Monday, 20 April, 2015:
We enjoyed a good night's sleep after attending the Spanish guitar concert.
This, combined with the knowledge that our favorite Spanish city, OK-OK, make that our favorite Catalunyan city, was waiting outside our El Raval barrio hotel door to be rediscovered, started to make Sunday's loss to the Búfals begin to fade.
So, full of animos, we headed to one of our favorite spots via a ten minute walk down Career Nou la Rambla and then up Las Ramblas, La Boqueria Market, for breakfast.
Laurie is bubbly too
Laurie: "Let's add a turret window to
our home like the one on the right."
Las Ramblas Umbrella Building
Same building also has a dragon
A Food Lover's Wonderland
La Boqueria Market
Breakfast at the Pinotxo Bar
with high energy Juan as our waiter
I can think of no better place to start your day than this little bar just inside the main entrance to La Boqueria. Juan and the Pinotxo Bar are both institutions in Barcelona.
The food is good and the energy great in this small, 12 stool bar that serves good food at reasonable prices.
Sated, we were now ready to explore the market.
Great Fruits
Nuts and Dried Fruits
Fresh juices hit the spot
Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Good for la Salud
Delicious Fresh Fruits
Peppers of every kind
Be STRONG!!!
Popular Dragon Fruit
Our energy stores were now maximized, thus we boarded Barcelona's efficient Metro for the quick ride from Las Ramblas to . . .
The Basílica de la Sagrada Familia
Architect Antoni Gaudí's futuristic and astonishing Basílica is still not finished after breaking ground in 1882.
After 133 years of building, it will still take another estimated 20 years to finish. The final plan calls for another tower half again taller than the towers you see now.
Close up of the Nativity Façade
We first visited this amazing Basílica in 2008 and have seen lots of progress each time we revisit the site, especially on the inside which featured nothing but trucks and busy workers seven years ago and no altars in sight.
Trash Window in the Ticket Line
We arrived at about 9:25 a.m. to stand in the relatively short, 20 minute line to buy tickets to enter this popular tourist site.
Our Jubilado (Senior Citizen Discount) tickets would allow us entry at 1:45 p.m.
New White Columns on the
Passion Façade
Lots of Towers
Across from the Basílica
I started obsessing again about our Wild Card Playoff game against the Las Rozas Black Demons in two weeks.
We had lots of time to kill
before our tickets were valid
Sports in the park across the street
Good Form
Another bowling-related game
No ball to throw, you launch
one of those little clubs instead
We opted to re-board the Metro and head to the Eixample district's Passeig de Gràcia to do some more Antoni Gaudí and Modernista sight-seeing at La Pedrera and the Block of Discord.
La Pedrera, aka, Casa Milà
This Gaudí structure is called La Pedrera (The Quarry) because of it's jagged, rocky façade. It was completed in 1912 and built for wealthy industrialist Pere Milà i Camps.
A chimney
La Pedreda balcony railing
The Passeig de Gràcia is an upscale area with upscale shopping.
Laurie liked a couple of baubles in this storefront window.
Not a Cobra
Interesting
University of Barcelona skylight
Guarding the U of B students
The Block of Discord
There are three separate Modernista buildings on this block, designed by three different architects, Antoni Gaudí, Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
Gaudi's Casa Batlló
On the left, Casa Amatller
On the right, Casa Batlló
Josep Puig i Cadafalch designed the Casa Amatller.
A Modest Balcony
Adding to the Discord
What are you looking at! . . .
. . . Oh . . .
Students learning about
Modernista Architecture
St. George
Beats me
Casa Lleó Morera
Dragons on Casa Lleó Morera
Laurie still wants a Turret Window
The Fundació Antoni Tàpies
It is closed on Mondays but we liked the building itself.
Catalunyan Separatist Movement Flag
We hungered
A few tapas and an adult beverage were called for before returning to the Sagrada Familia for our 1:45 p.m. entry time.
We're in!!!
We entered via the Nativity Façade side of the Basílica.
Here are a few close up views of the artwork on the Nativity Façade.
Hammer Time!!!
Ivy
Holy Family
Adoring Shepherds
Slatter of the Innocence
Escape to Egypt
Lady Bugs
It was time to enter the Basílica, remember again that seven years ago when we first visited the Basílica the interior was far from being a functioning church.
Above the Main Altar
INCREDIBLE ceiling
The Organ's pipes reflecting
the stained glass lighting
High above the Main Altar
Gaudí's vision of the proper
use of natural light
AMAZING!!!
Luminous
Laurie basking
Now let's look at some views of the Passion Façade.
Honor - Power
Passion Façade Towers
Add any four adjacent numbers
and the answer is always 33
That was Christ's age as the time He was crucified.
The Shroud of Turin?
Storm Troopers?
The Judas Kiss
Christ on the Cross
The Alpha and the Omega
Roman Dominators
Christ being scourged
On a small Passion Façade door
More of the Passion Façade Towers
The Glory Façade is full of Nature scenes and has a long way to go it seems.
Here are a few pictures of the Glory Façade for you.
Fruit,
Lots of . . .
Fruits and vegetables!!!
BIG Champions League game
Tuesday night vs. Paris St.-Germain
A bit too rich for our blood plus our train for the return to Murcia was leaving about six hours before the match's start.
Plaça de Catalunya
Where to go next?
How about the Barri Gòtic?
It has lots of small streets,
Memorabilia stores,
Bakeries and . . .
. . . even a SHOE store
The Barri Gòtic had something fun for each of us!
We continued to wind our way
to the El Born district
Nothing says Barcelona like this . . .???
A Café Cortado did sound good
St. George at it again
St. Jordi in Catalan who is Barcelona's patron saint.
Flags at half staff
A teenage student at a local secondary school shot and killed a teacher today.
Love this highly detailed street sign
Catalan Pride
Styling Stroller
Santa Maria del Mar
Santa Maria del Mar's door
Shall we enter?
But of course!
Nice but no Sagrada Familia
to be sure
Laurie likes REAL candles like these,
not the electronic ones so in vogue
People actually live in Barcelona,
it's not just for tourists like us
Laurie and a BIG paella pan
We need a better door knocker
back home
Announcing Barcelona's Harbor Front
Government Building Door
A big Republican supporting party
in the Spanish Civil war days
That pretty much sums up our feelings
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