Barcelona, adios!
Spain... Images arise in memory and the names of the discoverer of the continent, a man unrestrainedly striving for wealth - Christopher Columbus, the indomitable and fatal beauty Carmen, immediately pop up, stories about the untold riches taken out by the conquistadors from America, about the merciless inquisition of the Middle Ages. Music sounds the names of Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miro, Julio Iglesias, Montserrat Caballe. But in general, the land is just Manuel and Carmelite, Rodriguez and Juanite.
But we are not just in Spain, but in the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona, or as it is often affectionately called by people in love with it - Barç a. It's like a state within a state. Even their own language is Catalan, incomprehensible to a connoisseur of Spanish. Work in Barcelona is accepted only with knowledge of the Catalan language. And there are enough people who want to work in Barcelona, as well as in Catalonia, since this is the richest land in Spain and incomes here are higher than throughout the country. Barcelona is distinguished by its zest for life, thirst for activity, noise and simplicity in clothes, habits, and behavior.
Young people are lying on the green grass of the lawn (by the way, with a sign forbidding walking on the lawns - a crossed leg! ), Sitting on the floor of the subway platform. All the Spaniards are dressed, or rather, the Catalans are very democratic - jeans and jackets. I had to watch the children leaving the school for some time - for 50 schoolchildren, only one girl was in a coat and a skirt. Cheerful, carefree, noisy, express their emotions with laughter and exclamations. Many smoke and smoke everywhere. In Barcelona, they do not know English well and sometimes they have to explain themselves at the level of gestures.
On the central streets, in the subway, there is enough garbage, cigarette butts and papers are scattered. On the main avenues and squares they are removed, but without much enthusiasm.
In all countries, I am concerned about the issue of our smaller brothers. Neither cats nor dogs run stray through the streets. However, I didn’t see cats at all, perhaps they don’t walk them, but there are a lot of dogs. Everything is in business, that is, with the owner. I noticed that they give preference to pugs and French bulldogs, but often our “Druzhkov” and “Sharikov” proudly walk on a leash.
Where should you go first? Of course, on the famous Ramblas, which originates from Plaza Catalunya. After all, it is he who is mentioned in all the reviews about the country, it was about him that I read so many enthusiastic words. The street begins with the 19th century cast iron fountain Font de Canaletas.
According to legend, you need to drink water from it and then you will definitely return to Barcelona. I'm not sure if I really want this, but I took a sip of water. We love all the same different signs-rituals: rub someone’s finger, hold the nose, sit down somewhere, drink something, throw a coin somewhere...
On this central street, and it leads directly to the sea, there are many points of sale of souvenirs, books, postcards about Barcelona and Spain, artists who draw caricatures or portraits in 6 minutes, this is according to your desire, “living statues”, terraces cafes, floral, zoological living creatures - lively, noisy, fun.
I think that in every city there is a similar street, avenue or boulevard, the focus of both locals and visitors who want to get acquainted with the city, buy something and just feel the spirit of the city. Guides warn you - on the Ramblas, keep your eyes open and hold your bag tight. However, we are no stranger to such movements, a natural way of surviving in our environment. More interesting, in my opinion, are the streets to the right and left of the boulevard: the building of the Poliorama theater of the 18th century, the palace of the Vice-Queen.
A little further is the La Boqueria market. In February, the season of oranges ended and we just got into the season of strawberries (worth 2.50 euros), which are also sold in jars for 1 euro, cherries appeared, but still expensive, tangerines-oranges about 1 euro, papaya 3 euros, fresh juices in glasses for 3 euros. I tried both oranges and kiwi - delicious, but no different from those that are sold here. However, they were also brought to our region from Spain. I did not like strawberries - sour, the best, large and fragrant was in Tunisia, in April!
On the shelves of sweets of all colors and shapes - and long flagella, and twisted snakes, and "pearl" beads, red, green, black, a lot of chocolate. But the prices for all this splendor are considerable 28 - 60 euros per 100 gr. Sausage-leg-ham splendor cannot be viewed without swallowing saliva and it is difficult to describe - photographs give a more complete picture, as they say, it is better to see once...
In a small square in front of the market on the pavement of the boulevard, a mosaic by Joã o Miro is laid out. In general, the Catalans are great originals in this regard. Here and there you stumble upon an unusual use of objects familiar to us. Either the pavement is lined with bottle glass, then the wall is lined with lids, then the bench is made of fragments of broken dishes, then the shop window is decorated with rolls of colored toilet paper.
An annual competition is held for young artists who must show their skills using improvised means - some kind of waste, broken, broken, old, that is, unnecessary at first glance. And such creative use of old objects and materials is encouraged in the country.
But let's continue about the beauties of the unique Barcelona streets. Plaza Reial is a square not far from the Ramblas, where cozy terraces of restaurants, cafes and bars are located. Barcelona residents themselves like to sit here, and this is like a sign of the quality of the institution. Around the covered galleries, in the center of the fountain "Three Graces" and Antoni Gaudi's six-horned lanterns.
Not far from this square is the Palau Gü ell mansion, again a creation of Gaudí . The street is narrow and you can capture the whole house with a photo lens only from the side, but the main feature is on the roof - a mosaic of chimneys. In 1969, the building was declared a historical monument, and in 1984 it was included in the UNESCO catalog, as, indeed, many buildings and houses in this city.
The end of March is outside, and palm trees are growing in Barcelona, flowers are blooming, trees are blooming leaves. Just in time for our arrival, on March 23, spring has come. There is no winter at all, local residents say that snow falls once every n-th number of years, then everyone rejoices, children do not go to school, and employees are late for work.
Each port city has its own unique smell. This is the smell of the sea, which excites the mind, calls for long journeys, beckons with something unknown and distant. Let it be just a boat trip. On the waterfront of Barcelona, in the Portal de la Pau square, there is a huge statue of Columbus, who, after the discovery of America, arrived in Barcelona for an audience with King Fernando and Queen Isabella. Inside there is an elevator that raises to 87 meters and the whole city in front of your eyes.
Columbus gazes at the Gothic remnants of shipyards, ramparts and the Maremagnum shopping and leisure centre, which can be reached via the Rambla del Mar, a pedestrian drawbridge in the Old Port. It has its own peculiarity, because all shops are closed on Sunday, and the law is not written for this, because it is located on the water, in the harbor, and not on land, and it also pays less taxes for the same reason. There are many shops, cafes, a cinema, restaurants.
Lots of people rushing back and forth. Here it is, the port of Barcelona, blown by the winds, with a row of sharp peaks bristling - masts, because yachts are apparently invisible here. The port is now one of the largest in the entire Mediterranean, and the city's beaches stretch for 5 kilometers.
Barcelona is rightfully proud of its historical, architectural and artistic heritage. Everything and everything is mixed up in the city. An impressive heritage of the Middle Ages is the Gothic Quarter. The film "Perfume" was filmed in it. Having reviewed the film upon arrival, I recognized the narrow streets of this quarter, the royal square, where the scene of mass love was filmed, the pharmacy and the bridge.
From Plaç a Catalunya down and to the left of the main Rambla, beautiful creations by the greatest modernist architect Antoni Gaudí , Cadafalch are such ah(! ) and modern modern buildings. The Cathedral of Barcelona, whose construction began back in 1298, is beautiful, solemnly Gothic, and opposite the building of the House of Architects, the facade of which is painted by Pablo Picasso with funny little men. By the way, this particular artist is called by experts the most expensive artist in the world, and the paintings are the most “stolen”. In 2008, the volume of official sales of his work amounted to 262 million dollars.
We walk along the narrow streets to the Cathedral Square, where the Museum of the Dioceses of the 15th century is located, we exit to the Frederic Mares Museum, then the King's Square, the Chapel of St. Agatha of the 14th century. A narrow street leads us to the beautiful wide square of Plaza Sant Jaume, where the City Hall of Barcelona and the Palace of the Generalitat stand opposite. It was here that in the evening we observed a protest against bullfighting.
In Catalonia, bullfighting is canceled and, as they say, this again has a political connotation: they say, we, the Catalans, decide for ourselves what and how to do! Activists handed out leaflets, stood with posters depicting a muzzle of a calf with sad eyes looking longingly at us, people in white clothes smeared with red paint were holding banners and chanting something. Police cars appeared, and we decided (whatever happened! ) to retire along a side street.
It was then that the meaning of the words “the labyrinth of Gothic streets” became clear, I remembered the classic - Andrei Mironov, aka Gesha, running through the dead ends of Istanbul streets.
There is a lot to see and do in Barcelona, that's for sure. You can just walk the streets, go from one metro station to another and discover a piece of the city, watch the beautiful creations of architecture, architectural monuments, or just enjoy the park beauties and the first spring greenery (although it’s cool in the evening, + 16- + 17 in the afternoon). On a narrow street of the 12th century Montcada is one of the most visited museums in the city - the Picasso Museum, which has a rich collection. The museum itself is also interesting, as is the street, which itself is a monument of architecture.
If you have time, and, most importantly, desire, you can buy a ticket for 22 euros to visit 7 museums of the city for 6 months. We visited the museums of Miro, Tá pies, Mila's house and the National Art Museum of Catalonia. Entrance to each of them costs about 10 - 13 euros, so for art lovers a significant savings. Paseo de Gracia starts from Plaç a Catalunya and contains some of the main masterpieces of Barcelona's Modernist architecture.
Particularly noteworthy is the "Quarter of Disagreement", in which the facades of the houses of famous architects are built each in their own unique style and, as it were, compete with each other. Although, in my opinion, each is good in its own way. Crowds of tourists stand and take pictures of the buildings of Casa Amatller and Casa Batllo, standing side by side. Sculptural elements on the walls, multi-colored mosaic facades, turrets, ornate balconies - everything is very beautiful.
There is a long queue to the house of Casa Batllo, as well as to the house of Antoni Gaudi - Casa Mila, which is ironically called "La Pedrera" by the people. This is the most photographed, in my opinion, and therefore famous building. It seemed familiar to me and seen many times, but to touch it with your own hands, to see it with your own eyes - super! The building is located a little higher along the avenue and we did not refuse to enter it (again, on our single ticket for 7 excursions). The house has 7 floors arranged in a circle, inside a gallery without a main staircase. An internal hall, an apartment, in my opinion, on the 6th floor, an attic and a roof are available for inspection.
There is a museum in the attic, where there are models of Gaudi's houses, his furniture, a beautiful chain chandelier, slides are constantly scrolling. The roof is the most interesting place. It is on the roof that there are interesting architectural structures - chimneys, towers lined with marble, bottle bottoms, abstract figures imitating knights. From the roof you have a wonderful view of the avenue in both directions.
A little away from Paseo de Gracia is the building of the Antoni Tà pies Foundation. The same building, on the facade of which a wire is wound, or, as they say in the reference books, "a metal structure designed to smooth out the height difference with neighboring buildings. " Indeed, neighboring houses are noticeably higher. In this building there are paintings by Tapies, expositions telling about the history of his life and work, including with the help of numerous projectors.
With transport in the country, everything is quite simple. You buy a ticket (in any subway there are machines that accept both paper and metal money) and ride any type of transport. We took a T-10 ticket for 10 trips for 7.85 euros (time limit - 1 hour 15 minutes), this is beneficial, since only one trip costs 1.45 euros. It is suitable for bus, subway, and commuter rail. Special devices mark the date and time of the trip, when 10 trips pass, the ticket is closed with a corresponding entry.
Taxis in the city are also relatively inexpensive. Popular with tourists are tourist buses red and blue with the sun and with an eye, which travel along opposite routes - southern and northern. The route of the blue buses was organized first, and therefore it shows the most beautiful historical sights and places during the tour, and then the red ones were organized, but the copy is always inferior to the original.
I didn’t ride these buses, but I saw a lot and somehow watched how at the bus stop the girl tried to take the wrong direction, but the driver kindly pointed her to a stop on the other side of the road.
But in order to see everything, look into all the streets and feel the peculiarity of the city, we tried to walk. From the hotel "Medium city", where we lived, to Plaza Españ a, 20 minutes on foot. On the other hand, we passed the statue of Joan Miro “Woman and Bird” (the woman was found, but opinions differed with the identification of the bird) and at first the Arena shopping and entertainment center, which was still under construction. It was built from the bullring Las Arenas and has the form of an amphitheater, circular in shape.
At first glance, one might think that this is a reconstructed bullfighting arena. But, firstly, as we already knew, bullfighting is prohibited in Barcelona, and, secondly, even if it were allowed, there would not be such a large number of spectators. As we have learned, only rare bullfighters - "all-Spanish-famous" - collect full stadiums. Bullfighting with the participation of simple bullfighters is visited mainly by only tourists who are greedy for exoticism and thrills. The first time we passed by, vigorous work was being carried out around the structure: asphalt was being laid, half the road was blocked off, and it seemed that there was still a lot of work to be done.
But this is by our standards. On the next day, the Barcelona people cleared the road and washed the windows of the building, and on the third day, making our morning promenade, we saw a crowd of people walking along the upper tier - the Arena center was opened. Inside - everything is like in such centers, and from above there is a beautiful view of the Plaza de Españ a, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the famous "Magic Fountain" - the panorama from above is wonderful.
At the hearing, in plain sight, and therefore the dream of any tourist traveling to Barcelona, are Park Gü ell and the Sagrada Familia by Antoni Gaudí . We visited the park first. A lot of people, songs of amateur groups, sale of souvenirs, the game of musicians - an atmosphere of great mood, fun and celebration against the backdrop of quaint houses, grottoes-structures. All this organically merges with greenery, palm trees, flowers.
The main staircase leading from the main entrance and bifurcating in the middle is beautiful. Cascades of water pouring from the jaws of a mosaic dragon. At the top is a hall of 100 columns (although there are 84 of them). Musicians played there, and all the visitors took pictures of the multicolored mosaic ceiling. One very zealous photographer even lay down on the floor.
When we were going on the road, we thought about the need to see two things with our own eyes - Sagrada Familia and Mount Montserrat - they were very impressive in the photographs they saw. Sagrada Familia - I would call it the "Eternal Construction", probably never, at least in the foreseeable future, will not be completed, since its main feature is precisely that it has been built for 150 years and will not be completed in any way. Gaudi began to build it (note - “took over the construction”, that is, it was already underway, as we were told with violations of the location of the altar due to the east) in 1883 and to this day.
I will not write about what can be read in any reference book - how many naves should be, what galleries, towers, domes, inscriptions on the walls, etc. Beautiful, impressive, but exactly what dates back to the time of the master - the facade of the Nativity, darkened sandstone (as Gaudi said, “time will do its job”). And new elements - bunches of grapes, an ear of corn, fruits (all this should emphasize the abundance of Catalonia) - in my opinion, spoil the overall majestic picture. This is the work of Gaudi's successor, a modern 84-year-old architect, and then the work should be continued by... a Japanese architect (such are the rumors! ).
I think there is enough work for everyone. Nearby, in a souvenir shop, they bought a small souvenir with the image of the Sagrada Familia and now it is always there, reminds of the greatness seen and the memory embodied in stone. The people of Barcelona themselves idolize their great compatriot.
But I will continue about the beauties of Barcelona. How was it not to climb the second highest mountain in Barcelona - Montjuic. On the way, climbing the mountain, we passed the sports facilities of the "Olympic Ring", which were built for the 1936 Olympics, 1 day before the opening of which the civil war began in Spain. On the mountain there is a nice sculptural group "Sardana", dancing a Catalan folk dance. Why folk, why Catalan? The residents themselves do not understand this.
There are several museums and botanical gardens on the mountain. Beautiful fountains, greenery and a floor lined with mosaics and the bottom of glass bottles. A funicular goes up the mountain, even two, and you can get from the Prospect Parallel metro station to Plaza Españ a, and from there you can climb Mount Montjuic by an underground funicular for free. True, this is only part of the journey. Bus 55 goes straight uphill from Plaza Españ a. But we made this journey on foot. Picturesque road!
From the Plaza de Españ a, we started climbing the mountain. Escalator stairs quickly took us up to the National Palace, a grandiose structure with domes and towers, which houses the National Museum of Art of Catalonia. It presents expositions of different areas of painting. It will take a lot of time to completely bypass all the halls with stained-glass windows, paintings, sculptures, parts of the interior. Cascades of running water between the ribbons of the stairs, beautiful fragrant vegetation around - everything was very picturesque.
We passed by the Museum of Ethnography and ended up in the Botanical Garden-Institute. There were young artists in the garden who, under the guidance of a teacher, captured the surrounding landscape in their drawings. Perhaps these young talents will glorify Barcelona in the future. And again cascades of stairs, the murmur of water, gazebos entwined with greenery, sculptures. This garden specializes in the flora of the five climatic zones of the world.
At the top of the hill is the Miro Foundation. There were many who wanted to see the work of Miro, especially young people - buses drove up one after another. Of course, Miro's art is peculiar and controversial, evokes various emotions, but does not leave anyone indifferent, which means that the artist has achieved what he wanted. All the time I want to read the name in order to compare my associations and the true name of what is depicted by the artist.
I can say that by the end of viewing the expositions, in any case, the BIRD Miro, we have learned to distinguish! 300 paintings, impressive types of tapestry with hanging threads (beautiful, bright, something similar to a dog is depicted), 150 sculptures (which in most cases are called “Sculpture”, apparently the author himself was at a loss, and, perhaps, decided not to tell us ! ), 9 textile works and more than 8000 drawings. The general impression of the museum is positive.
At the beginning of the ascent to the mountain, there is also an interesting attraction of Barcelona, the Spanish village of Pueblo Espanyol - “a city of craftsmen and artisans, a museum city, a city of nightlife, shops, bars and restaurants, exhibitions and concerts... ”, but we didn’t have to see all this, as visited in the evening at 20.00.
All shops, craft workshops were already closed, but the photos in the Andalusian courtyard and Zaragoza came out interesting. In the restaurant we were treated to the national dish of Spain, paella - pilaf with seafood, nothing special, we ate pilaf and tastier, fish, or rather, its minced meat, baked in the shell, a dessert made from something light jelly-like and tried sangria - light red wine with ice, a slice lemon and orange, more like compote. Still, I do not consider myself a fan of national cuisines.
We ended the evening with a visit to the Magic Fountain. No one knew when, what time and whether the fountain would play and work at all, and, as we were told, you can at least call the mayor's office, they themselves do not know. Reference books and prospectuses around the country call different times. We arrived at the fountain in our early 20s and just in time to see it in all its glory.
Yellow, red, purple cascades of water shimmered and sparkled under the rays. There were columns of water dust near the fountain. Several boys jumped up to take pictures on the parapet of the fountain and, after a few seconds, jumped back, wet, drying themselves with their shirts. Exactly at 21 the fountains went out and the action ended. Beautiful, but I was convinced that the Dubai fountains are still No. 1!
You can write a separate review about visiting Montserrat Mountain - this is really a miracle. A lot of emotions and the most positive impressions. It is worth coming to Barcelona just to visit Montserrat.
After driving about 40 km from Barcelona, you see the massif towering at an altitude of 1.236 above sea level (the peak of Sant Jeroni). "Sawn Mountain" - you really can't take your eyes off the amazing shape of the mountain, which consists of many peaks stretching for 10 km one after another. On the left is a steep abyss and it seems that two cars cannot pass each other on this serpentine road.
Wow… “It would be better if we, like pilgrims, on foot, along the paths, nothing on our knees… Just not over this sheer abyss…” - these were my thoughts during the ascent. Heights are not for me! I try to relax and listen to the story of the guide. The Monastery of Santa Maria dates back to the 11th century and in the 13th century becomes an authoritative shrine of Catalonia.
The history of the monastery was not easy. The Napoleonic army left from him only a pile of stones and dilapidated buildings, but the image of the Mother of God was hidden in the mountains. Now there are two monasteries on the mountain - Santa Maria and Sant Benet, a community of Benedictine nuns 4 km away. Hermits, pilgrims, numerous tourists and visitors turn the mountain into a place of glorification of God, spiritual purification. This is facilitated by the beautiful nature around: oaks, pines, yews, many flowers and birds. They talk about the rich animal world, there are even wild boars and wild goats, but for a short time visiting the mountain we did not have to see them.
In the morning, when we arrived, there were still few people, but by 13 o'clock the neighborhood was filled with visitors, because at that time a children's choir of 50 choristers was singing. She performs three songs accompanied by an organ. As a specialist musician, to whom we gave a listen to the recording already at home, said - "Pure sound of organ pipes combined with beautiful children's voices, magnificent singing. "
They stood about 40 minutes to climb to the Black Madonna, “swarthy and beautiful, ” as the biblical author defined her. But all the chapels that we passed are so interesting, decorated with carvings, enamel, sculptures, icon lamps, frescoes on Easter themes, and all these are the works of outstanding architects, which we learn from the prospectus received at the entrance. We constantly see the inner hall of the cathedral, although it is closed by a gate from us, but time passes unnoticed.
You can take pictures of everything and everywhere. Under the triumphal arch with the image of angels-musicians and singers, we rise to the throne and, touching the glass, behind which there is a dark figure of the Holy Virgin carved from wood with the Baby on her knees, make a wish. It should be the only one and one must really desire its fulfillment. We descend along the path of Ave Maria, where lampadas burn night and day - red, blue, green, as a symbol of people's love and prayers for the Mother of God.
It was not for nothing that I so wanted to visit this place, peace of mind and peace - these are the feelings that you endure after visiting this extraordinary place. And the way down, though already on the other side of the mountain, goes unnoticed.
The visiting program has been completed. Everything that I wanted was visited, everything that I dreamed about was seen, kilometers were run out along the roads of Barcelona.
We got acquainted with this beautiful city, imbued with its spirit and say - Barcelona, adios!
