I barely know what day it is.
That is, I REALLY have to think about it before I realize it’s Thursday.
Also, I have found a new taste treat…
I barely know what day it is.
That is, I REALLY have to think about it before I realize it’s Thursday.
Also, I have found a new taste treat…
Formerly a Modernista umbrella shop, now a bank.
This dragon was once used to advertise the location of the shop.
View from our hotel
Today we took it easy. We took a stroll down La Rambla and headed over to La Boqueria as we had heard it more interesting and lively in the morning. It’s true. All the booths are open.
The big difference is the fish market which was not open when we were there yesterday. Everything from squid, octopus, fresh tuna, sea cucumbers, sea snails, lobsters…you name it. Some if it still wriggling around!
They also have the cute cafes here and there. They look affordable and tasty. We plan on having breakfast there in the morning. It should be fun!
We decided to head over to the The Barri Gòtic which is the city center of old Barcelona.
It is a huge change from the area where our hotel is located and La Rambla. Very peaceful and charming. We stumbled upon the Picasso Museum. Actually, stumble is a misnomer. We were semi-looking for it, but not sure if we would save it for a rainy day or not. Today was really nice but kept threatening to rain and then not.
When we came across the museum it was such a cool space and the line was non-existent so we decided to go on it.
I’ve seen a lot of art in my travels, both contemporary and from the masters and I have to say that Picasso is probably one of my favorites. He could do it all. When you look at the body of his work as a whole it’s just astonishing.
Someone had mentioned to me that there was a display where it showed how he de-constructed the painting Las Meninas, the famous painting by Spanish artist Diego Velazquez into varieties of his own style. He painted some 58 interpretations of Las Meninas between August and December 1957.
We found it pretty easily. At the back of one of the galleries there was multimedia display showing the original Vasquez painting and then they would overlay the various interpretations, some which were of the whole painting and some which were only a portion of the painting.
After you watched this you then went into the part of the museum that displayed them and it was literally mind blowing.
My favorite was this one:
Something about the monochromatic really gets to me.
After the museum we found a nice little place to have lunch and then wandered on back to the hotel for siesta time.
The facades and doorways are striking as you wander down these timeless boulevards….
Even though it’s closed and being restored, I shot a pic through the door of Casa Amatller
Which lead to just a random shot into an apartment lobby
It’s so amazing that these old building have been preserved and cared for and are actually still being used. I can only imagine what they must look like beyond the amazing facades and entry-ways….