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Day 48: The Madman & the Sea

6/28/2013

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After 3 straight days of walking around Barcelona, we were ready for a break from the city. The four of us rented a car and drove out to Figueres to visit Salvador Dali's museum - Teatro Museo Dalí. I had been to this museum twice before and it's one of my favorites. I was very excited to bring my parents and Chris!

Getting There:
If you are traveling with more than 2 people, it's worth renting a car. The car rental cost us just 33 Euro and the tolls amounted to about 15 Euro.  A round trip train ticket would have cost around 35 Euro per person.  


Teatro-Museo Dali
Dali is one of the most famous surrealists of all time - known for his edgy artwork and eccentric showmanship. He was from the small town of Figueres in Catalunya Spain, right near the French border.  The mayor of Figueres once tried to acquire one of Dali's paintings for the city. Dali's response:  
Where, if not in my own city, should the most extravagant and solid examples of my art remain?

Instead of bestowing just one painting to the town, he built an entire museum.  He chose to build the museum in the town's old theatre because it was right next to the church where he was baptized and it's the first place he ever exhibited his artwork. The museum was completed in 1974 and is considered the largest surrealist object in the world. It's also home to Dali's crypt.

The building itself is a work of art.  Figueres is a relatively average town, but then you turn a corner in the city center and see a most unexpected sight: a Pepto-Bismol colored castle with large eggs in place of ramparts. 
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The museum peeking out over a courtyard in Figueres.
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Teatro-Museo Dali. Dali used eggs to symbolize hope & love. He also covered the exterior walls with plaster bread loaves, an object he commonly used in his paintings. He used bread as a personal emblem - a symbol of his art - to become an object of mass consumption, to be devoured by art fans.
We waited about 20 minutes in line and then entered this bizarre museum. We saw every single exhibit and were amazed at the variety of styles and mediums (they even have a jewelry exhibit). Here are some of the highlights:
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Monument to Catalan philosopher, Francesc Pujols.
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Inner courtyard & Gala's Boat (Gala was his wife)
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Main hall of the theater. It was crowded!
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Face of Mae West Which Can Be Used as an Apartment (1974)
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The Persistence of Memory
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Taking a quick rest in between collections!
My favorite Dali series is less well known. He dedicated an entire floor to a variety of paintings featuring figures comprised of colorful rocks. Here are a few examples:
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After spending a few hours at the Dali museum we drove to the coast to visit an adorable little town called Tossa de Mar. I visited Tossa back in 2001 and always remembered it fondly. It's an old Spanish city built on a peninsula along the Costa Brava. We had lunch by the beach and then hiked up to see the ruins of the castle with views of the rocky coast, and then walked through the winding streets of the old city. 
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Tossa de Mar. We had lunch under those orange umbrellas :)
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Nice shot of Mom on our way up to the castle!
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Stunning views!
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Tossa's theater
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View from the old city wall
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We drove back to Barcelona and dropped off the car.  That evening we walked around the old bullfighting ring, which has been changed into a mall since Catalonia banned bull fighting.  Then it was time to say goodbye to Mom and Dad as they had an early flight the next morning. We had a perfect day to end a wonderful week in Spain!
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Double Serendipity In Barcelona

6/28/2013

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I love the way the word serendipity just rolls off the tongue.  I'm always excited when I get to use it, which isn't often, because it's rare to find something wonderful when you aren't looking for it.   So it was great when I experienced two serendipitous moments during my 5 days in Barcelona!

Serendipitous Moment #1:
This one requires a little background: I met my friend, Leah, while studying abroad in Sevilla.  We were roommates staying with a local family.  One of the many photos we had in our room was of Leah with her friend Allasia.  During spring break, Chris came to visit me along with a couple of friends from BC.  On their last night in Spain, we stayed out all night in Madrid because they had a 5am flight back to Boston.  After dropping them off at the airport, I headed to the train station.  The place was deserted.  I began dozing off while waiting for my train when I heard two voices in English.  I looked up and immediately recognized the girl from Leah’s picture – Allasia! I walked up to her and said something like, “Excuse me, but is your name Allasia?”

The next time I saw her was in 2008 when we were both bridesmaids at Leah’s wedding.

Then, on our second day in Barcelona, my parents, Chris and I were leaving our apartment in Gotic when I saw a very familiar face walking down the street.  We both recognized each other and found it pretty hilarious to meet this way once again in Spain! She is in the middle of a master’s program in BCN and lives right around the corner from where our apartment was located. The next night, the three of us caught up over drinks & dinner.  Allasia showed us her apartment on the top floor of a building from the 1300's, with an amazing view of a plaza and church in El Borne. Christopher Columbus supposedly lived in a building right around the corner!
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with Allasia at the Mercer Hotel rooftop bar
Serendipitous Moment #2
The day after dinner with Allasia, we did a lot of walking and sightseeing. By 7pm we were exhausted, so my parents went back to their hotel and Chris and I walked back to our apartment.  At the apartment I checked email, Facebook, etc. On Facebook I saw a picture of my cousin Mirta from Costa Rica in the plaza right around the corner from our apartment. It had just been posted.  Luckily, she was still connected and I found out that she was in town just that day/night with her brother Alejandro so we made plans to meet for dinner at 10:30.  The last time I saw Mirta & Alejandro was in 2004 when Chris and I visited Costa Rica so it had been a long time.  Mirta & Alejandro were on a whirlwind European vacation visiting Paris, Barcelona, Morrocco, Rome, Florence and probably a few other places I’m forgetting. They were staying with their friend in BCN and all of us went to this great little Indian place in Barri Gotic where I had an awesome lentil soup.  We loved catching up with Mirta, getting to know Ale (since he was so young when we first met him), and meeting their friend Ber.  I took pictures that night but they never appeared on my phone:(  Luckily Mirta got one!  
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Alejandro, Me & Mirta in Barcelona
Serendipity, thank you! Barcelona was such a treat. 
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Days 43-47: Wallmania in Barcelona

6/27/2013

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Wallmania = anytime a large group of Wallmans gather. My brother and I use this term in reference to Thanksgiving, when 25+ Wallmans re-unite for 1-2 days at my Grandma's farmhouse. While we didn't have the full crew, we did bring a little slice of Wallmania to Barcelona: my parents came out to visit us for 5 days!

In fact, Chris and I are lucky that both of our parents made plans to meet us at different points along our trip. Mom & Dad Wallman chose Barcelona while Mom & Dad Barbier chose Southern Italy!

Our Barcelona trip began with an overnight flight from Johannesburg to Zurich with a quick morning connection to BCN (as it is commonly called). We rented an apartment through Flipkey at 25 Regomir in a neighborhood called Barri Gotic which is the oldest part of the city. While crowded with locals and tourists alike, Barri Gotic is incredibly charming, filled with small winding streets lined with all sorts of interesting shops.  We were just minutes away from the Cathedral, the famous Picasso Museum, La Rambla, the major shopping district and tons of little bars & restaurants. 

Our apartment was a nice size and we got a great rate compared to what hotels go for in the area. We had a living room/kitchen (with washer/dryer!), bedroom and modern bathroom. The apartment was an interior unit so it didn't face the street, but that meant it was quiet, which is important because people dine around 11pm and party all night in BCN. The only complaint I had about the apartment was that it faced an interior courtyard and the people below us smoked out their window all the time. The smell would wander into our unit - sometimes as early as 6am. Gross.  I quickly remembered I was in Europe and cigarette smoke is simply inescapable. 

The day after we arrived we called Mom & Dad at their hotel which was located in the Plaza Espanya (in Barcelona they speak Catalan which is a bit different from the Castillian Spanish we are used to. So instead of España with a tilde over the n, they spell it with a y). Thus began 3 days of sightseeing on foot! Before this trip, I had been to Barcelona twice over 10 years ago and it's one of my favorite cities.  However this was the first time my parents and Chris had ever visited, so we had a lot of ground to cover. Here are some of the highlights:

Gaudi: Sagrada Familia & Park Guell
Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) is an architect from the Catalan region of Spain, known for his unique style that incorporated various materials including ceramics, glass, stone and iron work. Most of his great works are located in Barcelona, including his most famous project - a basilica called the Sagrada Familia (technically it's not a cathedral as it does not seat a bishop) .  Gaudi was hit by a train in 1926 and died at the age of 73, when the Sagrada Familia was only a quarter of the way through construction.  He left detailed plans, however construction progressed slowly because it relied on private donations which were interrupted during the Spanish Civil War.  Construction began again in the 1950's but was slow going, and by 2010 construction of the basilica had only reached it's midpoint. Currently they expect it to be completed by 2026 - the centennial of Gaudi's death.  It's too difficult to describe this work of art in words - it's like nothing I've ever seen before.  It seems to be made from a dream and after seeing it for the third time, I'm still in awe that Gaudi was able to materialize his vision out of stone and glass. 
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Gaudi's magnum opus - The Sagrada Familia - still under construction!
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Dad, Mom, & Chris in front of the Sagrada Familia. There was a crazy old lady sitting on a bench to the left of my dad. She was yelling nonsense while a younger woman (maybe her daughter) was making a weak attempt at calming her down.
Park Guell was commissioned by industrialist Count Eusebi Güell. It was originally part of an unsuccessful housing project that was inspired by the English Garden Movement. Only two houses were built (not designed by Gaudi) out of the sixty originally planned, as no buyers came forward. Eventually Guadi purchased the park and moved there with his family and father.  It's definitely worth a visit, mainly for it's beautiful mosaics, lush gardens and stunning panoramic view of the city. 
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Welcome to Park Guell!
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We started at the top of Park Guell to see a great panoramic view of the city!
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Gaudi's colorful mosiac bench
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Spectacular design!
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Taking a breather on the Gaudi bench
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Park entrance
There are a  few other Gaudi buildings that we did not visit, mainly because there were very long lines. If you area  fan of his work or architecture in general, it's worth buying tickets online ahead of time in order to skip hour-long lines. 
Plaça d'Espanya, National Museum of Art of Catalunya, Botanical Gardens & the Magic Fountains

Plaça d'Espanya (Plaza Espana) is a beautiful, yet busy, plaza. It's beautiful because of the Italian-styled building called the Palau Nacional. In this building you'll find the National Museum of Art of Catalunya. Leading up to the palace is a series of fountains which dance to three different types of music every night from Thursday-Sunday. They are called the the Magic Fountains. Chris and I missed the show on Sunday but my parents saw it and said it was spectacular!  We walked from the plaza up the palace stairs and into the botanical gardens. 

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Palau Nacional. At night this entire area is alive with dancing fountains!
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View from the top of the palace.
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With my dad in the botanical gardens.
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An artichoke in bloom!
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Palace view from the garden.
Montjuïc and the Olympic Park
From the National Museum of Art of Catalunya we walked to the Olympic Park & Montjuïc where you can view beautiful views of the city and, if you are up for it, tour the old fort. We were pretty tired (and hot) by the time we reached the top of Montjuïc so we skipped the fort, stopped for a cafe con leche and then took the cable car down to Barceloneta for lunch. 
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Team Barbier over Barcelona!
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Having fun at the Olympic park:)
Barceloneta
When I visited Barcelona while I was studying in Spain, I didn't even know Barceloneta existed!  Barceloneta is home to the city's beach and boardwalk. It's a bit of a walk to the city's main attractions but if it's summer and you like the beach, this neighborhood would be a great option to look for a hotel. If you can swing a room at the W, you should go for it. It looks awesome!!
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View of the W in Barceloneta from the cable car
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Boardwalk in Barceloneta. Notice Frank Gehry's Fish sculpture in the background!
Parc de la Ciutadella & Arc de Triumf
Another nice little walk in Barcelona is through the Arc de Triumf to the Parc del Ciutadella. Afterwards, stop in the neighboring area of el Borne for lunch!  
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Beautiful fountain in the Parc de la Ciutadella!
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Arc de Triumf - constructed for the Exposicion Universal de Barcelona in 1888.
Spanish Culture & Fashion
I can't write about Barcelona without talking about the culture & fashion. When you visit, you will find that people here don't sleep much. Dinner starts around 10:30/11pm and they tend to stay out all night. When I was studying in Spain this was easy, as I was just 20 years old. I figured this time around we'd be in bed by 11pm! I was wrong. While we were exhausted after a full day of walking and went back to our apartment around 7pm, we ended up going back out for dinner at 10:30pm (for really great reasons which I'll explain in a future post). It's still light out at 10pm and, well, you just get used it. 

The fashion in BCN is also worth noting. I love the shops in Spain. LOVE. It was really hard refraining from shopping on this trip, but since I'm traveling with a backpack, I really have no room for new stuff. I did, however, admire the fashion from afar. Everyone is very bohemian, especially in Barri Gotic and El Borne.  There are so many cute boutiques worth exploring.  I highly recommend visiting these neighborhoods if you are looking for a few new interesting pieces! 
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Not the best example, but here is a glimpse of BCN style. Bohemian & flowy threads.
Well, that is my recap of our walking tour of Barcelona.  Stay tuned for my next post on two very serendipitous moments in Barri Gotic & El Borne! 
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    Eva has been traveling for 15+ years, including an 8 month journey around the world.  

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