October 23
Barcelona
[We were on our own in the morning. We came out of the Diagonal subway stop to this amazing place to start the day, at Gaudi’s la Pedrera on Passeig de Gracia. We will be back here on a guided tour in the afternoon (in Part 2). Remember then the brochure about it is here . . . ]
[Kitty-corner from la Pedrera, Casa Batlló Passeig de Gràcia 43 designed by Antoni Gaudí . . . ]
[He really was quite unique (duh!) . . . ]
[The Flatiron Building?]
[The Picasso Museum . . . ]
[The Museu Picasso houses one of the most extensive collections of artworks by the 20th-century Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. With 4,251 works exhibited by the painter, the museum has one of the most complete permanent collections of works. The museum is housed in five adjoining medieval palaces in Barcelona’s La Ribera and is located on Montcada Street in the (Bank District) of Barcelona. It opened to the public on 9 March 1963, becoming the first museum dedicated to Picasso’s work and the only one created during the artist’s life. It has since been declared a museum of national interest by the Government of Catalonia (Wikipedia).]
[Why yes, we do love climbing stairs . . . ]
[The Super and Anne are leading the way . . . ]
[Hi! It’s me at the Picasso Museum . . . ]
[Well, why not?]
[An archeological dig into antiquity . . . ]
[In the heart of the city . . . ]
[Oh my, even photographing information is a selfie . . . ]
[Impressive building, but not found on the Google machine?]
[The gargoyles of Gotic Barri . . . ]
[Gothic Barcelona is in . . . ]
[The center of the old city. Nice shot, Bill!]
[Our friends are back out on their balconies . . . ]
[The Super can always find yummies . . . ]
[Did I already mention that Halloween is a big deal in Spain? I think I was wearing a particularly scary mask . . . ]
[Shopping along the edges of Gotic Barri . . . ]
[This was good for a few laughs . . . ]
[Please have the children leave the room . . . ]
[Again, Gothic Cathedral of Santa Eulalia in Gotic Barri . . . ]
[And its square . . . ]
[Old street sign – Baixada de Santa Clara El Barri Gotic . . . ]
[Galerias Sant Jordi souvenir shop in Gothic Quarter . . . ]
[More yummies . . . ]
[Outdoor dining, studying maps, readying for our afternoon guided tour . . . ]
[Yummies, not behind glass!]
[We’re now on our tour, though this one wasn’t ours . . . ]
[Meet your guide just outside Jaume I Metro. Exit onto Plaça de l’Àngel, in front of Café Cappuccino. Look for the guides in red SANDEMANs NEW Europe T-shirts.]
[And I amazingly remember our group walk to this place . . . ]
[Els Quatre Gats is a café that famously became a popular meeting place for famous artists throughout the modernist period in Catalonia, known as Modernisme. The café opened on June 12, 1897 in the famous Casa Martí, and served as a hostel, bar and cabaret until it eventually became a central meeting point for Barcelona’s most prominent modernist figures, such as Pablo Picasso and Ramon Casas i Carbo. The bar closed due to financial difficulties in June 1903, but was reopened and eventually restored to its original condition in 1989 (Wikipedia).]
[Now we’re heading for a walk in the big city . . . ]
[Good luck crossing here . . . ]
[We are walking north up Passeig de Gracia, a major avenue (obviously) . . . ]
[‘Passeig de Gràcia’ is an elegant and majestic boulevard which was a showcase for Barcelona’s bourgeoisie at the turn of the 19th century (waymarking.com).]
[The Old Fountain on Passeig de Gracia . . . ]
[The H & M boutique flagship on Passeig de Gracia in the former Generali bank . . . ]
[Monument al Llibre by Joan Brossa . . . ]
[ “Flor de Barcelona panot,” 18 different tiles or panots cover the streets of Barcelona. Some of these pavement tiles have been designed by top names in the architecture of Barcelona. Flor de Barcelona is a design of Puig i Cadafalch. Or the Gaudí tiles that cover Passeig de Gràcia that, as you may have guessed, is made from a design of Antoni Gaudi (barcelona.blogspot.com)]
[Passeig de Gràcia lamp post . . . ]
[Pere Falqués i Urpí – 1850-1916 – designed the street lamps . . . ]
[The beginning of “The Block of Discord” . . . ]
[Among all the significant buildings however, is one block with addresses at numbers 35, 41 and 43 Passeig de Gracia, that generates considerable interest and lots of camera clicking. Between the years 1898 and 1906 three of the era’s most important modernist architects took existing buildings on the block and refurbished them in such dissimilar visions and contrasting styles that the street is often referred to as “The Block of Discord” (noparticularplacetogo.net).]
[The Illa de la Discòrdia is noted for having buildings by four of Barcelona’s most important Modernista architects, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Antoni Gaudí, Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Enric Sagnier, in close proximity. As the four architects’ styles were very different, the buildings clash with each other and the neighboring buildings. They were all built in the early years of the 20th century (Wikipedia).]
[Casa Lleó-Morera Passeig de Gràcia 35 designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner (above), and ’39’ (below) . . . ]
[Casa Mulleras Passeig de Gràcia 37 designed by Enric Sagnier . . . ]
[Casa Amatller Passeig de Gràcia 41 designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch . . . ]
[And what’s now contained therein . . . ]
[Looking back down to the beginning of the block . . . ]
[And now inside ’41’ . . . ]
[Whoa, more goodies!]
[And as I recall the Super purchased some. We will begin Part 2 next with the Gaudi house . . . ]
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. ~ George Carlin
Up Next: If not Spain, a game . . .
alexandriacardinals2.wordpress.com 
What fascinating pictures of Spain! Laura
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