Saturday, October 5, 2019

Barcelona, Spain - Day One

We have arrived in Barcelona!  Spain has been on my short list for awhile.  Mat and Arlington have both been to the city before, however neither really had the chance to experience it the way we usually do on our vacations, so they agreed to make a family trip.  The weather was very warm today.  We left Basel last night and it was 10 C (50F) and today it is 24 C (75F).  Beautiful weather.

Our first stop was the Picasso Museum.  It houses quite a large collection of Picasso's work - especially from the time when he was living in Barcelona.  This museum opened in 1963 and houses over 4200 of his paintings.  It houses many of his earliest works - up until his Blue Period (Which we actually had a chance to see in Basel recently)

We had a timed ticket to go into the museum.  As all popular tourist destinations these days, you cannot go places without making a plan ahead of time.  I always encourage you to buy tickets before you arrive to your destination.

This painting is Picasso's take on Valazquez painting (see below it)




 We laughed about this one.  THIS made the museum
This is the outside of the museum.  The museum itself is in a very beautiful stone building.

 Streets of Barcelona

After we left the Picasso Museum, we headed to the Temple of Augustus.  This was a Roman temple built during the Imperial Period.  The temple was once a central building in the city.  These 2000 year old columns are hidden and guarded because they are all that is left of the temple.  The columns were found in the 15th century and have been maintained since then.  These are free to see, and are quite impressive.
 Beautiful church we saw while walking around

Our third stop was the Barcelona City Museu, and one of my favorite stops. Here the remains of Barcelona during Roman times are exposed in a huge underground city.  It is massive.  No pictures would ever do it justice.  It dates back to 11 B.C. and what you will see is incredible.  It should not be missed.  You need to have tickets to enter, but it isn't a timed ticket and can be used at any time of the day you picked. 










 Spanish architecture
 Barcelona cathedral.  We are touring this tomorrow
 This is the restaurant Picasso and his friends would haunt while he lived in Barcelona
 

Our last stop for the day was the Santa Maria Del Mar Church.  This church was built between 1329 and 1383.  (this is actually quick build time for the size of this church, and we were told it was because it was well funded).  It is a Gothic Church.  This church was the victim of the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s where it was set on fire and burned for 11 days.  The altar, most of the stained glass windows, and much of the interior architecture was destroyed. 

We took a guided tour of this church, and I am glad we did.  We learned a lot of history from the tour, and had a chance to go to the roof top and look out over the city.  This was a popular destination, so I recommend you having a ticket to enter before you come to Barcelona. 


 Barcelona from the roof of the church






The inside of this church is massive.  They were getting set up for a wedding for an important political person's daughter that evening.
 Beautiful circular rose window

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