Barcelona!

We made it to Barcelona, España, the first port of our trip! Yesterday during a yellow dawn we flew in over the Montserrat range of the Pyrenees into this amazing city on the Mediterranean Sea. Wow is about all I have to say about that!

Montserrat Range in Catalonia, España

Sadly not my photo, we were looking down on it from not far above!

Once onboard the Viking Vela we enjoyed some lunch and a bit of down time before getting into our stateroom. Then we had another bit of rest in the form of a lovely nap before an exquisite dinner of Spanish dishes. I wish I could tell you what they were - my mind was a bit addled with exhaustion.

This morning we enjoyed an early breakfast in our stateroom and headed out on our excursion into the city. Barcelona was founded in the 1st century by the Romans. It has been under both Muslim and Christian rule. It has gone through many changes, the latest being the dramatic rebuilding and cleanup for the 1992 Olympics.

We began our all too brief tour with the famous city’s old section. Wandering through narrow pedestrian-only lanes, some so narrow that you could almost touch both sides, I was saddened to see graffiti and rubbish everywhere. It did not help that it was about 8:00 am on a Sunday when everything but a very few coffee shops and bakeries were closed. Almost all shops and restaurants have metal doors which slide down, covering their windows, all of which were completely covered in graffiti. I certainly hope it looks better during business hours. [After dinner edit: we sat with some ladies who said that the graffiti is less than in previous years. Yay!] Even so, I could appreciate the charm of the old city, what it should have looked like. In the centre is Barcelona cathedral, a mostly 14th century building.

The old city streets are so tight, and the tourists so plentiful it was difficult to get the perfect shot.

One of Barcelona’s claims to fame is the amazing architect Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926). Gaudí’s architecture was influenced by his passions of nature and religion. The shapes of many of each of his buildings exhibit startling and beautiful shapes. Our first example was Casa Batlló, fit into a string of buildings along a busy street. Its shapes and colours stand out as prime examples of his genius.

While you are looking, notice the balconies in all 3 buildings visible in this photo. Most buildings in Barcelona have balconies to enjoy the sea air, the city air (less desirable) and the sun. Another city feature is that the buildings at every street corner have the right angles cut off to allow coaches to navigate the intersections.

On with Gaudí… Probably the most famous building in Barcelona is the Basilica de la Sagrada Família ( Basilica of the Holy Family). The original design when the project began in 1882 was neo-Gothic, appearing much as what we think of cathedrals. A year later Gaudí took over the project and in 1891 work began on the first of the three façades, the Nativity. Below you see a part of the façade, the holy family sitting in what is possibly a bower, trees hanging low over the scene. Trees seem to be a theme as the columns inside which support the ceiling are topped with branches rather than the traditional arch.

The Basilica has 18 towers, a forest of spires! They represent the 12 Apostles, the 4 Evangelists, the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ.

The façade on the other end of the Basilica represents the Passion (the death of Christ).

Here you also see some of the 18 towers. Since Gaudí’s death the Basilica has had many architects, and without a lot of research I cannot tell you which part is whose. (For some reason I have some other things to do…) However, of my favourite bits you can see below.

Are these fruits? Their colours definitely attract one’s attention. Also, notice the vertical oval windows with their sunburst sculpture surrounds. There are simply too many details to see in too short a time. Very sadly, our visit coincided with the Sunday morning service so we could not go inside. Anguish! We were told that in order to attend the service one must arrive 3 hours early to get into the queue!

Sagrada Família remains unfinished, with no guesses as to when it will be completed.

I highly recommend visiting the Basilica’s website. There you can see virtual tours and myriad still photos. https://sagradafamilia.org/en/home

After an amazing hot chocolate for Glenn and a cappuccino for me we returned to the ship, had a wonderful lunch (one of the salads was smoked salmon and fennel - yum!), a bit of a nap, some research and blog writing, and now we are off to the Restaurant for an elegant and delicious dinner.

I almost forgot! Please enjoy Freddie Mercury and Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballé singing one of my absolute favourite songs, ‘Barcelona.’

https://youtu.be/q0wdxj8-mAU?si=edfHTVbxVPAx1JoQ