Today we continued our bus tour of Barcelona. We hoped on the Blue Line today, and explored the northern part of the city. This led us up into the foothills, and around the area outside the city center. We covered a lot of ground and saw a lot of sights. We considered going up the mountain on the tram and funicular, but the tram wasn’t running, and it was starting to rain, so we didn’t. We ended up back at Catalunya Square. We did some shopping, then ducked back for our raincoats, then headed out again.
This time we went out another direction, as we wanted to see the Gothic Quarter. We found some neat shops. One, a ceramic shop, had some really incredible stonewear. The pieces were lovely and varied. And the stairway in the building was something to see. Like the city itself, curved, colorful, and somewhat quirky. I’ve included a picture.
Another store, Raima, was a fun paper and stationary store. It looked like a regular shop, but at the back was an escalator. We went up and explored. And went up again. For six floors! I didn’t even know the building went that high! The store itself was fun, and full of unique things.
The other building we found was the Palau du la Música Catalana. We have tickets to a Flameca Dance program there on Friday night. It took awhile to find it. We were on a major thoroughfare, the the maps showed the building was supposed to be there. It turned out that it was, only we were looking at the back. We went up the street, then turned into an alley, expecting to go around the block. As we moved further down, the colorful decorations started to appear, and the actual opening to the hall was on the alley, and another small street. Barcelona is like that – building placements don’t always work the way you think they should. The interior is supposed to be incredible. I’m looking forward to seeing it.
After that, we went to the heart of the town – the Gothic Quarter. This was where the original Roman settlement was, and parts of the wall still exist, and are incorporated into ‘newer’ buildings. The Cathedral of Barcelona is the center of the area. It’s been are area of Christian worship since the 4th century, but the current variance is from about the 14th century. It’s in the Gothic style, and it’s made to look like it’s spires are holy fire above it.
Before we went into the church, we saw that there were stalls with second hand goods out in the square, so we looked them over. The items were fascinating, but also a little sad. Military ribbons that once had been earned by somebody, jewelry that had been worn many years before, pictures of people who had been loved in past generations. I always wonder about the history of this things in places like this, and the people that touched them. The most interesting thing I saw was a silver dust pan. Highly decorated, and beautiful, I wondered if it had been part of a fireplace set. My imagination gets going into overdrive at places like this.
Then we headed for the church interior. It is beautiful. Not overdone like some of the other cathedrals we’ve seen this trip. But simpler, and the stone bones of the building were allowed to show, and be appreciated in their beauty alone. The smoke from the insence and years of candles had darkened the ceiling near the ventilation holes high up, and the stained glass provided beautiful spots of color.
The church still hold the chapels that had been put in by the various guilds, who used them as a place to store their money in the time before banks. Geese would guard these, as they are notoriously noisy, territorial and mean. In addition, there have always been 13 geese kept at the cathedral, and have been for over 500 years. This is because the remains of St Eulalia, martyred at 13 years old in the 1300s, is buried at the cathedral. The geese, always 13 in number, to honor her age, and her 13 torments, are still at the cathedral. We saw them out in the cloister.
The cathedral also offered views from the top of the church. I went up in a 5’ x 5’ elevator. Sharon declined, and I didn’t blame her The elevator felt like it was 100 years old, as myself and 6 other people were lifted amid clanking and jerking, up to the ridge line of the roof. From there, a metal walkway led to three sets of stairs up to a metal catwalk that ran along the ridge. This felt none to sturdy, but the view was worth it! I took a lot of pictures of the view, the workings of the drains off of the roof, and the towers. And I about jumped out of my skin when the bells began to toll while I was up there. They were loud! I didn’t realize until I got down and was showing Sharon the pictures that I didn’t take any of the catwalk. Freudian slip, I guess!
The pictures below show the art museum we visited yesterday up on the hill, and another shows the Gaudi Cathedral Sagrada Familla under construction, and the final shows the faces on the detail of the owner of the church.
I stated yesterday that Barcelona was sinuous. As I’m getting to now the city, that is more true than ever. Art Nouveau combined with the architectureal style know as Modernisme, which began here with artists like Gaudi, have a marked influence in the city’s buildings. Sensuous curved lines, rounded balconies, and influences from nature soften the normally hard lines of buildings windows, and balconies. There are spots of colors everywhere. Although the moors did not occupy Barcelona for long (only about 80 years, beginning in the early 700s), I can still see the influence in the tilework and the use of color. In addition, Barcelona is fanciful. Decorative ironwork and building ornaments are all unique and full of charm. You have to look close sometimes to see the details.
We finished up on the red line today. We’d planned to transfer to the green line in order to see the beaches, but apparently it stopped running yesterday. Unfortunate timing on our part. But we’ll get down to the beaches another time. So we stayed on the red line, and headed home.
Tomorrow we head for Monserrat. We start early, so I’m finishing up for now. I’ve attached more pictures of the Cathedral, and others that give the feel of the city, below.
More from the church:
From around the city – interesting buildings, lots of curves, and spots of color.
Suzanne’s Travels 