A Week Exploring Barcelona

Next Day Next N    

Thursday, 22 April 2004 - Arrived in Barcelona, and had lunch sampling local tapas at El Xampanyet including "pa amb tomaquet" with various toppings and local wine. Explored the Gothic Quarter visited the Picasso Museum and a small Pre-Columbian art museum. Walked narrow streets and shopped in boutiques like Los Chales, then admired the gothic Esglesia de Santa Maria del Mar and the adjacent Placa Fossar de les Moreres. Ended the day with dinner at the Olympic Port at the "Crazy Crab" and returned to the hotel around midnight.

Barcelona 2004
After freshening up we headed out for a Catalan lunch - we opted for a meal of heavy snacks called Tapas. It was raining so we were headed to a museum and needed a recommendation nearby, once again Rick Steves guidebook gave us a great tip on a restaurant El Xampanyet. Virginia Ann and Cal ate at the bar sampling "pa amb tomaquet" - a french bread slice topped with olive oil and crushed tomato. On top of the bread you choose various toppings like sardines, anchovies, tuna, ham, and various other meats, fish, and vegetables.
Barcelona 2004
Here are Cal and Virginia Ann and you can see the "pa amb tomaquet" in front of them on the bar. Also a glass of local rad wine. The trip was off to a fantastic culinary start.
Barcelona 2004
After lunch off to the Gothic Quarter and the Picasso Museum - unfortunately no pictures allowed in the museum - but this is one of the museum courtyard. The museum is arranged chronologically - we both liked his early paintings when he was 15-25 of age better than the cubist paintings for which he is best known.
Barcelona 2004
After the tour of the Picasso Museum we stopped at a small Pre-Columbian Art Museum (Museu Barbier-Mueller Art Precolombi). The museum had some very good art assembled by Joseph Mueller starting in 1908.

The streets in the older part of the city are very narrow. Fun simply to walk around exploring little shops. Virginia Ann found a great shop (Los Chales) and bought a scarf.
Barcelona 2004
As we walked along a church rose up in a small square. It was the Santa Maria and the small square we walked into was the old cemetery - now paved over.
Barcelona 2004
The Esglesia de Santa Maria del Mar is a gothic church built from 1329 to 1384. Since it was built relatively quickly the architecture is very representative of the gothic style. The Catalan Gothic style features prevailing horizontal lines, flat terraced roofs, wide open spaces, strong buttresses, and octagonal towers. It is simple. The Rose window at the front is from the 15th century since the original was lost in a 1428 earthquake.
Barcelona 2004
Inside Santa Maria is breathtaking. Very simple and large expanse. There are three naves which are identical contributing to the large floor space. In a fire during the Spanish Civil war the interior was destroyed. The octagonal columns are 43 feet apart - a distance no other medieval structure was able to achieve.
Barcelona 2004
Critic Robert Hughes in his book Barcelona sums up this extraordinary beauty: "There is no grander or more solemn architectural space in Spain that Santa Maria del Mar."
Barcelona 2004
Next to the church Santa Maria is the Placa Fossar de les Moreres with a memorial to the fallen from the 1714 siege of Barcelona who are buried here in the former cemetery. Restored in 1986 it is a favorite venue for Catalan nationalists to gather on 11 September the day the siege ended.
Barcelona 2004
We ended the day dining out at the Olympic Port area at the "Crazy Crab". In Spain restaurants do not even open until 9:00 pm so dinners were late each day. Rick Steves advises that you can identify a tourist place if they accept reservations prior to 9:00. We finally arrived back at the hotel around midnight - a long and fun first day.
Next Day Next N    

Top
Top    
  Cal and VA | Adventures | Barcelona 2004
        © Cal and Virginia Ann Holman
All Rights Reserved 2000-2025 Do not use without permission.
Privacy Policy - Terms
Modified last on 2025-12-26