Over winter break, we headed off for what we thought would be a warm, sunny visit to Madrid and Barcelona…well…it was sunny in Madrid but rained the entire time we were in Barcelona and the weather in both places was mostly in the 40′s. Okay, granted it was a tremendous improvement over the near-zero temperatures and snow back home in Chicago but, expecting warmer weather, I had only packed a sweatshirt and was pretty cold (and wet) most of the time. Plus I took two spectacular falls—one extremely embarrassing full-length fall when I tripped over the thick carpet while staring at the gorgeous surroundings in the lobby of Madrid’s 1910-era Ritz Hotel. I wasn’t hurt, but having all the doormen rush to your rescue was pretty embarrassing. Then, the last day of the trip, in Barcelona, I was too busy closing my umbrella while entering a store to watch where I was going and missed the step up, tripped, fell sideways, and smashed my back against the marble window ledge. Bruised ribs (hairline fractures) and an extremely painful trip home on the airplane.
Other than those mishaps, we had a delightful time, visited nearly all the museums and saw tons of art; enjoyed walking around the the medieval “Barri Gotic” section of Barcelona with its close, winding streets (even in the rain) and imagining the people who lived there hundreds of years ago; soaked in as much Art Nouveau and Gaudi architecture as we could find; and loved visiting Barcelona’s St. Joseph’s Marketplace (everything from squid, live crabs and lobsters, to pigs and skinned rabbits, to mountains of fresh fruit and vegetables, to hundreds of different kinds of olives and olive oils, to nuts and dried fruits, to cheeses, to sausages, and to the infinite varieties of ham that are a Spanish delicacy. Madrid had been filled with Christmas shoppers, wonderful nighttime light displays (each major thoroughfare had a holiday light display designed by a different artist), but a lot of the buildings from the mid-20th century were overwhelming and depressing in that stark Franco-era way.
I never did get used to the mealtime schedule—eating dinner at 9 or 10 pm just did not sit well with me. We ate at some wonderful restaurants but, in general, I did not like the Spanish food too much. However, I grew to love “cava”—the Catalonian champagne, and the reserve brands were every bit as good as the finest French. The boys had a wonderful time exploring and even went to the casino in Barcelona one night. Below are some photos from our trip.
In Madrid, we stayed at the Hotel Urban, which was simply luxurious, especially as we splurged on a suite for ourselves (sticking the boys in a regular room). The suite was a comfortable haven of contemporary glass walls, stainless steel, polished wood, leather sofas, shot-silk bedspread, and fake-fur throw. The bathroom was a luxurious spa of granite and glass. I took a video of the room, so don’t have any photos of it. Here is the atrium of the hotel:
The owner of the hotel chain is an archaeologist and in the basement there was a small Egyptian museum, featuring mostly BEADED items from around 2300 – 1500 BC. It was heavenly:
We visited the 3 major museums in Madrid, which are all within walking distance of each other: The Prado, the Reina Sofia, and the Thyssen Bornemisza. We saw everything from El Greco and Goya paintings to Velazquez’ famous “Las Meninas” to Picasso’s “Guernica”.
Then it was on to Barcelona. We took the high-speed Renfe Ave train, which was delightful and comfortable as it sped through the hills, plains and villages of the countryside on its 3-hour journey. Our first day in Barcelona was Christmas Day and absolutely everything was closed, except for the Antonio Gaudi-designed Park Guell. Luckily, this was also the only non-rainy day we had in Barcelona, so we hopped a taxi up the hill to the top of the city and the whimsical park:
The wrought iron gate:
One of the gatehouse towers:
A window in the gatehouse:
The monument at the top of the hill:
One of the fountains, as you walk up the stairs to the marketplace:
The marketplace with its pillars:
and the surprising ceiling among the pillars:
The plaza above the marketplace with its benches surrounding open space:
Closeups of the mosaics on the benches and elsewhere:
Every possible surface was meticulously thought out and covered in some pattern, whether it was stones, mosaics, glass tiles, ironwork, paint, or even the flagstones on the walkways:
There were meandering paths through the park (which had originally been planned as a housing development) filled with with plants, such as these giant agave:
Finally, there was the house that Gaudi lived in for the latter part of his life, which is now a museum. Sadly, it was closed that day:
One overcast day we walked down the Passeig de Gracia, once home to the finest Art Nouveau and Modernisme homes and apartment buildings (now a high-end fashion boulevard) to visit the two famous Gaudi landmarks: Casa Batllo and La Pedrera. Casa Batllo (1877) is a small apartment building with 1 elevator and 2 apartments per floor, 2 open atriums and lots of light and cross ventilation in the rooms (a hallmark of Gaudi’s designs). One of the apartments was made up as though the Batllo family still lived there.
The outside of the building:
The atrium of the building:
and one of the apartment doors:
The stained glass arch between rooms in the refurbished apartment:
and a mosaic bench in the backyard of the building:
Of course, the most fascinating part of all was the rooftop with its chimneys, towers and ridgeline—supposed to be a simulation of the battle between St. George and the dragon:
Next it was waiting in another long line to get into Gaudi’s large apartment building, Casa Mila or, as it is more commonly called, La Pedrera (1906-1910). The building had what must have once been a vibrantly painted entrance foyer and courtyard:
More subdued on the inside, it nevertheless had interesting Art Nouveau detailing around the doors and windows:
However, once again, Gaudi shone with his decoration of the rooftop:
Gaudi is considered such an important architect (and tourist attraction) in Barcelona that the sidewalks of the Passeig de Gracia are paved with hexagonal tiles that he designed:
Unfortunately, we never made it to the Sagrada Familia, the church that Gaudi began and which is as yet unfinished (other architects following Gaudi’s drawings—he never used blueprints, only drawings and models—are attempting to complete it as they think he would have wanted it to look and the entire project has become quite controversial) and hopes to be finished by 2026.
Of course, much of the rest of Barcelona has Art Nouveau touches wherever you look (as long as you look up!)—wrought iron balconies, decorations on buildings, even mosaic signs such as this one advertising the incredible chocolate shop on La Rambla (the busy tourist boulevard):
Taking shelter from the rain, we visited the Barcelona cathedral, the Picasso Museum, and the Barcelona Contemporary Art Museum, which was designed by Richard Meier. We saw portions of old Roman walls and aqueducts, as well as the above-mentioned gothic quarter from medieval times. Worn out from the endless rain, we did miss a number of other museums, such as the Joan Miro Foundation and the Salvador Dali Foundation and never made it down to the port or beach. Still, in better weather, Barcelona must be an incredible city to visit.
