Belated TR: Spain- Barcelona Last Batch (17-20 Aug 2009)
(Last Updated On: October 10, 2009)
Barcelona has many things to see. But, perhaps the best way to feel the true spirit of this grand city is walking the streets themselves. Every corner has a different color, and different shadow, and different store, a different style. People hustle and bustle through these streets like they are mice in a maze. But, this is one maze you shouldn’t mind getting lost in for awhile.
The Arc de Triomf of Barcelona, built in 1888.
Park de la Ciutadella
While in Barcelona, we visited a lot of different museums, including the Museum of Contempory Art.
I found the “art” in this museum particularly difficult to relate to. I mean, is a room full of TV’s with static really art? If so, is there any talent there?
We also visited the Picasso Museum, whose exterior is shown below.
This museum doesn’t house Picasso masterpieces, but rather the development of his art, starting from his childhood, like this photo of his mother which he painted when he was about 15 years old.
Photo from Maria Picasso Y Lopez website.
For more paintings in this gallery please click here: Picasso Highlights
Joan Miró is another artist who is famous in Barcelona. Because of this, we visited the Miro museum which houses pieces like this: Woman, Birds, Stars (1942).
Photo from Miro Museum website
This museum also houses more of Miro’s really abstract art, which I will show in my Madrid photos. Miro… well, lets just put it this way… I think he was on a different planet!
The Museu Nacional d’art de Catalunya (MNAC) has a better display of Picasso’s cubism paintings than the actual Picasso Museum itself. This one is called: Woman in Hat and Fur Collar.
Photo from MNAC website
But, my favorite museum was actually the Maratime Museum. The Maratime Museum is actually housed close to the sea, in the original royal shipyards. It houses many different ships from replicas to models to originals.
These are models of the original Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria which Columbus lead to the coast of America, leaving from Spain on August 3, 1492.
This picture shows what Barcelona’s port looked like a few hundred years ago.
The even had an Optimist on display, the style of boat that I began sailing on my own when I was only 6 years old.
But the highlight of this museum is surely the ex-voto model of the Royal Galley of Juan de Austria. This is a replica of the ship that sank in the battle of Lepanto in 1571.
Barcelona is a fantastic place to visit. I am not a “city” person, yet I thoroughly enjoyed everything this spectacular city had to offer. However, it can be quite hot there in summer. So, be prepared to top your day off with some tasty Sangria!
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