A Week of Clarity in Barcelona

Antoni Gaudí was a Barcelona architect who lived from 1852 to 1926. He had a one-of-a-kind style that incorporated many colors and elements (e.g., metal work, carpentry, tile, stone, etc.). Critics said his designs were “over the top,” even “gaudy” (people debate whether the word’s modern meaning is derived from Gaudi’s work). This picture of a town home he remodeled offers some justification for both fans and critics.

Gaudí was a deeply religious acetic man. Although a wealthy Barcelona celebrity, he ate frugally, dressed in old, worn-out suits, and neglected his appearance. In 1926, while walking to church for daily prayers and confession, he was hit by a tram. Passersby mistook him for a beggar and moved him to the sidewalk where he lay until, finally, he was moved to a hospital. Hospital staff also mistook him for a vagrant and therefore left him untreated until he succumbed to his wounds. Thus a man known the world over for extravagant ornamentation died because he looked so drab.

There is a lot more to Barcelona than Antoni Gaudí, but you wouldn’t know that from the travel industry. Go to any tourist information booth and most brochures will invite you to visit a building or park designed by Gaudí. I suppose that is for good reason. Seven of his works are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. However, I am not in the tourist industry and therefore will tell you some things the city of Barcelona would prefer that you not know.

Barcelona has incredibly wide streets that are extremely busy. Privately owned cars, black and gold taxis, and scooters – lots of scooters – create an almost deafening roar. The sound waxes and wanes with each traffic light transition, the sound loudest when a nearby light is green, then ebbing for the reds, making for noxious aural undulations, like roaring mechanical waves crashing on a cement beach.

I have found every other Spanish city remarkably clean. Much cleaner than any American counterpart. Not so Barcelona. Garbage bags, many of them ripped and their contents loose, lay piled on curbs. Crude graffiti protesting Spanish rule is everywhere. Catalan flags hang outside many balconies, as do banners saying “Libertat Presos Politics” (Freedom For Political Prisoners). There is nothing inherently displeasing about the flags or the banners, but these suggest unhappiness, and unhappiness is inherently ugly.

I previously noted the relative absence of homeless people in El Campello, Alicante and Madrid. Apparently most of the Spanish homeless reside in Barcelona. They sit on curbs. They sleep on sidewalks. They wander about, looking for handouts.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve never been to a major city that didn’t share the same problems. You might not take note of them if you lived your life in a large city. But for a country boy like me, the sight of a man sleeping on a sidewalk, or of a stooped old woman shaking a pitiful cup, remains a noteworthy event.

But let us not dwell on these unfortunate souls. Let us do as literally millions do every day: give the world’s meanness a silent “tsk tsk” as we move to increase the distance between ourselves and the less fortunate, then step into a building for a bite to eat. In Barcelona the best place to do that is La Boqueria.

La Boqueria is a huge indoor market, occupying nearly 28,000 square feet, and home to over 300 food vendors. Many sell meat, fish, eggs, fruit, vegetables – groceries people buy to take home. But a vast number sell exceptional prepared foods, the type you might expect to be sold from food trucks operating outside an opera house. It is finger food, but it is really amazing finger food: varied, flavorful and perfectly prepared.

There is something almost hypnotizing about La Boqueria. All senses are stimulated. Dazzling colors, tantalizing aromas, carnival sounds, interesting textures and, of course, taste. Whether you fancy sweet or savory, for a euro or two you can get a sample of whatever you want, and then move on to the next flavor that you didn’t know you crave.

It was at La Boqueria that I discovered Mercona almonds. Unlike California almonds, these are disc-shaped, and they are moister and softer than their American cousins. The Internet tells me that these Spanish almonds are grown by at least one California farmer and they can be had in the United States for about $20 per pound. That’s pricey, but these are really good nuts.

We exercised discipline at La Boqueria and retained enough appetite to eat paella at a sidewalk restaurant called The Pallea Bar. We sat at an outdoor table with a white tablecloth and ordered chicken and rabbit paella. No less than three beggars shook tin cans under our noses during the 45 – 60 minutes that we dined outside.

I know, I know. I said we were going to not dwell on the homeless. Frankly, and perhaps to my discredit, I was able to concentrate on great company and sumptuous paella, and mostly ignore the pathetic souls who, with substantially less success than Scarlet O’Hara, depend upon the kindness of strangers. But these poor folk bring us back to Antoni Gaudí, the man who died because he was mistaken for one of them.

Gaudí’s works remind me of Van Gogh paintings. If you have seen only Van Gogh reproductions you no doubt have wondered how in the world his almost child-like paintings fetch millions of dollars. But once you see an original you get it. You find yourself hypnotized by thick brush strokes and swirls of color and you think, “I could spend the rest of my life looking at this painting.”

And so it is with Gaudí. The photograph of Casa Battló (the townhouse pictured above), is a good example. Any opinion you form just from that image will not necessarily bear any relationship to the one formed after you see the building in person. But an even better example is Gaudí’s greatest and most ambitious work, Sagrada Família.

Gaudí began work on Sagrada Família in 1883. It will not be completed until 2026. However, while work remains on various spires, the basilica’s main body is complete. Millions tour it every year.

I am a lapsed Catholic, I enjoy all things historical, and I appreciate great art. For all these reasons I have toured countless Catholic churches throughout Europe. I finally reached a saturation point. When Clarity, our eldest, urged us to see Sagrada Família I said, “I don’t care to tour another church. I wouldn’t say, ‘If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all,’ but if you’ve seen twenty you’ve seen them all.” She assured me that Sagrada Família would be different from any that I had ever seen before.

She was right.

Standing outside the basilica one cannot help but gawk. The church presents as a 565 feet tall canvas with an eclectic mix of colors and media. Each bit of tile, concrete, glass, metal, or wood has been placed for both symbolic and cosmetic effect. If you go, be sure to take a pair of powerful binoculars.

Closer to the ground, at each entrance, there are facades, each of which uses statuary to tell a story. The main entrance presents the nativity scene. We exited through other doors and looked back to see the Passion. All these statues would have been well placed in the Louvre.

The site is most impressive inside. It somehow manages to be both majestic and austere. There are, of course, stained glass windows, but no statues. Gaudí wanted folks inside the church to be introspective. Statues, typical in a Catholic church, would be a distraction. So the inner aspect consists almost exclusively of huge stone columns that rise hundreds of feet and then branch out to support the roof. The overall effect is awe inspiring. It is like standing in a redwood forest.

Gaudí wanted Sagura Familia to evoke the sort of awe inspired by nature.

A Gaudí creation designated as an UNESCO World Heritage Site, Park Güell, actually is a part of nature. I will tell you something about Park Güell, but first I want to tell you about Tibidabo.

Tibidabo is a hill overlooking Barcelona. A Catholic church sits on top the hill. Just below the church is a little amusement park. You can tour the church for free (yawn), but you have to pay for the entertainment.

Tibidabo offers a panoramic view of Barcelona. That is one reason people journey to the top. Go instead to Park Güell.

Park Güell offers a great view of Barcelona, even if it is not quite so high as Tibidabo.

Park Güell is, more than anything else, a great walk. It has an amazing elevated trail system. The pedestrian bridges are so well integrated into the landscape that you may not realize you are on a man-made structure until looking from below.

One of the most fun aspects of the park is the musicians who busk there. Take for example this band:

Or this one:

We almost are ready to leave Barcelona. First, however, three miscellaneous photograhs: