But Barcelona is not simply a city to train into, spend the night, and fly away. While I had already visited twice, I decided to spend nearly a week in the city, and instead of rushing to see as many landmarks as possible,I decided to relax and get to know the lovely place at a more relaxed and leisurely pace. SO glad I did!
In early visits I stayed at hotels near the old city, and it's still my favorite part of town, but Barcelona has a very impressive public transportation system, so I thought, "Why not stay in a part of the city that I'd not yet come to know, and use my transport card to zip me wherever in the city I wanted to go?" So I chose what I call "monumental" Barcelona: the Plaça de Espanya.
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| MNAC, at the end of the Avinguda de la Reina Maria Christina |
The Plaça was built on the occasion of the International Exposition in 1929, and in the immediate vicinity of the very busy traffic circle at its center there are a number of attractions, among them the Museo Nacional d'Art de Catalunia (a mouthful, so hereafter MNAC) The Arenas de Barcelona, once a bullring, now a fashionable shopping mall, with a raft of restaurants as well as shops, many encircling the roof of the building, with good views as well as good (and alas not so good) food, the odd Venetian Towers, and the Caixa Forum. It is also at the foot of the great hill (or small mountain?), Montjuic, so easily accessible to the Olympic sites, and more important for me, the excellent Miro Museum.
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| The Arena with its outdoor elevator, the traffic circle and the monumental statue |
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| The Caixa Forum |
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| The Torres Veneciannes (Venetian Towers) - interesting, but why, exactly? Arena in the distance, also the traffic circle and in the far distance, Montjuic |
I had booked a hotel on the Gran Via, called oddly enough the Ayre Hotel Gran Via, just one block from the traffic circle, on the side of that busy street and circle nearest MNAC. One of the several entrances to the Metro is on that side of the circle, a relief as it meant not having to cross the hectic Gran Via as often as I might have done. to get to Metro or Museum.
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| The entrance to my hotel |
By the time I got my bearings in the neighborhood it was mid-afternoon, so I decided to have a late lunch, and maybe an evening stroll after a nap. To be as close in physical proximity to my nap as possible, I chose as my luncheon spot the hotel's own cafe.
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| My lunch, a very complicated but tasty burger |
There I made the acquaintance of a polite young waiter, who, in excellent English, struck up a conversation. He was very enthused about visiting the US, interestingly favoring the West Coast over the East - a long journey! I hope he made it, as he took care of and was friendly to me during my entire stay. That means a lot to a solivigant!
I mentioned that this trip was to be leisurely, and I made a point of it, as after my lunch I had a nap, and after that simply relaxed. Unusual for me and a pleasure.
Next morning, after a fine and filling breakfast at the hotel, I initiated my Metro Pass and headed towards another bustling center in the city, the Plaça de Catalunya. I am going on a bus tour tomorrow - destination? I'll keep you in suspense - and wanted to be certain I knew exactly where to catch the right bus. If you've been around that square in the morning, you'll know that there are many tour buses heading out from town, plus the open-top bus tours IN town. Found that, then took a photo of one of my favorite statues in the square:
This monumental work is titled Catalunya - It honors the 122nd president of the Catalans, Francesc Macia (governed 1932-33), who favored solidarity for Catalunya.
I then strolled aimlessly, enjoying La Rambla de Catalunya, not as crazily busy and crowded Ramblas of greater fame.
One of the very first things I saw on my stroll caught my eye - it would have caught anyone's from the US - the Obama Gastropub! Nowhere in my albeit brief search did I find that it was connected to the American president, and it is apparently decorated with African memorabilia. It wouldn't open for at least an hour, so I kept walking - meant to get back to check it out, but never did - maybe next time?
I continued all the way to the end of that pretty road, where I came upon a peculiar but not unwelcome statue called The Coquettish Giraffe - why not? S/he was trying her best to to hide the MacDonald's in the distance, at least that's what I felt - and was grateful - too many of them all over Europe...ah well
Quite nearby I entered a courtyard that was so densely grown with foliage that I nearly felt as if I'd left the city and was in a forest!
The gardens of Palau Robert, above and below, cool, pretty, and restful
I then headed back to my own neighborhood, as was intent on seeing the collection of Catalan Art, very near my hotel. It's quite a climb but I was convinced it would be worth it - goal for the day: make it up those many stairs!
To my chagrin, I had forgotten - and so had many other tourists - that was 1 May - a public holiday...all sorts pf people were milling around the entrance, perhaps in the vain hope that the guards would notice, take pity, and let them in...at least there is a great view of the city from the top!
The fountain in the above photo is pretty, but modest, even close up.
That changes at night, when this fountain becomes dramatic, almost magic - you'll see what I mean, but not quite yet. Lovely though. I like the way it is sometimes difficult to tell the jets of water from the clouds.
Above the fountain water cascades - from below,
then from above
I suppose I could have had a late lunch at my hotel, but opted for the bullring/mall instead
I headed up to the roof - elevators or escalators will get you there easily enough, and chose the place above, named Abramassame. I had a huge lunch, beginning with a croquette (it looked so lonely on the plate that I won't bore you with it. The salad came next, and it was really good, tuna based. I could and maybe should have settled for that
But what had caught my attention was the fresh bass - the whole fish - but while it was difficult to eat - the bones - it was delicious.
Afterwards a sorbet, but, like the croquette, while it tasted great, it was too dull to waste the space for a photo insert here. Instead, I spent a bit of time on the roof. The view is not nearly as good as from the Museum of Catalan Art, but not bad.
if you look close, at the far end and up left, just below the skyscrapers, you'll see a bright sculpture, another of the fine public art all over the city. I left the mall/bullring and attempted to walk off lunch getting to the sculpture, and was rewarded by the excellent work of Joan Miro.
Titled The Woman and Bird (Dona i Ocell) it looks good from any angle - above and below:
After enjoying a close look, I wended my way back to my hotel, and being full from food and tipsy from the wine with which I washed it down, had a lovely late afternoon nap.
On the morning of my third day in Barcelona I hopped aboard a tour bus headed to Montserrat, not far from and high above the city. The first view of the rocks that form it is below, a photo taken from the bus:
Our bus deposited our group and tour guide at the entrance to the cog train station:
And we ascended at a very steep angle to the abbey itself, where our delightful guide Lina (in the foreground at right in the photo below) discussed with us the history of this naturally protected place,
then gave us suggestions on how best to spend our time. Three options, basically: go farther up the mountain via gondola, hike to a distant perch at the edge of the mountain, or stay at the abbey proper, enter it, and listen to the choir sing, and perhaps visit the art gallery.
I managed all but the first option. Much as I'd have liked to ascended even higher, there was already a long line at for the gondola, and I wanted to get a good walk in, and certainly to see the abbey interior, hear the choir, and if possible, also take a turn through the art gallery. As there was a fair amount of time before the choir was to sing, I opted to hike first. As interesting as the complex is there are beautiful views to be had along the way to my destination: The Cross of St Michael.
In the distance, just right of center, you should be able to make out the cross - this photo was taken near the beginning of the hike:
In case you can't see the cross from the above shot, this is about as much zoom that my point-and-shoot could offer.
This trek became more a forced march than a pleasant walk. It was more distant than I imagined, and uphill - a gentle grade, but the closer I approached, the more exhausted I became. The walk back down was easier, but I'll admit it was much more than I'd bargained for.
However, on the return I was afforded a view of the complex that I can only describe as iconic, not only to see how it is situated, but to admire the wildly dramatic rock formations that nearly surround it. To gaze on these I felt as if, in a tectonic shift, they burst up out of the earth only yesterday!
Here are a few more photos of those glorious formations
The stones protect, I suppose, but they also nearly overpower the abbey, the oldest part of which is shown in the above photo. I must confess that though I know very little about geology, I was more impressed with them than with the abbey itself.
Now, to the abbey, the entrance of which is depicted above. Its full name is Santa Maria de Montserrat, was founded by the Benedictines in the 11th century, and rebuilt in the 19th and 20th centuries. The abbey still functions today, with between 70 to 80 monks living and working there, though I saw none of them on the day of my visit. My guess is that with the crowds of visitors they prefer not to be seen.
I have one piece of advice to you should you decide to hear the choir: arrive and find a seat well before the choir begins to sing. Because of my hike, while I did arrive in time, so did bunches of other tourists. They can be really ugly sometimes, can tourists. There was such a mob at the rear of the church that - and I do not exaggerate - I was nearly crushed by people who insisted on pushing their way in when there was absolutely no room for them. It didn't stop. Not only could I barely breathe, I could barely hear the the concert. The crush was made even worse when many of the people who had jostled their way in listened to a chorus or two from one song, then turned and pushed their way back out. Below you can view a few of those awful, inconsiderate people - ugh! To paraphrase Olivia in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Rudesby, be gone!
What should have been a pleasant experience turned into a bit of a horror show. Sad. This was not a special day, nor was it at the height of tourist season. Not sure why the entrance is not controlled or patrolled. I certainly saw no sign of it.
Before we leave the abbey, a note on its most famous inhabitant, Our Lady of Montserrat, or the Virgin of Montserrat, even more specifically the Black Madonna of Montserrat.
This famed image once bore the inscription "Nigra Sum, Sed Formosa" - "I am Black, but Beautiful." And today the Catalans call her affectionately La Moreneta, "the little dark one." She is located high above the the high altar, and the day I was there the longest line by far to get into the church, was not for a seat in the nave, but to climb a fair amount of stairs to kiss the hand of La Moreneta. There are any number of rumors as to her origins, some dating back to ancient Rome. As in so many places through Europe, what are now churches were Roman temples. That's true of Montserrat, but most scholars think that she is a Romanesque 12th century wood sculpture.
I cannot tell you how happy I was to leave the abbey. The eateries in the complex were packed, but while I was very hungry I used my remaining time to visit the small but eclectic and nicely curated Museum of Montserrat. Much of the collection in Catalan art, but the oldest exhibit is a 13th century BC Egyptian sarcophagus. There are Byzantine icons, a 13th to 18th century gallery, and 19th-20th century art. I focused on the last of these, and a few favorites can be seen just below. My very favorite has as much to do with its title as the work itself. Below is the painting:
and here is the title: Cafe des Incoherents - I love it, and all similar incoherent cafes. Santiago Rusinol is the artist, and he painted this in 1889-90. But I also fell in love with this one
called Madeleine, painted by Ramon Casas in Paris, 1892.
There are many more to choose from but I'll leave you with two of Montserrat itself. The first is from the late 16th or early 17th century by everyone's favorite painter, Anonymous:
In that painting you'll note a very different looking abbey complex from today's.
And a much more recent take, by Joaquim Mir, painted circa 1908-11
And then I found my tour bus, and soon we were wending our way back to Barcelona. I managed to get a pretty good shot of the mountains surrounding the abbey:
Upon arrival back in the big city, I made my way back to my hotel, supped on a very tasty Caesar salad,
headed to my room and had a very good night's sleep. If I haven't put YOU to sleep, look for my final post on this wonderful journey, coming very soon!
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