7 November ’05, Monday.
It was cold as heck last night, but as we awoke this morning, the sun was shining again and warming everything up. When we started our train ride into Barcelona this morning it was 16 degrees, but in the next 30 minutes as we approached the city we were already at 20. We decided earlier this morning that we were going to skip breakfast at home with “Bumble Bee”, and have our breakfast at “STARBUCKS” !!! I think I had the best latte I have ever had…but again, maybe it was because it was the first in a couple of months at least. Anyway, following breakfast, we headed over to the Catalan Concert Hall (Palau de la Musica Catalana). On our trip we haven’t seen many concert halls, but in the realm of concert halls we have see in a life time, this rates by far the best !!! It wasn’t the biggest, and it wasn’t the smallest, but as we walked into it, it was like just knowing you were seeing something special. It was built in 1908, and the construction only took 3 years, which was remarkable. You would just have to see it to believe it. As you took a seat in theatre, you felt like it was only one of maybe 3 or 4 hundred. Well, the fact is, it will hold over 2,000. We were treated to a short pipe organ concert, and the acoustics were outstanding. The performances that are preformed here are from just about every end of the music spectrum. And the tickets for a performance are priced so that all could come and enjoy good music. The décor of the interior was really different, but it also really fit. The highlight was the glorious stained glass done that sits high above the seats. The hall was designed so that it could be lit with natural exterior light, and it does a good job of that. The skylight is one of the most beautifully designed and functional pieces of stained glass I have ever seen. All the unique pillars of broken pieces of ceramics, busts of the great composers, the “angelic choristers”, and the stunning “Muses of the Palau” (a group of 18 stylized instrument playing maidens). This magnificent hall was designed and built by Lluis Domenech I Montaner. I only tell you that because I think that his work should be recognized. It was great. Seeing as we had purchased the Hop on bus tickets yesterday for 2 days, we jumped aboard again to head across town for our next stop. The Sagrada Familia Church. I’ve got to you, this was a day of awe…
And the Sagrada Familia was to top it off. I mentioned a little of the Sagrada Familia last night. Now we have the time to really explore it. When we purchased our entry tickets, we also picked up the audio tour. That was worth the ticket price on its own. This is described as “Europe’s Most Unconventional Church”, and it lives that description… The structure is crammed with symbolism that comes from nature. Just about everything you look at, has a design that was taken from nature. The huge columns throughout the building come from California’s Redwood forests. You have to really see the column and have known prior that that was the case, because he used his unique portrayal of all the nature pieces used in the building. I mentioned yesterday that he was killed by being hit by a tram, but at that same time, he was living in a small room at the construction site. He had been living there for 16 years directing the work. Today there are 8 of the final 12 spires, one for each of the apostle, have been built. Each is topped by Venetian Mosaics. We were able to walk through all the construction areas, with the workers going on with their jobs, working to complete this project sometime in the future. We saw full sized pieces raised and put into place, and we also saw the crew who do all the miniature work. These people make every piece in miniature before it is made in full size. They also work in plaster and rubber molds. I wish you could hear what we heard on the audio tour, because there is just too much for me to put here. We did take a short elevator ride up to a platform on one of the spires, and then we had to walk up another 300 steps to the top. The views over the city were fantastic, but the views down onto the construction were even better. THIS GUY WAS A GENIOUS !!! Well after getting to the top and seeing all the views, we had to go all the way down without the elevator. Single file in a very narrow staircase, going around and around and around and….for well over 400 steps…
All we can say is “What a day”…it was one of those we will never forget. Barcelona has a lot of those days if you want to take the time.
It was cold as heck last night, but as we awoke this morning, the sun was shining again and warming everything up. When we started our train ride into Barcelona this morning it was 16 degrees, but in the next 30 minutes as we approached the city we were already at 20. We decided earlier this morning that we were going to skip breakfast at home with “Bumble Bee”, and have our breakfast at “STARBUCKS” !!! I think I had the best latte I have ever had…but again, maybe it was because it was the first in a couple of months at least. Anyway, following breakfast, we headed over to the Catalan Concert Hall (Palau de la Musica Catalana). On our trip we haven’t seen many concert halls, but in the realm of concert halls we have see in a life time, this rates by far the best !!! It wasn’t the biggest, and it wasn’t the smallest, but as we walked into it, it was like just knowing you were seeing something special. It was built in 1908, and the construction only took 3 years, which was remarkable. You would just have to see it to believe it. As you took a seat in theatre, you felt like it was only one of maybe 3 or 4 hundred. Well, the fact is, it will hold over 2,000. We were treated to a short pipe organ concert, and the acoustics were outstanding. The performances that are preformed here are from just about every end of the music spectrum. And the tickets for a performance are priced so that all could come and enjoy good music. The décor of the interior was really different, but it also really fit. The highlight was the glorious stained glass done that sits high above the seats. The hall was designed so that it could be lit with natural exterior light, and it does a good job of that. The skylight is one of the most beautifully designed and functional pieces of stained glass I have ever seen. All the unique pillars of broken pieces of ceramics, busts of the great composers, the “angelic choristers”, and the stunning “Muses of the Palau” (a group of 18 stylized instrument playing maidens). This magnificent hall was designed and built by Lluis Domenech I Montaner. I only tell you that because I think that his work should be recognized. It was great. Seeing as we had purchased the Hop on bus tickets yesterday for 2 days, we jumped aboard again to head across town for our next stop. The Sagrada Familia Church. I’ve got to you, this was a day of awe…
And the Sagrada Familia was to top it off. I mentioned a little of the Sagrada Familia last night. Now we have the time to really explore it. When we purchased our entry tickets, we also picked up the audio tour. That was worth the ticket price on its own. This is described as “Europe’s Most Unconventional Church”, and it lives that description… The structure is crammed with symbolism that comes from nature. Just about everything you look at, has a design that was taken from nature. The huge columns throughout the building come from California’s Redwood forests. You have to really see the column and have known prior that that was the case, because he used his unique portrayal of all the nature pieces used in the building. I mentioned yesterday that he was killed by being hit by a tram, but at that same time, he was living in a small room at the construction site. He had been living there for 16 years directing the work. Today there are 8 of the final 12 spires, one for each of the apostle, have been built. Each is topped by Venetian Mosaics. We were able to walk through all the construction areas, with the workers going on with their jobs, working to complete this project sometime in the future. We saw full sized pieces raised and put into place, and we also saw the crew who do all the miniature work. These people make every piece in miniature before it is made in full size. They also work in plaster and rubber molds. I wish you could hear what we heard on the audio tour, because there is just too much for me to put here. We did take a short elevator ride up to a platform on one of the spires, and then we had to walk up another 300 steps to the top. The views over the city were fantastic, but the views down onto the construction were even better. THIS GUY WAS A GENIOUS !!! Well after getting to the top and seeing all the views, we had to go all the way down without the elevator. Single file in a very narrow staircase, going around and around and around and….for well over 400 steps…
All we can say is “What a day”…it was one of those we will never forget. Barcelona has a lot of those days if you want to take the time.