months ago i had planned a short weekend trip to catalunya. i already have wednesdays and fridays off so i thought i would 'faire le pont', as they say, and skip thursday to make it a nice five-day weekend. fortunately for me, france decided to choose this thursday to go on strike, so they did it for me.
after a late night before (st. patricks day..) i set out early on wednesday for my 9.45 flight. in a quick hour i was in spain. i took the bus into the city where it struck me how big the city is. outside of paris it's the biggest city i've been to in the past year. parts of it seemed very new york-like (though i suspect that had something to do with the helvetica in the metro). i arrived at the top of las ramblas, having a full afternoon ahead of me. having been to the city once before, i didn't feel too rushed and was able to take my time, enjoying the nice weather and all the weirdos that street seems to attract. the city is just undeniably colorful and lively. i found it particularly entertaining to watch the so-called 'living statues' take a cigarette break or walk around in normal clothes with bright green all over their faces.
my first stop was la boqueria, the fantastic produce market that courtney and i stumbed across our last time in the city. it did not disappoint; it had all the fresh fruits, nuts, (etc) and juices that i remember. i found myself some strawberries and pineapples and a sunny spot to enjoy my homemade sandwich. it was a perfect welcome to spain. well, until i got totally ripped off by this guy selling chocolates. somehow i got roped into buying some; i just thought i'd sample a few; it couldn't have been more than six individual pieces. the price? 3,25€. what?! lesson learned: never buy anything that doesn't have a price.
i tried to shrug that unpleasantness off and continue on, looking for the cathedral. the entire facade had been shrouded in scaffolding the last time courtney and i had been there and i was looking forward to seeing it for real. guess what? three years later, and the scaffolding hasn't moved. though i think they have added an ad across the front.
i continued on to the passeig de gracia where some of the many gaudi buildings can be found. if you don't know, antoni gaudí is a turn of the century catalan architect who seems to have single-handedly shaped the dynamic of barcelona. his works border on fantasy, mixing color with a weird fetish for nature. at any rate, i made it to the street where
i saw the casa batllo, one of his most well-known and bizarre works. this, and its truly unique interior, have bumped the entrance fee up to over 16€. i passed and instead opted for the casa mila just down the street. it has a very distinct shape itself.. it kind of looks like where a smurf might live. a progressive, early 20th century smurf. i went inside and was captivated by all the little details that either gaudi or the successive families had added. i thought the light coming in through the lace in the windows was particularly nice. the real show was on the roof, where gaudi has constructed a strange landscape with amorphous yet somewhat menacing pseudo-heads.
from there it was back down to barceloneta where i finally saw the actual beach. my CS host showed me around a bit before serving up some homemade indian food and awkward conversation.
the next day i got started early and mounted montjuïc, something courtney and i had regretted not doing the previous time. it was quite high though the view wasn't necessarily that great. i walked around a bit and saw some of the gardens but i'm guessing there was still more to see. on the way down i saw the massive fountains that i imagine are pretty spectacular at night. at the foot of the hill i found the so-called barcelona pavilion. (funny i didn't connect the dots on that sooner.) it was constructed by mies van der rohe for the world's fair in 1929 and, if prof. dreiss has not misled me, was then deconstructed (and lost?) but later rebuilt. it's a total 180 from gaudi, very simple and spare but with really high-quality materials. so.. austere yet luxurious? it was good to actually see it in person.
from there i metro'd to parc guëll and climbed (or.. you know, escalatored) up the big hill. at the top i went to the main square - if you can call it that - to have my makeshift lunch and enjoy the sun. after lingering over my sandwich and fruit i made my way around the curvy mosaic-ed benches that encircle the area. i wasn't shy about butting in right next to napping tourists to take pictures of the tiles. that seems to be what people do, incidentally. they find a nice sunny spot on the bench, park themselves, and nap. besides sleeping tourists i spotted obnoxious american girls and some really choice mullets, a spanish necessity.
from here i descended and found myself back on the passeig de gracia, home to more gaudi. i was looking at the facade of casa batllo and compulsively decided to go up and buy a ticket.
i got the student price, a mere 13,50€ (ouch) and rationalized it by telling myself i didn't know when i'd be in barcelona again. the audio guide (thankfully included in the price) was a bit much.. "gaudi, the most universal genius in history".. but the house itself was pretty impressive. it's said that it has no straight lines, though i wondered about the floors. it definitely has a nature-inspired vibe, reminiscent at times of mushrooms, amoeba, sea urchins, and dragons. though i've never labeled anything as 'whimsical' myself this would probably be the closest i've seen.
after this stop i popped over to the sagrada familia to cram in a little more gaudí before heading back to my CSer's place. one B bollywood movie and a few hours of sleep later i left early to catch the bus to andorra. i took a last stroll along the beach and made my way to las ramblas where i had to pop into the market one last time. i got some choice fuji apples and an entire kilo of strawberries for one euro. fantastic. of course now i'm completely spoiled. i don't know how i can go back to paying upwards of 3€ for a small basket of french strawberries. these made for lovely snacks on my international bus ride.
after a late night before (st. patricks day..) i set out early on wednesday for my 9.45 flight. in a quick hour i was in spain. i took the bus into the city where it struck me how big the city is. outside of paris it's the biggest city i've been to in the past year. parts of it seemed very new york-like (though i suspect that had something to do with the helvetica in the metro). i arrived at the top of las ramblas, having a full afternoon ahead of me. having been to the city once before, i didn't feel too rushed and was able to take my time, enjoying the nice weather and all the weirdos that street seems to attract. the city is just undeniably colorful and lively. i found it particularly entertaining to watch the so-called 'living statues' take a cigarette break or walk around in normal clothes with bright green all over their faces.
my first stop was la boqueria, the fantastic produce market that courtney and i stumbed across our last time in the city. it did not disappoint; it had all the fresh fruits, nuts, (etc) and juices that i remember. i found myself some strawberries and pineapples and a sunny spot to enjoy my homemade sandwich. it was a perfect welcome to spain. well, until i got totally ripped off by this guy selling chocolates. somehow i got roped into buying some; i just thought i'd sample a few; it couldn't have been more than six individual pieces. the price? 3,25€. what?! lesson learned: never buy anything that doesn't have a price.i tried to shrug that unpleasantness off and continue on, looking for the cathedral. the entire facade had been shrouded in scaffolding the last time courtney and i had been there and i was looking forward to seeing it for real. guess what? three years later, and the scaffolding hasn't moved. though i think they have added an ad across the front.
i continued on to the passeig de gracia where some of the many gaudi buildings can be found. if you don't know, antoni gaudí is a turn of the century catalan architect who seems to have single-handedly shaped the dynamic of barcelona. his works border on fantasy, mixing color with a weird fetish for nature. at any rate, i made it to the street where
i saw the casa batllo, one of his most well-known and bizarre works. this, and its truly unique interior, have bumped the entrance fee up to over 16€. i passed and instead opted for the casa mila just down the street. it has a very distinct shape itself.. it kind of looks like where a smurf might live. a progressive, early 20th century smurf. i went inside and was captivated by all the little details that either gaudi or the successive families had added. i thought the light coming in through the lace in the windows was particularly nice. the real show was on the roof, where gaudi has constructed a strange landscape with amorphous yet somewhat menacing pseudo-heads.from there it was back down to barceloneta where i finally saw the actual beach. my CS host showed me around a bit before serving up some homemade indian food and awkward conversation.
the next day i got started early and mounted montjuïc, something courtney and i had regretted not doing the previous time. it was quite high though the view wasn't necessarily that great. i walked around a bit and saw some of the gardens but i'm guessing there was still more to see. on the way down i saw the massive fountains that i imagine are pretty spectacular at night. at the foot of the hill i found the so-called barcelona pavilion. (funny i didn't connect the dots on that sooner.) it was constructed by mies van der rohe for the world's fair in 1929 and, if prof. dreiss has not misled me, was then deconstructed (and lost?) but later rebuilt. it's a total 180 from gaudi, very simple and spare but with really high-quality materials. so.. austere yet luxurious? it was good to actually see it in person.
from there i metro'd to parc guëll and climbed (or.. you know, escalatored) up the big hill. at the top i went to the main square - if you can call it that - to have my makeshift lunch and enjoy the sun. after lingering over my sandwich and fruit i made my way around the curvy mosaic-ed benches that encircle the area. i wasn't shy about butting in right next to napping tourists to take pictures of the tiles. that seems to be what people do, incidentally. they find a nice sunny spot on the bench, park themselves, and nap. besides sleeping tourists i spotted obnoxious american girls and some really choice mullets, a spanish necessity.from here i descended and found myself back on the passeig de gracia, home to more gaudi. i was looking at the facade of casa batllo and compulsively decided to go up and buy a ticket.
i got the student price, a mere 13,50€ (ouch) and rationalized it by telling myself i didn't know when i'd be in barcelona again. the audio guide (thankfully included in the price) was a bit much.. "gaudi, the most universal genius in history".. but the house itself was pretty impressive. it's said that it has no straight lines, though i wondered about the floors. it definitely has a nature-inspired vibe, reminiscent at times of mushrooms, amoeba, sea urchins, and dragons. though i've never labeled anything as 'whimsical' myself this would probably be the closest i've seen.after this stop i popped over to the sagrada familia to cram in a little more gaudí before heading back to my CSer's place. one B bollywood movie and a few hours of sleep later i left early to catch the bus to andorra. i took a last stroll along the beach and made my way to las ramblas where i had to pop into the market one last time. i got some choice fuji apples and an entire kilo of strawberries for one euro. fantastic. of course now i'm completely spoiled. i don't know how i can go back to paying upwards of 3€ for a small basket of french strawberries. these made for lovely snacks on my international bus ride.
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