Up and out by 9:00am. We make a quick stop at a bakery for a croissant with ham and cheese. We have eaten this too many times and are sick of it but it fills the belly quick and has lasting fuel power. Today we are visiting the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona. Out from the hot tunnel at Plaça de Catalunya. We plot our way through the back streets and arrive at the backside of the museum. There is no sign so we walk past it. We both get a feeling we are going in the wrong direction - right as it changes to a rougher neighborhood. We are on the edge of "El Raval." This neighborhood is on the upswing but to the eye it has a rough exterior. We retrace our steps and go through a courtyard to find the museum front entrance.
As we enter it is evident that this is a show that challenges your brain - here is the description on the museum web site:
"The exhibition MACBA Collection 31 offers a series of artistic itineraries built around three main subjects: experience, time and conflict.The works in the exhibition question the various forms of conflict in today’s world, while reflecting on the relation of art with itself and its potential for interrogating reality. Moreover, they relate sensory experimentation, corporeality and the experience of time as fundamental conditions for artistic practice."
Better put your thinking cap on, right! Most of the works are conceptual. It takes time to read or watch a video and this is mandatory in order to gain understanding of the art shown. We work our way through several floors. We both really liked one piece - the artist took 101 pictures of 101 different people - starting with a newborn all the way to a person that is one hundred years old. There are others we liked but it would take a paragraph to explain each one.
On the third floor was a show called "Punk. It's Traces in Contemporary Art." This was basically a time capsule of the punk era in the seventies. Sixty artists showed the artwork they created at that time, and they all took part in the explosion of punk in the seventies. It shows the attitude of denial, opposition and destruction of the norm with references to fear and terror in society. The work in its raw state points out the same attitudes that are still present in our society today. These ideas question your perception and your place in the society. Terrorism and violence originates from a disconnection to others.
Back on the Metro and we exit the tube farther north this time at Valcarca. We have to walk about twenty minutes to reach Park Güell. Thank goodness we find the street with the outdoor escalators up to the top. Eusebi Güell, a wealthy businessman and a great friend to Gaudi really understood Gaudi's vision of architecture. He choose Gaudi in 1900 to design an exclusive residential complex for well-off families on a high hill (Muntanya Pelada). Gaudi provided practical solutions for viaducts, paths for people on foot, carriage roads with turnarounds and a water-collection system. What he designed went far beyond the practical - it is a functional work of art. This place is amazing and hard to put into words. Every inch was thought out and is full of symbolic content. It really shows Gaudi's mastery of forms and materials.
There were sixty plots for houses but only three were built. The building restrictions were very strict and it was expensive. The exclusive nature and the lack of proper public transport made the project unviable. The work was halted in 1914. When Güell died in 1922 his family sold the property to the Barcelona City Council. It became an open park but became so popular that the grounds were overused and were being damaged. In 1984 it was declared a UNESCO Cultural Heritage of Humanity site. Now the number of people entering the site is controlled and the money is used to maintain the grounds. This place is mind blowing and it is hard to imagine what people must have thought back then. This is a WOW place.
The day slipped away from us so our plan for dinner down by the beach is out. Monique has a craving for pasta and locates a place a couple of blocks away from our hotel near a hidden-away park. We find the park, walk through it and an open air hotel lobby, turn the corner there it is. We sit outside and are brought the best Italian meal we have had to date. Dave hears a couple speaking English next to us and strikes up a conversation. We learn they are from Nashville and are in Spain to get married - just the two of them! They explained their wedding was gaining a life of its own and decided to put on the brakes and get married in their own unique way - props to them. They had three days in Seville and a couple in Barcelona. They then fly to Majorca to meet an Anglican priest who will perform their wedding ceremony. We tell them of our journey and they are inspired to someday do the same. We were somehow meant to meet as we are kindred spirits with the love of travel.
After our meal is complete, we cut through the park again and notice a free art exhibit about what it is like to be young and European - so of course we check it out. On our way back to the hotel we walk through a plaza with a bunch of pigeons milling about preening their feathers. We start shooting pictures and a man comes up to us and wags his finger saying no pictures. He has a small card pinned to his shirt and we think that must be his “official badge”. He seems weird so we walk on. When we turn around to look he is emptying a large bottle of birdseed onto the ground and the pigeons go crazy. He must be the pigeon whisperer. Back to the hotel to pack. We have a train to catch at 10:05 that will take us to the Basque Region - San Sebastion.
This is such a cool concept - 101 pictures showing age progression - with 101 different humans - awesome!
A bullet rug - not very friendly or enjoyable to walk on.
Park Guell - who wouldn’t want to live here?
The dragon fountain detail.
The centerpiece of the park is the intended covered market, which also serves as a water collection system. The roof is a vast terrace with built-in benches and an amazing view of the city and the base is a fine gravel that rain water can go through. It then flows through the hollow columns into a water catchment system below - genius!
These built-in benches undulate around a huge terrace with amazing views of the city. Although they are made of very hard materials, they are incredibly comfortable and curve around so you can have easy conversations with groups of people because you face each other. Gaudi designed ergonomically - making sure chairs fit your body, door handles fit your hand, etc. - a new concept for the time.
Part of the aqueduct - what does this remind you of - a wave perhaps?
The roof of one of the municipal buildings for the complex. Apparently Gaudi saw a the play “Hansel & Gretal” and was influenced by what he saw - making the functional buildings look like gingerbread houses.
The pigeon whisperer. Oh no you didn’t!