6/16/2017: Barcelona day 3

Greetings from Barcelona, a city we have found to be very sensible and full of curiosities.  Each day has been around 90 degrees yet the heat is not unbearable as it is not very humid. The city is surprisingly clean: we have seen lots of little trash vans operated by civil workers, folks regularly sweeping the main streets and thoroughfares, and in comparison to come other cities, a lack of rats, mice, food on the ground, and trash. Despite all if this, the city still has a bit of an unpleasant smell!

 

We began the day with a trip to La Pedrera, a century-old apartment building designed by Gaudì. What an interesting piece of architecture - and it is still occupied with residents. There was no lack of imagination and creativity in this man's mind; he must have been constantly creating! We both found clear inspiration on Disney and Tim Burton, and learned a bit about modernist architecture. Notice the cathedral in the skyline, visible from the rooftop.

 

 

 

 

One wonder about travel is Iearning about local cuisines. Every day we have visited the same market for snacks and meals and have found it to be a different bit of commerce at different times of day. Everyone here seems to drink little freshly blended fruit juices, which we have adopted. We also discovered a great dried fruit called piña morada, which is a pineapple soaked in blueberry, juice before it is dried. You can see other dried fruits and flowers in this photo.

 

After a really pleasing large lunch (our first in the truly traditional Spanish style of making lunch the large meal) we walked across the new town. Yesterday we were in old town, but new town  was reminiscent of Fifth Avenue in NYC, with fashionistas and high end stores. There was a noticeable different between between this area of town and where we have been the past two days, and not just in retail: the corners of all of the blocks are cut at an angle to give a more open feel to intersections.

 

Next we went to a Gaudì's La Sagrada Familia, a cathedral that has another ten years of construction. What a remarkable and truly awesome marvel of human ingenuity. Gaudì designed the cathedral on the footprint of another architect's design. The interior is meant to look like light coming through the forest canopy. The exterior features the Nativity, the Passion, and a forthcoming Glory section.

 

 

 

 

 

We made a few other interesting social observances today. At around eight, it seemed as if everyone came into the streets for an evening stroll, called something like the pasada . We had what we thought was a more traditional dinner time of 9-11:15, but the restaurant really began to fill up with locals around eleven. Then on the walk home around 11:30, people of all ages were out all over the city, playing, eating, singing, drinking, and socializing.