We flew from Paris Orly to Barcelona airport. The first impression of Barcelona was good because of the new airport terminal. We took shuttle bus, which took less than half an hour, to downtown Barcelona. The hotel room was nice, much better than that in Paris, and also cheaper.
It was Sunday evening, no many shops were open. Walking on the wide and quiet streets, with temperature around 10, was very comfortable. We had dinner in a Chinese restaurant nearby. It only cost us 13.5 euro to have five dishes(春捲, 雙冬炒牛肉, 杏仁雞 were good).
We both agreed that we liked Barcelona.
Jan-04-10
Our first stop was Casa Batllo--a Gaudi's masterpiece. From the entrance to the roof and backyard, everywhere you could find Gaudi's creativity. No one would deny he was a genius after seeing his works.
We had lunch in a restaurant nearby. We had toasts with tomato sauce as starter, which is typical Spanish. My lamb and chicken grill and Henry's pig feet were both delicious. And I love my dessert--the homemade truffles. Spanish people quite enjoy their life. They had their lunch elegantly, no rush at all. Starter, main dish and then drink and dessert would be a complete menu.
We went Sagarada Familia--another Gaudi's masterpiece. The large cathedral was still under construction. 100 years ago, no one, including Gaudi himself could expect it would take so long to complete. Its complex exterior decorations could reflect Gaudi's religious passion. For the interior, Gaudi was intended to make people feel in the forest. Pillars are like trees keep stretching up. The exhibition inside showed us how Gaudi was good at catch ideas from the Nature and also good at geometry. We took lift up to the tower. There we could enjoy the city view of Barcelona, and also took at a look of ongoing construction. And then we need to walk down--using spiral stairs, narrow and dark. I could tell that Gaudi definitely loved spiral stairs. This ambitious work would be completed around 2040. I feel that Gaudi treated his works as huge sculptures, putting all he thought on them.
We went to see another Gaudi's work--Casa Mila. And decided to have dinner at the same Chinese restaurant. It was open because we were too early. Dinner time here is around 8pm. Life pace here was much slower compared to other European countries I have been. Life expense was also lower. Weather here was much nicer than the Netherlands. Barcelona is really a good place to live.
Jan-05-10
After we booked the tour at 2pm at Palau De La Música Catalana, we went to the port. It was my first time to see Mediterranean Sea. It was a pity that it was raining, or the view will be prettier with the sunshine. There was a monument of Columbus. We walked along La Rambla, the famous entertainment area. Casa Guell was also here. Also a Miro's work, a mosaic on the pavement. There was art everywhere in Barcelona.
The one-hour tour at Palau De La Música Catalana was a great experience. At first we saw a 13-minute video, including a short history introduction and many artists' talks about how they felt when they stood on the stage. The concert hall was amazing. The stained glass ceiling could make natural light penetrate. The decorations were all meaningful, connecting Catalan music with music all over the world. On the stage there were 18 muses, upper half sculptured and lower half mosaic, with instruments from all over the world. The sound of pipes could tell the wonderful sound effect. One day, I want to enjoy a concert here, in such a amazing concert hall. The architect was Montaner(finally not Gaudi). But there were common elements between two architects' works--sunlight,ventilation, and natural elements.
We had tapas(snacks) at a cafe right opposite to the Palau. Then we went to Museu Picasso.(How many artists were Spanish?) The museum contained most of his early works. Picasso's talent was recognized at his teens. You could easily tell the transformation of his works at different periods. The series I liked the most is the recreation and reinterpretion of Velasquez's masterpiece "Las Meninas".
After leaving the museum we coincidentally saw a parade. Then we had dinner at another Chinese restaurant. Then we went to La Rambla again.There were so many people there. Night life at La Rambla just began.
Jan-06-10
We took Funicular railway first then switched to cable car up to the castle at Montjuic. The view was great, and the sunlight made it even greater. Blue sea and blue sky at port. The opposite was hills and mountains. Between was Barcelona downtown. Sagarada Familia was right in the middle.
It's time to say goodbye to Barcelona. We both like Barcelona very much. After 2 hour delay because Schiphol was closed due to snow, we finally flew back and got home. I missed the beautiful sunshine there.
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