Day 15 Barcelona: Museum of Contemporary Art, Palau de Musica, & Cathedral

Today was a great arts day.  We started at the Museu D'Art Contemporani de Barcelona.  There were some really thought provoking exhibits there.  The first was an annotated history of the Arab Image Foundation.

The first room of the exhibit was on photographs and vehicles.  There were a huge number of photos from Lebanon.  These photos explored modernity infiltrating the lives of people in the Arab world.  The photos were so western/class oriented it was a bit shocking, exposing my own stereotypes.

A second exhibit was called  Forensic Architecture Towards an Investigative Aesthetics.  It brings two fields together, using  photography and the arts to present evidence in the context of armed conflict, political struggles, and environmental violence.  There was so much here that I want to read more about.  I think the inquiry methods presented could be useful to literacy research.

Here's a taste of one of their many methods.

We then took a tour of the Palau de la Musica Catalana.  Both the exterior and interior were astounding.  The modernista architect was Lluis Domenech i Montaner.  Here's the space.

The exterior.

Every detail is so intricate.

The stage is cover with muses.

On the way back we stopped by the Barcelona Cathedral.  It was impressive.

There was a nice courtyard with lots of gargoyles.

And a flock of live critters.

Day 14: Hop On Hop Off Barcelona

Today we decided to get an overview of Barcelona so we took the Hop On/Hop Off Bus.  Barcelona has 3 routes, so we really saw a lot.  No hopping off--just getting a view of the city.

We started on the Paseo de Gracia, where there are a number of Art Nouveau homes--or Modernista as they are called here. These are from the architects Gaudi, Domenech i Montaner, and Puig i Cadafalch.    It's an incredible street.

Then there was this super contemporary building.

We went by Guadi's famous Sagrada Familia church that won't be finished until 2026.  We'll be visiting it on another day.

There are so many amazing buildings in this city.

Here's a view from Montjuic.  

We also went by the Barcelona Soccer Stadium.

There also is a lot of public art.  Here's a Lichtenstein and Miro. 

We ended up by getting off the bus at a the beach.  We checked out the Barcelona Casino with the "big fish" and had a lovely dinner.

When we got back to Placa Catalunya there was a tribute to Michael Jackson going on.

Day 13 Barcelona: Opera

We did a lot of wandering the city today.  It was a holiday, so not much was open.  This is the street that our hotel is on.  I really love all the pedestrian streets in Barcelona.

This is at the corner of our block on the outside of a pharmacy store.

The Palau de Musica where La Traviata was staged is an amazing place.  We're going to take a tour of it later in the trip so I can get better photos than these iPhone snapshots.

Found this photo online of the Violette we saw sing--she and the rest of the cast were great.

Day 12: Valencia to Barcelona

The train trip from Valencia to Barcelona was easy and beautiful along the coast.

Immediately it's apparent how much bigger Barcelona is compared to Valencia.  Our hotel, Casa Camper, is very nice and located on a pedestrian street.  Our bathroom looks out on a wall of plants and there is a very pleasant rooftop space.

Outside our hotel is a nice little fresh pasta shop.

 We walked La Rambla, a major street which goes from our hotel to the sea.  We passed the huge open air market, Bouqeria.

 There are tons of flower shops on the pedestrian center stip of La Rambla.

 In the evening we walked to the harbor for dinner.

 Another good day.