Gaudi's Modernisme and the St. Louis Cardinals

***To view our Barcelona, Spain online photo album, click on the link and start the slideshow:
http://www.pixagogo.com/5863734170 ***

Sitting under the Tuscan sun, shining so bright here in Florence... once again soaking up the rays on the terrace of the old estate the Runge's have indulged in! We can't think of a better setting to gaze over the old city from a mere distance, pondering the days of blasting in and out of one of Europe's most visited cities: BARCELONA, SPAIN!!! Sometimes we joke about having a device in the sky above us recording our every step and having that printed out on a map of the city, tracing the number of front/backward/all-around moves we made through the mazes of cobblestone alleyways! Wow, we walked a lot during those 12 days! Not a day went by where Barbe and Jill did not have to glance over their shoulders in search for Tom stuck in a crowd as they jack-rabbited their way through bustling tourist streets! But, it never failed, Tom was always close behind (and if he wasn't they knew where to find him: the Irish pub watching the Cardinals!!!).

Stepping back for a moment to recap our Barcelona/Catalan experience: the passion and excitement to finally see a loved one again peaked as we boarded the bus to meet Barbara, Jill's mother, at the airport on October 1st. Jill kept jumping up and down every time a shorter, dark haired, American looking woman walked through the doors! After our reunion of hugs and kisses galore we headed straight into the city and our first dwelling: a short term apartment in Placa de las Olles, a quiet square in the hip neighborhood of Born, just outside the Barri Gotic/Old City. We stayed there for 5 nights enjoying the space and location of the rehabbed 2 bedroom apartment. We had previously decided to split our journey into 3 sections; allowing us to enjoy the city in the beginning, then take a break and travel the surrounding countryside before tasting the cava-rich (champagne/sparkling wine region) region of Penedes, and then return to Barcelona for our last 2 nights. This plan proved to work out very well for us all and really gave us good insight into the differences modern city life versus the village towns and beautiful hillsides stretching beyond --- a similar description to many of these amazing European countries!

The first 5 day chunk proved to be quite a whirlwind experience! But then again, what do you expect from a huge city as lively and full of great architecture and art as Barca!? We were so excited to finally take in the sensuous, curving, almost surreal design style which established Antoni Gaudi as the innovative leader of the Spanish Art Nouveau/Modernisme movement. As anyone who has visited Barcelona would know, Gaudi and his artistic genius, along with the Modernisme movement, has proved to be Barcelona's true trade mark through the years despite the numerous restoration projects that have continued to shape and modernize the urban landscape of the city. Gaudi's style, a precursor to modern architecture, began as Gothic and evolved into colorful, tiled and almost hallucinatory structures incorporating nature's organic shapes, and the fluidity of water. Although he was said to be color blind, one would never know upon viewing the vast colorful tiles that are so prevalent in his works.

We hopped on board the Barcelona tourist bus our first full day in the city which allowed us to freely board and unboard at our leisure for one price. Our first of many Gaudi-related stops was the Park Guell, a stylish park for Barcelona aristocracy done by Gaudi and commissioned by Eusebi Güell. This "Hansel and Grettle-like" park is adorned in beautiful colored tiling and there is something rather hypnotic and magical about it. Here we could really see Gaudi's strong influence of natural shapes where walkways were supported by twisting rock pillars seemed to be growing out of the ground like tree trunks. And the mosaic colored tiles were truly breathtaking!

Park Guell

Next stop on the bus was the Montjuic park which held Olympic Park for the 1992 Olympics and now houses beautiful gardens and many walking trails, one leading up to an old castle with views over the whole city. After a walk up and down we needed a beer and a seat, which we found overlooking the lights of the city. It probably doesn't sound like much, but our first day was chalk-full of walking and becoming orientated with the city.

"Rooftop Modernisme -- Gaudi's La Pedrera"

Our second day was completely dedicated to the Modernisme movement and specifically Antoni Gaudi and his more popular works. The Palau de la Música was our first stop, an incredible music hall built for the Orfeó Català (the Catalan orchestra, a leading cultural icon for the last 100+ years in Barcelona) and a great introduction to this amazing style of architecture. After this first stop we spent the remainder of the day visiting Gaudi's work. We visited 3 very famous structures: Casa Batllo, La Pedrera (both apartment buildings), and the Sagrada Familia. We truly weren't ready for what his work and buildings encompassed. Besides being aeshteically appealing in every sense, the architectural significance for his work was astounding. Upon viewing a Gaudi building, one might easily jump to a conclusion that although the work is wild and hypnotic to view...perhaps it lacked structural and functional validity from an architectural standpoint. That would be a huge mistake because EVERY aspect was taken into account and every curved line and slotted shape was functional for either draft, stability or architectural enhancement. These aspects blew us away and made us appreciate his genius even more. The day ended by viewing the ongoing masterpiece that is the Sagrada Familia.

"Sagrada Familia" -- The Holy Family

This "Temple of the Holy Family" was started in 1882 and construction has been off and on for the last 120 years. Unlike any religious structure in the world, this is a MUST-SEE site in Barcelona. That evening we ended the night with an Opera and Flamenco show, followed by Tom dragging Barbara and Jill to the Irish Pub to watch the Cardinals play the Padres in Game 1 of the NLDS. The remaining days in Barcelona were filled with much of the same. Checking out sites, walking our tails off, practicing our Spanish, eating tapas, drinking wine and the best part --- playing UNO!!! Our last day in the city we visited a monastery in the mountains just outside Barcelona. Known for its ideal location and boys choir, we had a great day taking the train, walking to a small chapel tucked in the cliffs and soaking up the Mediterranean sun. A great cap to 5 fun-filled days in Barcelona.

Views from the hike

The next day we rented a VW Golf and took off for the countryside in and around the village of Vic. Jill researched different "agritourisme" (essentially places to stay in the country either attached or part of the owner's home) and we landed an apartment in an old settlement called Tavernoles. A stone's throw away from the tiny Roman bell tower we stayed at this beautiful renovated stone house that was looked after by a sweet Catalan family. The sunsets were stunning and after we gathered ourselves we headed for Girona for the evening. The former European training base for Lance Armstrong and numerous American cycling pro's, Girona is a stellar city that gave us exactly what we were looking for --- a city that still retained a very quaint, picturesque old city with several cathedrals, placas (squares) and a romantic vibe. Situated near the Pyrenees mountain range and the Mediterranean sea, Girona is worthy of a several day visit. Too bad it often gets overlooked by Barcelona...but like we said, it is worthy of a much closer look.

Girona by Night

Our next day we visited Vic's enormous outdoor market, walked around Vic, hiked to a monastery and came back for what ended up being our best meal of the trip!!! Jill and Barbara bought all sorts of goodies for dinner and the two of them took the art of making omelettes to new levels later that night! Several card games and wine bottles later and we had ourselves a great evening!

The following day we set out for a 22km (14 mile) hike that took us up and down steep mountains, through old Roman villages and ended us at a great restaurant called Fusamanya. The gigantic portions were laughable and the waitress had a fun time bringing us plates that were falling off the table. Waddling back to our stone house in the hills, we crashed as our (okay, just Barbara and Tom's) legs were burning from the big hiking effort earlier that day. The next day we decided to replenish our bodies by visiting wineries and champagneries!!! The lactic acid was built up in our legs and they say the best way to work it out is by doing some walking and drinking fluids. We did just that by taking a walking tour of a large cava (champagne) maker which ended with a tasting.

Needless to say, we felt great as we made our way to the next agritourisme place we stayed at: a large 3 bedroom apartment attached to another large stone house. The owners of this place also ran a very high-end organic winery. Focusing only on producing the best grapes, this couple gave us a personal tour of the cellar the next morning and we learned even more about the wine making process. Later that day we returned to Barcelona, dropped off the car and headed to a hostel in the city. Our last day we split up for a bit, Jill and Barbara to shop, Tom to the Irish Pub to read the paper. We reunited for the afternoon and went to the main cathedral for our first visit of the old gothic styled church. Afterwards we walked along the waterfront and headed towards Barceloneta, an area known for having a unique past. Years ago, this area along the water housed thousands of immigrants and blue collar labor, making it an eclectic region of the city. That all changed in 1992 when the Olympic committee decided to transform the area and turn it into Olympic Village where all the athletes stayed throughout the Games. Although rather touristy, the area still keeps a very hip vibe. After our quick visit through the area we made our way to the cinema and watched "Thank You for Smoking"...a rather hilarious movie that was a great view.

Barbara had to depart extremely early the next morning so our wonderful time came to an end on the 12th of October and although it was difficult to say goodbye, we knew it would be less than a month before we would see each other again. Barcelona was extremely different from the other major destination points throughout Europe, but we enjoyed our time there just the same --- especially since we did it all with Barbara!!! Thanks for coming, Barbara!!!

***To view our Barcelona, Spain online photo album, click on the link and start the slideshow: http://www.pixagogo.com/5863734170 ***