The Iberian Jet Set (Part 1): The Essentials of Barcelona

Prologue:

- To cut the long story short, the main reason for this Southwestern-Eurotrip was because of yet another academic conference that I fortunately got accepted in, and had the opportunity to present in. This conference, however, was in Lisbon, Portugal. Since I had the chance to visit Portugal, I thought that I might as well visit the other country that makes the main chunk of the Iberian Peninsula - Spain. I thought that it would be a good way to understand Asian history from the European point of view, as Spain and Portugal both had extensive territories around the world during the Age of Encounter/Conquest.

- My main itinerary may seem strange for some, since I went back and forth Portugal and Spain. However, because I had to work around my schedule with both the conference and my work, that was the best option I had. Anyway, travelling between these two countries was quite convenient since they're just beside each other. However, it took me a while to learn everything because it was the first solo "adventure" (i.e. not including my trips via package tours where everything's laid our for you) that involved more than one country and plenty of day trips outside cities.

The trip:

- Nov. 18-19, 2016, Friday-Saturday.

- I arrived at Barcelona around noon after a long flight via Turkish Airlines (Manila to Istanbul, Istanbul to Madrid.) I took the 10-trip metro/bus ticket to get to the main city center. While looking for my hostel, Barcelona Central Garden, I immediately had this impression that Barcelona resembled and felt like some parts of New York - it's just that everyone was speaking in Spanish or Catalan (since Barcelona is part of and the capital of Catalunya/Catalonia.) I also noticed a lot of Latin American residents - no surprise there - and guess what, a lot of South Asians (Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, etc.)

- It was also cold, with temperatures as low as the 10s during midday (or 20 during the "hotter" days,) and around 9 to 11 degrees during early morning or the evening/night. Because I am a fan of the cold climate, I just wore a normal long-sleeved shirt with my fleece sweater - which at times, I even wanted to take off. Yes, that's how much I love the cold.

- I eventually found my hostel which was very near the Passeig de Gracia area. My hostel was tucked in a quiet (but not sketchy) part of downtown Spain. Apart from the hospitality and cleanliness of my hostel, my favorite part about it was that the hostel was its location. Barcelona Central Garden was located near most of Barcelona's main tourist spots, so much so that I rarely used the metro or the bus because I could WALK to most of them. The most popular Sagrada Familia by Antoni Gaudi was a mere 20-30 minute scenic walk from my hostel, passing by Gaudi's La Pedrera and other tourist spots along the day (if not, the Sagrada Familia can also be reached by metro from the hostel; it was just three stations away.)

- After checking in, I immediately set out to explore Barcelona on foot. I first stopped by Placa de Catalunya (it's spelled this way because it's in Catalan, else it's "Plaza de Cataluna" in Spanish. The "c" in Placa is supposedly spelled with the tiny tail under it or "cedilla," making the word be pronounced as "plasa" in stead of "plaka," but my English keyboard doesn't allow me to type the c's little tail.) The plaza was an open space for gathering since the mid1800s. Today, it remains to be one of the open spaces of Barcelona where people gather together for some events, or at times, public demonstrations. Some sculptures and buildings of different artistic styles can be found here.

Placa de Catalunya.

Cases Antoni Rocamora.

- I did not spend much time in the plaza since there was not much to see, and I went on to a street called La Rambla. La Rambla is known today as a tourist street because some small museums, souvenir stores/stalls, and tourist-targeted Spanish restaurants can be found here. La Rambla is also a hot site for pickpocketing, but honestly I thought that it was a safe place (compared to some places in Manila for instance) as long as people act alert and take good care of their things. In my case, I always had by backpack in front of me to be sure, and I always made it a point to check on the people around me. This warming and precaution is applicable anywhere, even in "safe" cities like Seoul, Singapore, or Tokyo.

- I decided to have lunch at La Rambla since I was already hungry and I did not have much time to be choosy. Since the street, as mentioned, had a lot of Spanish restaurants, I decided to dine in one of the al fresco restaurants. I had gazpacho (cold tomato soup,) good-for-one mixed paella, and a surprisingly as-big-as-my-face glass of sangria. I was happy to use all the basic Spanish I learned in the university years ago, only to find out that my server was a Pakistani, and from then on I spoke to him in Urdu.

Passed by this while walking on La Rambla. 

The St. Josef/Joseph Market.

La Rambla.

My gazpacho and my larger than-life-sangria.

My mixed paella and my larger-than-life sangria.

- At the very end of La Rambla was a statue of Christopher Columbus facing La Barceloneta (the beach in Barcelona.) After taking photos with the monument, I went back to La Rambla to visit Palau Guell (Guell Palace), located at Carrer Nou (Nou Street) perpendicular to La Rambla. The house was designed by Antoni Gaudi (among many other houses and churches) for the tycoon Eusebi Guell. Today, the house is a museum with things that were commonly found in a house during the late 1800s. The PALAU Guell should not be confused with PARK Guell, which is a park far north of Barcelona with the famous mosaic lizard.

Christopher Columbus.

Inside Palau Guell, the basement level.

Dining hall.

Window grills.

Etched glass.

Gaudi doesn't like symmetry, so it was hard to take photos, at least, for someone like me who loves symmetry.

The flags of Catalonia, Spain, and the European Union.

1800s organ.

The widely-photographed high ceiling.

Stained glass windows. 

A fancy porcelain toilet. I bet it'd be too cold to sit on this in the chilly Spanish mornings.

Gaudi, the quirky architect.

Main chimney.

Chimneys.

- After visiting Palau Guell, I walked to the other side of La Rambla to explore the eastern part of the downtown, particularly the Gothic Quarters ("Barri Gotic") and La Ribera. The closest to La Rambla was Placa Reial (Plaza Real). The plaza is an enclosed square, with the ground floor of the buildings surrounding the plaza mostly serving as restaurants, bars, and coffee shops.

Placa Reial.

- From the plaza, I walked along Carrer Ferraren until I reached Placa Jaume and the Barcelona Cathedral (aka Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia). The cathedral, built from the 13th-15th centuries, has since then been a cathedral dedicated to St. James (San Jaume.) The courtyard in the middle of the cloisters at the back of the cathedral has the Well of the Geese with actual geese until today. (Speaking of which, I learned that geese sleep in an unusual way.) Also, the cloisters, as with the cloisters of all the churches that I've been to, reminded me of New York's "The Cloisters" museum (click here to see) for obvious reasons.

Barcelona Cathedral.

Wat u lookin' at gargoyle?

Church interior.

Gold, gold, and more gold.

The cloisters. 

Yes, geese sleep this way, apparently. You learn something new everyday. 

The crypt.

- After visiting the church, I went south to La Ribera to visit another cathedral, the Catedral Santa Maria del Mar. However, it was closed during siesta time, so I decided to walk along Passeig del Born until I reached the old 19th century Mercat del Born (Born Market), a former public market which is now called El Borne Cultural Centre. The cultural center how houses an archaeological site (entrance is free to see the main site) of the ruins of old pre-18th century Barcelona. The ruins were discovered when a library was about to be built on top of it. By the way, for those who have seen the second movie of the Cheetah Girls (the one where they were in, you guessed it, Barcelona,) they shot most parts of the song "Strut" in the Passeig del Born area. The other areas shown in the music video were filmed in Palau Nacional (today's National Art Museum of Catalonia) and Park Guell, both of which I was able to visit as well.

Santa Maria del Mar facade. It was still closed.

El Born Cultural Centre.

Old Barcelona. 

- I went back to Catedral de Santa Maria del Mar after my visit to the cultural center, and was happy to see it finally open. This 14th century gothic church is still well-visited until today by both tourists and local worshipers.

- On the way back to my hostel, I also passed by the Palau de la Musica Catalana. It is an eary 1900s theater built by Lluis Domenech. One might begin to think that it is Gaudi's work because of the similar Catalan modernist style, but Domenech was actually one of the pioneers of that artistic movement and not the more well-known Gaudi. Domenech, sometimes called "Barcelona's other architect" or "Barcelona's unsung hero (of architecture)" was a respected architect not only because of his artistic style, but also because he commonly used lightweight steel in his creations, unlike other architectures of his time (including Gaudi.)

It's whimsical, but more geometric than Gaudi's works.

- The sun set quit early, as with other days during this late autumn season, and I hurried back to my hostel in fear of getting lost. I had an early dinner around 7 (it's early for the Spanish to have dinner at 7pm) at my hostel after buying some groceries, and passing by a neighborhood costume store to buy a matador hat - a perfect addition to my attire the next day.    

- My first agenda for the following day was a trip to the world-renowned Sagrada Familia. However, as with most of my trips, I wanted to do a cultural photoshoot with this one-of-a-kind landmark. Timing, however, was tricky. The sun rises quite late in Europe during the autumn-winter seasons, at around 7:50 to 8:30am. However, my pre-booked ticket to enter the church itself was scheduled at 9am. This left me little time to do my photoshoot ritual: set-up, costume change, test shots, and numerous actual shots (depending on circumstances like photobombers, lighting, weather, etc.) So yes, my cultural photoshoots are actually quite hassling to do despite the fun of doing it. Anyway, I left my hostel at around 7:30, took the violet Line 2 train from Passeig de Gracia to Sagrada Familia (the metro stop is named "Sagrada Familia" so it can't get any clearer than that), and when one leaves the metro, following the arrows to the Sagrada Familia exit, one can find himself in front of the Nativity Facade of the church. I got to the church around 8am, after the sun has risen giving some decent illumination to the whole city (had I waited around 20 more minutes, the sun would've been golden and it would've given a warmer look to my photos. Well, again, timing was a challenge.)

- The best place to take a photo of the Nativity Facade of the Sagrada Familia is not directly in front of the church due to trigonometric reasons (i.e. angle of elevation,) but rather, the park right across the street called Placa de Gaudi. I took no time to set up, and I had my fake-matador costume plus my newly-bought matador hat to complete the look. After doing my photoshoot, I quickly fell in line so I can make it to my 9am entrance ticket. Even though I started a bit too early before the morning "golden hour" (as what photographers call it,) I had no regrets starting early because by the time I ended, tourists were already coming to the park one by one to get photos of the Sagrada.

My matador photoshoot at Placa de Gaudi with an effortless shot of the whole Sagrada Familia.

The morning "golden hour" that came right after my photoshoot. Huhu. Would've wanted this kind of lighting for my photo. 

These were my actual street clothes, and no, I did not go around the city looking like a fake matador the whole day.

- By the way, it is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to pre-book your Sagrada Familia ticket and at the earliest possible time, because a lot of people - mostly tour groups - will be visiting the place and it might be harder to appreciate the interior of the church if there are too many people. I bought the entrance + audio guide + tower visit ticket online, and because of that I go in the church smoothly. Also, for people planning to visit the Sagrada Familia, there are two facades: the Nativity Facade (showing the birth of Christ) and the Passion Facade (showing the Passion of the Christ/"Death" of Christ.) Many people online, and now this includes me, prefer entering the church through the Nativity Facade because it looked better and more picturesque than the Passion Facade. The Passion Facade also has a park across it, the Plaza de la Sagrada Familia, but the view of the church from that plaza is not as nice as where I did my photoshoot (which was at the other side/facade of the church.)

- After entering the church, there was a mini Sagrada Familia and colored images of what the completed Sagrada Familia would look like. The construction of the church commenced in the late 1800s, and is still being constructed until today. The interior was pretty much finished, but the exterior is far from done. It is expected to be finished in 2026, exactly a hundred years after Gaudi's death. Based on the colored images, the finished Sagrada Familia is not just plain brown/gray, but it is conceptualized to be a colorful church like most of Gaudi's works; to be honest, the imagined finished work reminded me of colorful Russian churches. The Sagrada Familia is also based on the image of a forest, and it can be seen both the facade and the interior of the church.

Big Sagrada (Nativity Facade.)

Little Sagrada (with my unintentional serious face.)

- I normally hate audio guides because though they help greatly in making visitors understand the place, they slow me down because I have to listen and I'd need an extra hand to hold it as both my hands are usually filled (one for my camera, one for my map.) However, this was one of the times that I was thankful that I had my audio guide. Gaudi's imagination is out of this world (I meant that in a good way) and it is no doubt that Gaudi thought of the church's every detail. For example, the stained glass windows on one side of the church used warmer colors because the sun's rays would touch the windows during chilly mornings, and so the church will be filled with warm colors, and on the other side with cooler colors so the sun's rays would illuminate the room with cooler colors during afternoons when it would be warmer. The posts and columns inside the church were made to resemble trees with branches, and so on.

The magic of stained glass art.

Posts/columns to look like trees with branches.

Jesus at the lower middle.

At the Passion Facade. (A better look of it later, please scroll down.)

Reminds me of Chinese columns with turtle bases, and it also reminds me of Indian's Kurma (Vishnu's second incarnation) and the churning of the ocean.

- Later on I went up the tower (again because I booked for the tower entrance together with my entrance ticket, otherwise people can't go up the tower). Here's the thing: not all people can go to the tower because while people can ride the elevator going up the high tower, the stairs are the only option going down. This is why there is a warning that says that people who are not physically fit, pregnant, or are unable to walk may not (and should not) buy a ticket going up the tower.

From one of the towers.

There is a part there where you need to go from one tower to another via a small but sturdy bridge. They covered the bridge all over with this wired grid to prevent accidents or people doing stupid things. 

I am normally afraid of heights, especially when it involves small bridges and towers, but I was fine.

Narrow stairs that spiral downward.

All the way down.

Not sure what this is supposed to be but it looks nice.

One wrong step....

- After visiting the tower of the Sagrada Familia, I went to the Passion Facade to see how it looked like from afar, and what better way to do that by having a proper Spanish breakfast - churros con chocolate - al fresco at the Placa de la Sagrada Familia; there was a food trailer selling sandwiches and pastries with chairs and tables beside the trailer. The slanted columns supporting the structure, apart from serving as supporting columns, represent strained muscles symbolizing the suffering that Jesus Christ experienced during the Passion.

Passion Facade. The bone-like things that line the room of the facade are actually made to look like bones, more specifically, a ribcage. The slanted columns, strained/stretched muscles to signify suffering.

A closer photo. 

My late Spanish breakfast.

- I walked back to Passeig de Gracia, passing by but not yet visiting Casa de les Punxes. Near the intersection of Passeig de Gracia and Diagonal, one can find Gaudi's "Casa Mila" (accent on the "a"of "Mila,") more widely-known as "La Pedrera" meaning "stone quarry" due to its appearance. The interior of La Pedrera shows a typical early 1900s fully-furnished house.

La Pedrera.

At the roofdeck.

The Sagrada Familia (Passion Facade) from the roofdeck of La Pedrera. Imagine that whole thing COLORED by 2026.

One of the rooms inside La Pedrera.

- After visiting La Pedrera, I walked along Passeig de Gracia towards my hostel to visit the Block of Discord. (This block is right above the Passeig de Gracia metro, and it was the first thing I saw on my first day upon reaching the downtown.) The Block of Discord of "Illa de la Discordia" is called as such because the four houses on this block were built in the eclectic modernist styles by Barcelona's four great architects: Gaudi's Casa Batllo, Puig's Casa Amatller, Domenech's Casa Lleo-Morera, and Sagnier's Casa Mulleras. Visitors can only visit the first two mentioned as for the moment, while Casa Lleo-Morera is currently closed for redesigning. Casa Mulleras cannot be visited for some reason.

The Block of Discord.

- Casa Batllo is perhaps the most colorful and the quirkiest among all the houses on the block. There are many explanations for the appearance of the house, but one thing is for sure: it looks whimsical and straight from Alice's Wonderland. Inside, the central part of the house was kept open and painted in shades of blue to let the light in but at the same time balance the sun's rays.  

Colorful asymmetrical windows.

The chimneys.

The central part of the house, I hope you see the blue tiles.

- The next door Casa Amatller is largely ignored, mainly because people are more drawn towards Gaudi's Casa Batllo (because "Gaudi.") However, Casa Amatller is also a charming antique house. Though not as whimsical as Gaudi's work, Casa Amatller is better preserved (even some of the wallpapers are more than a hundred years old!!) so much so that a guided tour is necessary to enter the house (just pay the entrance fee and wait for the staff to guide you around the house while explaining everything.) Shoe caps are also provided so the visitors' shoes won't damage the wooden floors. Casa Amatller actually reminds me of Manila's own Casa Manila in Intramuros, but the latter is a remade Spanish-era house, while Casa Amatller was an actual house owned by the Amatller family. The Amatller family, particularly Gabriel Amatller and his sons and granchildren, were known as the real-life Willy Wonkas of  Barcelona because they created and expanded Chocolates Amatller. Needless to say, at the end of the tour was a visit to the chocolate store (and restaurant) located below the house.

At the entrance of the house.

Dining room with fireplace.

Would be nice to have a room like this.

French wallpaper - more than a hundred years old.

Hallway. 

Fancy faucet.

Antoni Amatller, one of the children of Gabriel Amatller. 

Old elevator. I think it still works, if I remember correctly what the guide said, but we couldn't use it. 

Webster's has been around for a loooong time. By the way, Antoni Amatller was also a fan of Egypt.

Champagne chocolate. 

Outside Gaudie's Casa Batllo.

Outside Casa Amatller.

- I realized that I had a lot of time left in the afternoon, so I walked a couple of blocks all the way to Parc de la Ciutadella. Visitors of the park will be welcomed by Barcelona's own Arc de Triomf (that's how the Catalans spell it). The arc, built in 1888, was the main entrance of the 1888 Barcelona World Fair with the park as the main site of the fair. Today, the big park, which was sort of like New York's Central Park (click here to see), has a fountain based on Rome's Trevi Fountain, a zoo, and some science museums (zoology and geology.) As for me, I just visited the arc and the fountain, and because I realized that I hadn't had lunch at 4 in the afternoon, had a quick lunch at the first food stall I saw. Food stalls in Spain are quite interesting, they act like mini and mobile coffee shops, with cakes, pastries, sandwiches, coffee, and other things.

Top of the arc.

Arc de Triomphe, is that you? (Well, technically yes - just not the one in Paris.)

The Statue of Liberty's sister, probably. 

Seeing this made me feel like I was in the middle of a music video or something.

Trevi Fountain, is that you?

- After my late lunch I walked to La Ribera until I reached the church and plaza of San Felip Neri. Today, the church and plaza is a hidden and quiet part of La Ribera, but the damages on the walls near the church tell a painful past - a bomb explosion during the Civil War in 1938.

Small and narrow streets.

Placa Sant Felip Neri. (The couple kept kissing for a good 10 minutes or so. Well, the guitarist at the side added some mood. He was playing a romantic flamenco piece.)

At least, the couple went away.

- Trying me best not to get lost in the maze of narrow and curvy streets, I finally made it to Basilica Santa Maria del Pi. This church, while built during the 1300s, was also the site of earlier churches as far back as the 900s or even earlier. There are times when people are allowed to go up the tower, but I guess it just wasn't my day (but it's OK too because after a day of almost non-stop walking, my legs were already begging me to rest.) Still, the church itself was a sight to behold.

Oh look, there's a small bazaar at the plaza.

Basilica Santa Maria del Pi.

A simple interior, but its style reflects the era.

One of the saints. 

The Black Madonna similar to the one in Montserrat. 

Organ.

- Finally, I walked along La Rambla on the way back to my hostel. I passed by the Erotic Museum, and because I had nothing to lose (except a few euros for the entrance fee,) I decided to go in. Apparently, this museum was able to explore sex and sexuality across cultures and beliefs, from Europe, to Asia, to Africa, and Latin America. It was quite interesting to see this sensitive topic being discussed without perversion, with some of the exhibits I even discuss in class (ex. Hokusai's "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife" and Vatsyayana's "Kamasutra.")

A Japanese kimono and a large phallus used during the Kanamara Matsuri (Penis Festival.) 

Japanese woodblock-printed shunga with Hokusai's "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife" in the middle. 

Erotic porcelain from China.

The yab-yum posture commonly seen in Vajrayana Buddhism (Tibetan Buddhism.) 

Statues commonly found in India's Khajuraho Temple.

Vatsyayana's Kamasutra. Yes, the Indian's can be quite....creative.

Salvador Dali has also a collection of many erotic works.

- Since the museum was small, I finished quickly and strolled back to my hostel to have dinner and rest for my first long-distance day trip - Montserrat!! (Read Part 2 here, Part 3 here, Part 4 here, Part 5 here,  Part 6 here, Part 7 here, Part 8 here, Part 9 here, Part 10 here, and Part 11 here!!)