Upon arriving in Barcelona, I was delighted to discover that for the first time during this trip, I had a room with a balcony with a view of something other than the inside of the hotel. Score. However, after settling down for a siesta, I was awakened by shouting and the sound of many marching feet. I walked out on the balcony only to discover a protest occurring. Since they speak Catalan in Barcelona, not just the Spanish that I have learned, I had a hard time figuring out what they were protesting at first. Within the signs was a picture of Picasso's Guernica, a bunch of rotten apples with worms coming out of them, and a sign that roughly read (again, my Catalan isn't great) everyone in 4F (4th of February) are all indignant prostitutes. So naturally I googled it. It was a protest about police brutality that traced back to February 4th, 2006, when a policeman was hit in the head by a flower pot while breaking up a street party. Though know one knew for sure who did it, 3 people were arrested, and a couple of them were tortured by the police to give testimonies that they later said were false. Another witness later committed suicide in 2011. So a lot of angst. And anger. This is of course an oversimplification of the story, but it gives you an idea of what was going on. The bell hop at the desk said there are rarely protests here.
The next day we took a tour of Barcelona. This is the Block of Discord, named because of the three Modernismo houses that each have their own style and compete for your attention. Here is a picture of two of them. The one on the right is Casa Batlló, which I visited later. This one was designed by the famous Gaudí.
The outside reminds a lot of people of different things. The roof supposedly looks like a dragon, the center of the building possibly like a spine. Everything is in Gaudí's classic curvy over the top style. Though the man is now considered a genius, some people during his time hated his architecture because they believed that it was too much, and that's why we have the word "gaudy."
Gaudí didn't just design houses though. If you travel a little further through Barcelona you can find Park Güell (like guay). Here, Gaudí designed bridges and arches from the natural rock in the land, making his creations blend seamlessly into the landscape.
He also built a plaza filled with seats and a beautiful view of Barcelona that looks out over the Mediterranean. All of the mosaics are made of broken materials, and the theme changes throughout the wall. He also designed three houses that are in the park, one in which he lived, another white one which is a private residence, and then the Casa de Güell, which now serves as a private school. Here you can see the children playing during recess in this famous park. The pink building on the right is their school.
Gaudí was very utilitarian. If you look at the lions on the top of the columns, you can see that their mouths are open. When it rains, the water that settles into the benches is collected in holes and streams out of their mouths. The columns are also hollow, and water from the ground flows into them. When they are filled, the dragon bellow spews out water.
Despite the magic of Gaudí's architecture, this is a very restful park where you can find nature in an otherwise very crowded city with very few trees.
Later we found the best view of the city in town. It was my first time seeing the Mediterranean see. Although it was freezing, the experience did not disappoint.
The internet in Barcelona was very touch and go, so these blogs are coming to you a little late. I have arrived in Córdoba, and am exploring the city. So far it is absolutely breathtaking. I will try to catch you up on everything that has happened when I get a chance.
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