A Wanderful Life

You know that the skies are colourless when practically every exterior photo that you take looks as if it’s in black and white — but it isn’t. These three pictures from the exterior of the Basilica of Sacre Couer atop Montmartre in Paris are a perfect example.

It is an extraordinarily ornate building and visually quite interesting.

 

 

 

 

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As promised, here are images from inside the Museu d’Història de la Ciutat, the city museum of Barcelona.
 

 
After going through several ground floor galleries full of archaeological discoveries from the ancient Roman city beneath Barcelona, visitors enter an elevator and descend several levels until they are two stories beneath their starting point. An audio track played as you enter the elevator reminds you that you are going back 2,000 years in time as you descend.
 

 

This museum was an unexpected discovery. We had arrived in Barcelona with plans to visit several Gaudi sites, the Miro museum, and the Picasso Museum. But this was certainly a place worth devoting an afternoon to!

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Even in sunny Spain, there are cold, wet, and gloomy days when the colour of the sky is flat and bright shades of clothing or advertising are muted and subdued. What better time to switch to black and white photography which actually enhances the image since you are looking at the bones, the structure, or the texture instead of being wowed by snappy-bright colour.

These are from Barcelona on a wet but wonderful Sunday. The building is the Museu d’Història de la Ciutat, the city museum of Barcelona. This 15th Century palace was moved, stone by stone, from its original location in 1931 due to the upcoming construction of a roadway. When the new site on Placa del Rei was being excavated and prepared for the rebuilding of the palace, there was a stunning archaeological find — a large section of the old Roman city was still lying beneath the city streets of Barcelona!

I will have a slide show from the interior of this museum in the coming days.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

One last picture — a glimpse through a narrow passageway which is down the street from the museum.
 

 

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Walking up the streets of Figueres, Spain on a clear and sunny winter’s day, we came around a corner and were only half way down the block when I saw huge eggs atop a the upper edges of a pinkish-orange building. I laughed and said to Mark, “That has to be the Dali Museum!”

The photos below show the striking and crayon-strong colours of the building and sky on that day. This is the side of the museum where you enter the Dali Jewels Museum.
 

 

 

 

 
I couldn’t stop smiling the entire time I was taking these photos. The whole building just gives off an energy of amusement! And how wonderfully flamboyant are those Academy Award style statues which alternate with the eggs? Genius!

Eggs are a favourite repeating motif of Salvadore Dali. “The egg is another common Dalíesque image. He connects the egg to the prenatal and intrauterine, thus using it to symbolize hope and love.”

The courtyard side below is the main entry into the 6 level (yes, you read that correctly) Dali Theatre Museum. And isn’t the soft colour palette of this more classical facade an interesting contrast to the other side of the building.

Inside the museum there are stairs, some quite steep and circular, and no elevators. So this is definitely not a place for anyone with mobility issues. It was a fascinating place to visit, but after hours and hours of trekking up and down flights of stairs, I have to admit that I was quite exhausted.
 

 

This church tower is directly opposite the Dali Museum entry that you see above. It was the Dali family’s church, Salvadore Dali was baptised here, and it has been reconstructed following severe damage during the Spanish Civil War.

 

 

My next post will show you some of the glorious things inside the museum — so come back soon.

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Constructed between 1905 to 1910, Casa Mila, also known as La Pedrera, is an interesting mix of almost futuristic exterior, as seen in yesterday’s rooftop sculptures post, and the very traditional interiors that certainly reflect the time in which the house was built.
 

 
The slide show below may be a surprise to some people who think of Gaudi as an architect of the fantastic and futuristic.

We need to remember that this was a commission for a family home and that the family surrounded themselves with the type of furniture, fabrics, and accessories that would have felt familiar and comfortable in the early years of the 1900s. You even get a tiny peek at the work spaces for the family’s housemaid.

One additional thing to note, this is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and should be high on the list of places to visit in Barcelona for anyone who is interested in the history of architecture.

The pictures begin in the amazing vaulted brick-tile attic space where there are displays of Gaudi’s building miniatures, discussions of his methodology in film segments, and exhibits of his unique furniture and hardware designs.

Enjoy!
 

 

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You know you have arrived at one of the more popular tourism sites for art and architecture in Barcelona, Spain when the Barcelona Bus Turistic is parked outside.
 

 
Casa Mila — which is also known as La Pedrera — is one of Antoni Gaudi’s most beloved architectural creations. Built as a private residence for the Mila family, there was strong objection to Gaudi’s designs and overt religious symbolism at the time of construction and many of the details had to be scaled back to comply with what the governing board deemed acceptable.

We were lucky enough to tour the rooftop area during one of the two ‘golden light’ periods of the day, just before dusk. Although we were jostled constantly by other tourists, I did manage to get several good shots that weren’t cluttered with people.

 

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My next article will be on the interior of the building including the period furnishings that are in place and the architectural details that Gaudi designed. This building is still lived in on several floors, so although the museum floors of the Casa Mila are open to the paying public, many other places are private and only for the use of the residents.

Hope you are enjoying these glimpses of Barcelona!

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The day was gray and gloomy, but we eagerly took the two fast and efficient Metro trains to reach a site we had been longing to see, the uncompleted Antoni Gaudi masterpiece work, the massive Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain.

We emerged from the Metro onto the sidewalk and Mark laughed as I looked left and right and didn’t see the looming structure. “I did the same thing, Sweetie. Turn around!” I did, and here was what was immediately behind me.
 

 

 
It was quite a shock since neither of us had the excited response to this massive landmark that we had expected to have and we had absolutely no desire to explore further than standing outside and taking exterior shots. The line to gain entry to the interior was wrapped around the entire right-hand block but when I asked Mark if he wanted to go in, he confirmed my ‘neutral’ sensation and said no, he didn’t want to investigate the interior either.

It was an interesting reaction since we had each been looking forward to seeing this place for several months! But my initial sensation as I turned around from the Metro exit was disappointment, not enchantment. There will be many people who read this entry and think that I am daft to say that, but it is a personal opinion. It looked like a vast, blobby mess adorned with cranes and I felt no thrill or curiosity whatsoever as I viewed it.
 

 
We ate lunch at a sidewalk cafe and began walking down the Avinguda de Gaudi. As we walked, I turned around and took the photo above which did please me since it clearly illustrates the size and scale of the Sagrada Famila as it sits in the neighbourhood landscape.

The ornate street lamps pictured below were also amongst the more pleasing photos that I took on that very mixed day.
 

 

 
Come back soon for more sights, suggestions, and truthful reactions from Barcelona!
 

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