From modernismo to cubism, our last day in Barcelona provided us with visual wonders. La Basílica de la Sagrada Familia filled our morning while the Museu Picasso took care of our afternoon.
The morning dawned clear after the previous cool and rainy day, with the sun painting our neighbourhood in golden light. I thank Alistair for getting me up early enough to capture the light with my camera.
La Sagrada Familia has been a work in progress since 1882. A guide estimates that it should be completed within the next thirty years. Gaudi began work on this building one year after it had already been started, and in redesigning the project put his very clear stamp on it. (I took the historical photos below when they were presented as part of a short video.)
Gaudi died in 1926 and was unable to see his masterpiece finished, but work is proceeding more or less according to his plan. No Gaudi pretender has appeared, however, so the decorative touches on the exterior of the new sections resemble the old only in theme. I have provided some contrasting photos below.
Inside La Sagrada Familia the scene is breathtaking. Light floods in through the many Gaudi-designed stained glass windows, tinting stone and metal alike with reds and greens and oranges and blues. No surface has been left unadorned; the building is a triumph of modernism.
We rode an elevator up into one of the two accessible towers and then climbed a long narrow winding staircase to ogle the view from 54 metres (175 feet) up.
Following a lunch of tapas, we visited the Picasso Museum, home to more than 4,300 of his works primarily from his early period. It was a sobering indeed to view the impressive portrait of a gentleman painted by a 13-year-old Picasso! Several important works from his blue period are on display as well as a few of his later, more cubist paintings. No photos allowed, dear niece, so everyone was actually looking at the paintings!
On our homeward ramble to the Metro we encountered the El Born Cultural Centre. The building itself was originally a market. It was decommissioned when the site of 14th to 18th century Barcelona was discovered below. Re-enactments of the siege of 1714 that devastated the city take place in the dig itself!
We are sad to leave Spain which has provided us with such a happy holiday, but jobs for Gillian and Derek and my stage managing gig call us home. I am so happy that my daughter and son-in-law invited me along and I hope I made life easier for them. Travelling with an 18-month-old can be a challenge, but the joy of seeing the world through Alistair’s eyes – who knew motorcycles were so exciting? who doesn’t want to relive the excitement of bubbles? – is a memory for a lifetime.
Thank you for travelling with me. I hope I have entertained you along the way.
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