Galivanting with Gaudi, in Barcelona
I first visited Barcelona with Masha on our honeymoon in 2010. It became one of my favorite cities in the world. The architecture, the fountains, the food, the beach, the run-in with Nicolas Cage, even the shopping! Everything just came together
We were so young.
Like the saying goes -- “you can’t step into the same river twice”. This time, everything was different — we were with our daughter, we met up with my parents, we barely spent any time on finding amazing restaurants — and there were no fountains thanks to drought (come on!). And when we got to Barcelona, we were saturated with impressions like used paper towels. We also stayed in a different part of town. Whereas the first time we stayed in Barceloneta, a lively neighborhood closer to the water with great restaurants and night-life, this time we opted for an apartment in the family-friendly Gracia. We were close to some very cute old-style streets and park Guell, but it was nowhere near as vibrant as Barceloneta.
However, it was next to a metro stop and definitely convenient to get to all these tourist highlights!
Sagrada Familia
Barcelona is Gaudi, and Gaudi is — without a doubt -- La Sagrada Familia. Perhaps no other architect is so inextricably linked with one of his creations; perhaps no other creation has taken so long to be finished (140 years and counting). Why? Largely because the design was so audacious that many of the techniques necessary to build it had to be invented first.
On our last visit there 14 years ago, the facades were mostly finished, but the inner hall was only open for a walk on a narrow pathway as the work went on.
This time the inner hall was fully opened, and in the right time of day - in the soft orange light of sunset - absolutely breathtaking (see the pics below).
So, what do you notice first when you arrive to Las Sagrada Familia? It is adorned with an incredible amount of detail , from the 12 towers (for the 12 disciples)
to the two completely distinct elaborate entrances representing the death and the resurrection of Christ. There is detail in every part of the facade, from coded messages, to names, to symbols. The columns on the left, for example, are the bones of Christ. The sculptures on the right tell the story of the resurrection
The entire exterior of the church (not just the facades) is… a lot, it’s stupefying really. From a far, with its cranes, it looks like an alien spaceship landed in the middle of Barcelona and is being repaired
But inside — now — it is jaw-dropping. A better fusion of a massive forest, light play and religious fervor is difficult to imagine
One of Sagrada’s lovely peculiarities is that the stained glass is arranged such that while in the morning, the hall fills with green and blue tones, the afternoon light bathes the atrium in stunning radiant warm tones of autumn. It is a beautiful representation of seasons
In addition to the main hall, be sure to visit the crypt below below the main floor. It is open only at certain times and houses a small chapel and the tomb of the man himself. It’s a peaceful spot to catch your breath
Finally, make sure to go up one of the towers. The two sets are different on the inside. We went up the towers on the Nativity facade. An elevator takes you up, so you only have to walk down these millions of steps while trying not to get dizzy. Anyone see Gaudi’s penchant for representing natural patterns in buildings here?
The view is pretty good up there
More Gaudi
Although Sagrada is world famous, several of Gaudi’s other buildings in Barcelona are also tourist attractions. This time around we visited his first major commission — Casa Vicens. This is a private home (mansion) that feels like a little garden inside thanks to the OG’s imagination.
Maybe my favorite part of this building, though, is its contrast with the surrounding dull beige utilitarian '“Hruchevkas” surrounding its colorful tops
We also visited Casa Mila, because we didn’t go in last time. It seems to be the second most popular and expensive of Gaudi’s buildings and thus surely the most desirable …so believed the thousands of other people with us there at the same time
It turned out to be not all that interesting and insanely crowded (but I guess not too crowded to carry giant tables upstream in the narrow hallway?). The amount of people they let in at the same time ruined the experience
We concluded that unless your absolute mission is to visit all of Gaudi’s legacy, Casa Vicens is a better stop…
Some of us also stopped by Parc Guell, which was a park community that Gaudi was commissioned to build until the funding ran out. This visit a great idea if you enjoy nature and Gaudi’s whimsy. He really outdoes himself with natural shapes, waves and flows
Finally, in Barcelona, you actually don’t need to pay to enter these busy places to feel Gaudi’s presence -- his influence, and that of his disciples, has completely permeated the city. Walking on any street downtown you will notice funky decorations and curvy lines of buildings that are his trademark
Beyond Gaudi
Of course, there is more to Barcelona than one famous architect. As we often do, we started our adventures on the hop-on hop-off bus here. The routes in Barcelona are extensive, and actually really good. The bus travels through downtown, drives by the port, climbs Montjuïc through a park to the tv tower (which looks like that to commemorate the 92 Olympics for which it was built), goes by Palace National, arrives at the sea via Barceloneta and keeps going
The bus is a good way to view the city, but it isn’t best way to experience it. Not only because it gets super full during the day (we literally couldn’t get on several busses in a row), but because the spirit of Barcelona isn’t in these individual landmarks.
To find it, you have to meld with the pedestrian flows -- whether on the enormous width of Las Ramblas or the narrow twisty streets of old town (sure, it’s all shops and restaurants, but whereas such places in the US feel like they only exist for the shops, here, the commercial interest seems almost incidental)
As you walk the streets with no expectations, you might happen upon an ancient cathedral, an artsy mosaic, commemoration of a particularly good pooping session, and even find some bubbles to play with
This time around, we did not go to Michelin star restaurants to eat stuff like this
Compas24 from our 2010 visit
No. But we did accidentally stumble on to an unassuming but amazing sushi place, and sampled some seared fois gras
Most memorably, we found a spectacular pastry shop where the taste matched the looks of its divine confections. This is Patisserie Hoffman folks. There are two of them in the city — do yourself a favor and go. We literally fought duels with our forks to get the last bites of these perfectly balanced complex flavors.
On our previous visit to Barcelona we wondered what gave European cities a fundamentally different feel from the US, but we couldn’t pin it down. Now, having sampled cities across Europe, we have a theory. Time and again we were struck by the bigger sidewalks, an eye to coherent and pleasing architecture with tasteful flourishes, integrated greenery, spaces to pause, and walkable gathering spots. All this adds up to make European city streets destinations in themselves, not merely pathways to somewhere else. It brings people onto the streets with an attitude of — this is where we belong, in public, among others, not hidden away behind walls and gates. And even with the crowds of tourists (noticeably bigger than 15 years ago), Barcelona retains a vibrant public life. Don’t miss out!
