Bonica Barcelona!
Bonica Barcelona is Catalán for “beautiful Barcelona,” and indeed, this capital city of the autonomous region of Catalonia is so. It faces the Mediterranean Sea, is between the Llobregat and Besòs Rivers, and has the Serra de Collserola mountain range to the west. Even the Romans, in the first century, found it worth their while to build an aqueduct here 18 kms long. Charming streets and tree-lined promenades are peppered with interesting shops, restaurants, and tapas bars. The city has 1.6 million people and 30,000 scooters.
Casa Milá is a 103-year-old World Heritage building on Passeig (“promenade” in Catalán) de Gracia, one of Barcelona’s main streets. Built between 1906-1910 and commissioned by the owner of Barcelona’s bullring, Pere Milà, it is the last work designed by the great Antoni Gaudí. Also nicknamed “La Pedrera” (stone quarry) by the locals who did not like Gaudí’s design, the chimney of this casa is said to have inspired Darth Vader’s mask.
On the same street, another World Heritage site, Casa Batlló, is owned by the owner of Chupa Chups, the famous lollipop brand. (The Chupa Chups logo was designed by — believe it or not — Salvador Dali!) The house was inspired by St. Giordi (St. George) who is said to have slain a dragon upon which a red rose appeared. The rooftop is said to resemble the scales on the back of a dragon. The chimney resembles a rose. The balcony is fairytale-like; one almost expects a princess to appear. Mosaic tiles cover the façade. (Tour guide’s comment: “Gaudí was an artist, but he also knew how to make money. He would buy broken ceramic glass tiles from a factory for almost nothing. He pieced these tiles together, made an artistic design, and charged a lot for it.”)
Els Quatre Gats (translated as “The Four Cats,” or in colloquial Catalán, “a group of strange people”) was founded by artists and became a watering hole for other artists. Pablo Picasso, who designed the café’s menu at age 14, was a frequent visitor. We will later find out from a visit to the Museu Picasso that he was, at that young age, so gifted that he produced a number of paintings in the classical style with great ease and speed.
While we were not allowed to take pictures, the Museu Picasso houses over 3,800 works by Pablo Ruiz Picasso, the most prolific artist of the 20th century, and chronologically catalogues significant stages in his life. (Tour guide’s comment: “Picasso as a child painted like an adult; as an adult he painted like a child.”) At 14 years old, Picasso painted like an academician, effortlessly painting subjects in the traditional style (perhaps in order to gain entry to the art academy). At 15, he painted “La Tia Pepe” and, at 16, “First Communion” and “Science and Charity.” (Please Google Picasso’s paintings at this young age. They are amazing and — I apologize for my ignorance — surprising!)
Picasso’s work was influenced by his parents, his numerous lovers, and the brothels he often visited. The gallery includes paintings from his so-called “Blue Period” — depicted in blue tones that suggest sadness brought about by the suicide of his friend, Carlos Casagemas — and the “Las Meninas” series, Picasso’s reinterpretation of Velasquez’s “Las Meninas.”
The Fabra Observatory, an astronomical observatory studying asteroids and comets, was built in 1904 on an altitude of 415 meters above sea level. As I peeped into the telescope, I saw two stars — Albirieo A and Albirieo B — 400 light years away! Seeing these (and standing on the balcony of the observatory on a windy, cloudless night), the city lights of Barcelona blew me away.
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