade, but it's the roof that is amazing. Also, Gaudi designed all the load-bearing walls on the outside, so the internal walls can be moved around at will. It was truly an amazing building and I can't believe the effort spent on all the details.