Thursday, July 31, 2008
I got back to California last night and yes, I know I was not very devoted to updating my blog toward the end of my trip. I had an incredible time in Barcelona, though. Before my trip I really did not know much about Spain, Barcelona or Catalonia. I wanted a relaxing vacation but had no other expectations. I ended up having an unforgettable month in a beautiful city rich with culture, art and history. Being in Barcelona made me excited again about learning, experiencing other cultures, seeing different parts of the world and meeting a diverse group of people. I strongly recommend it to anyone taking a trip to Europe and I hope I will have the opportunity to visit it again in the future.
To make up for my lack of updates I am posting many, many photos with descriptions. Enjoy!
The contemporary art museum in Barcelona. We saw an exhibit on the art of feminist/political artist Nancy Spero.
The Palau de la Musica de Catalunya (Palaca of the Music of Catalonia) at night.
Jen at the fountain in Parc de la Ciutadela.
Jen and Meghan in front of our favorite ice cream shop.
In front of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (National Art Museum of Catalonia).
Jen and I affectionally called each other "Tubs" after we saw this.
This is on a door to a salon in our neighborhood. The lion is getting is hair and nails done. (I love Barcelona.)
The front of Casa Battlo, another building designed by Gaudi. His inspiration for this building was the sea and sealife.
A fireplace inside Casa Battlo, shaped like a mushroom.
The ceiling in one of the rooms of Casa Battlo.
In the backyard of Casa Battlo.
No 70's style clothing allowed.
Inside Casa Battlo. Gaudi used rippled glass for the windows to make it look as if everything was under the sea.
Jen on the roof of Casa Battlo.
A view of Montjuic castle (in the background of the photo) from the roof of Casa Battlo.
The main cathedral in Barcelona.
Geese inside the courtyard of the cathedral. The cathedral keeps geese as a symbol of purity.
At the beach in Barcelona (Jen and I are easily amused).
The beach in Barcelona and the hotel that is being built on the beach.
The beach.
Grafitti on the outer wall of a basketball court. The grafitti reads (in Spanish): "A. Gaudi (for Antoni Gaudi, the architect of all the buildings I visited) does not like gray." Hence, the colorful grafitti. :)
More grafitti.
Me and the view of Barcelona from Montjuic.
The view of Barcelona from Montjuic (the Sagrada Familia church is the large pointy building on the right side of the photo).
At the Joan Miro museum. Miro makes me giggle.
The magic fountain in front of the national art museum. It's like the fountain shows in Las Vegas, only bigger and better and with tons more people. Seriously, it was more crowded than Disneyland during the fireworks show. It was just as interesting to watch the people as it was to watch the fountain; thw whole dark mass at the bottom of the fountain is a crowd of people and you can see the two statues that people climbed up to get a better view.
The art museum during the magic fountain show.
A street in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona.
The entrance to the oldest synagogue in Europe.
The inside of the synagogue, showing the different foundations that were built over hundreds of years.
A view of Montserrat, a monastery in the mountains about 20 miles outside of Barcelona.
At Montserrat, with the mountain in the background.
"La Moreneta" (the black virgin). Legend says that this statue was found in one of the caves in the mountain. When priests tried to move the statue it would not budge, and they saw it as a sign from The Virgin to build a church there.
Jen in Montserrat.
And one last view of my neighborhood, my last night there.
