“Every city has a spirit. Some whisper their stories, while others enchant you with their magic.” — Unknown
Hello from sunny (and much warmer than Istanbul) Barcelona, Spain! 🇪🇸
Just like Istanbul, I haven’t been to Barcelona in 23 years! Oh to go back and be a young naive study abroad student again. Equipped with only a map (no smartphone) and a Lonely Planet guidebook to get us lost in the streets of Barcelona. Memories of a simpler time. However, there is something to be said about Google Maps making travel much easier and more efficient.
I’ve been to Spain many times in the last 23 years (it is one of my favorite countries to visit) including walking three different routes of the El Camino de Santiago but I haven’t been to this vibrant city on any of those recent visits. I have no excuses – but let me tell you, it is great to be back.
Of course, so much has changed from what I remember but it is still a beautiful city and there is nothing quite like the warmth of the Spanish sunshine on your face to make everything feel right in the world.
As always, here are a few fun facts (from the internet) about Barcelona and its inhabitants.
-
Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, located on the Mediterranean coast.
-
1.6 million people live in the city center. Another 5.6 million in the surrounding metro area.
-
Catalan and Spanish are the official languages (most people are bi-lingual).
-
Founded as Barcino by the Romans in the 1st century BC.
-
Hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics, transforming the city into a global tourist destination.
-
All city beaches are man-made (created for the 1992 Olympics). To this day the sand is brought in by barges from Egypt and Málaga to maintain them and prevent erosion.
-
Barcelona has a fantastic metro (12 lines) and a high-speed train system connecting to other cities.
-
Famous people from Barcelona: Antoni Gaudí, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, José Carreras (one of the Three Tenors), Lionel Messi, and many others.
-
After his first voyage to the Americas, Christopher Columbus was received by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in Barcelona.
The first few days in town I’ve spent strolling through the streets and alleyways looking at art and architecture. Enjoying the food and watching the people. Just trying to take it all in as much as I can. Experiencing all of it has reminded me just how enchanting this city truly is.
Each building is unique and full of details like this one. Beautiful.
One of the artist’s museums I planned to visit while I was here is Picasso’s. Picasso Museum Barcelona is located in the heart of the Gothic Quarter in the old part of the city.
Unbeknownst to me it was my lucky day. The stars were aligned and I randomly visited the museum on a Thursday afternoon and the price of admission was free. The museum was also hosting an exhibition called From Montmartre to Montparnasse. Catalan artists in Paris, 1889-1914. I was recently in Paris and visited Montmartre, so I was excited to some of Picasso’s artwork from that time in his life. Below is an original sketch on a scrap of paper he drew in 1900 at the age of 19 of himself and Manuel Pallarės Contemplating the Eiffel Tower.
Pablo Picasso was a complicated guy, like most artists, or people in general for that matter. I’m guessing his complexity stems from birth – his given name is Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Crispín Crispiniano María Remedios de la Santísíma Trinidad Ruiz Picasso. Try to fill all those letters in the tiny boxes on school forms – with a name like that, I’d be complicated (or annoyed) too. I’m guessing his parents had big ambitions for him and he proved to fulfill them by being named a child prodigy by the age of 13. Picasso is also co-credited with founding the Cubist movement.
I’m honestly a fan of his earlier work and this museum hosts more of it than the other museums dedicated to him. A few of the amazing features of this museum are that it is housed in five medieval palaces (the buildings themselves are beautiful) and has over 4,200 original works of Picasso that he donated in 1963. Below are photos lining one of the walls of several of his works. Whoever the curator was on this project did an excellent job.
You can see most of his work online at the website but here are just a few that I enjoyed seeing in person. I would post more but the blog doesn’t have the bandwidth.
One of the most famous paintings in the museum is Science and Charity, 1897. Picasso was only 15 years old when he painted this elaborate oil on canvas. It’s massive and the details are pretty incredible. (Those little blue specs are the lights reflecting on the glass).
A portrait of his friend and fellow artist, poet, and writer, Jaume Sabartés.
Jaume Sabartés with Ruff and Bonnet, 1962.
27/08/1957 Las Meninas (Infanta Margarita María) from the Las Meninas series featuring 58 paintings from 1957. A reinterpretation of Diego Velázquez’s 1656 masterpiece Las Meninas. Las Meninas is Spanish for ‘The Ladies-in-waiting.’
So far, Barcelona has been delightful. While waiting for a friend one day, I was standing above the metro and took this video of people exiting the station.
Good Things List
-
Enchanting cities.
-
Beautiful architecture.
-
Interesting art.
Much love & gratitude. Namaste 🙏
Don’t forget to like and share this post, please. Thank you.
To see more photos and videos from my adventures, follow me on social media. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Threads or connect with me on LinkedIn.
Speaking of art. I love looking at all of the public art around town.
