Welcome back to If it's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium. And here we are with more of Spain (I promise, I do actually live in Belgium now). Today is a bit of a highlights tour of Barcelona, on the eastern coast. Barcelona is in the Catalan region, so most signs actually are in both Spanish and Catalan (and sometimes English).
Like everywhere in Europe, the old town's are dominated by old churches, so I'm trying something a little different this week...focusing on some close ups. Let me know what you think.
Of course, there are old columns inside old churches:
And even some ancient Greek (or were they Roman) columns from long before that, preserved inside for only the lucky traveler to find:
Beautiful old architecture
Perhaps an old head of state?
And Gaudi. Lots of Gaudi. Barcelona is proud of Gaudi. Antonio Gaudi was a Catalan architect with a penchant for the, well let's say, "original" designs. He particularly seemed to like the idea of using broken pottery shards as building blocks, as seen in this close up of a long winding bench he created.
He also liked "natural" looking columns to hold up walkways and the like. This narrow passage was one of my favorite spots.
Okay, what does this Gaudi-designed building make you think of?
Gaudi was an ardent Catholic, and later in his life devoted the latter part of his life to building the Sagrada Familia, a church that has actually been under construction since 1882 and is not slated for completion until 2026. Gaudi designed it to have 18 towers, 12 for the 12 apostles, 4 for the 4 evangelists, one for Mary and one for Jesus. There are two (of the four) facades that are (mostly) built, one by Gaudi and the other by Domenech Sugranyes, who decided his facade should differ in design completely from the facade of Gaudi. [One interesting note: Gaudi was killed in 1926 after being run over by a tram].
The Gaudi facade:
And some detail
And the Sugranyes facade
And detail. Obviously their styles differ dramatically. Any preferences?
Finally, one more of Gaudi's designs in a house. Do the balconies remind anyone of the same thing they remind me of?
Okay, I think that's enough for this edition. I'll plan to do a closer look at the Sagrada Familia in the future, as well as the many other places and statues I saw in Barcelona.
Next week I may do another look at Paris...or perhaps Prague. Any preferences?
See you all next week I hope.
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Comments: 61
I haven't seen Prague as often as Paris.
Some of Gaudi's work reminds me of Dr. Seuss' drawings, very whimsical and imaginative. I've never seen them in person, though. My college age kids met in Barcelona this spring and brought home fantastic pictures of Gaudi's works. They were amazed by his detail and how totally different his style was from anything else they have seen.
Thanks for taking us along David!
As far as your question about Prague or Paris... I'd love to see Prague.
And you're always welcome to come along...I enjoy being able to share the experience.
I loved the close ups David! And I think Prague would be delightful.
I'm enjoying traveling vicariously.
In the next couple of months it will be a little slower as my workload picks up, but at the very least I'll be back in DC for a week to teach part of a couple of workshops in September.
i feel like i'm there with you... wish i was... Bless you ...