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Barcelona architecture
The Sagrada Familia and the many works of Antonio Gaudi are the most prominent architectural features of Barcelona. No question that he inspired a new way of designing buildings. But he was not alone, we visited several other sites designed by other architects that were spectacular.
Palau de la Musica: Designed by Luis Montarer, this music hall took only 3 years to build (1905 – 1908). It uses mostly organic forms, emphasizing nature, color and light. The exterior and interior feature beautiful statues and friezes, and fantastic stained glass to highlight everything. Certainly worth a visit.
Hospital de la Santa Crue Saint Pau: A magnificent hospital site, built between 1902 and 1930. A huge complex, with significant buildings and almost a mile of underground tunnels for transport of both patients and supplies. It is now a World Heritage Site. It is truly a city within a city.
There is so much to see and take pictures of, here are a few. More can be found in our photo albums, click here and click on 2016 then cruises then Barcelona
A view of the Nativity scene
The ceiling reflects trees and nature
Some of the artwork and stained glass
But you better put up with crowds
Stained glass skylight in Musica
Behind the stage Musica
View of one of the balconies
Sculpture denoting Ride of the Valkyries
Entrance to the hospital
Some of the spectacular buildings
Another architectural viewpoint
Cruising to Barcelona
Our cruise left the Houston Cruise Port Terminal on April 16. It was the last cruise from this port, which is going to be converted to a container terminal. Our ship was the Norwegian Cruise Lines “Jade”, which was repositioning to Europe. A seperate blog post details our extensive dining experience.
We made a quick stop in Miami to pick up more passengers. Our first real port of call was St. Thomas, VI where we got off for a walk before 6 days at sea. A ride up the cable car gave some good views of the surroundings, and our ship.
We joined with the cruisecritics.com crew and had a great time. There were over 100 of us, from around the world. We even celebrated joint birthdays with Romola and Jennifer. Special thanks to Viet for including us!
Our next stop was Funchal, Madeira where we had a nice excursion. Our first stop was at the market, with the usual collection of plants, veggies, meat and seafood. Always interesting to see what’s local! Then, a short stop to taste the local Madeira wine. We even took a ride on their famous toboggan!
Then on to Barcelona. I managed to get a picture of the Rock of Gibraltar, even though it was late and I only had my small camera. Then on to Barcelona, where I’m sure new adventures await us.
Serial in St Thomas
Not all people that live here are poor
Or ship on the left
Or new friends Dan and Veronica
Cliffs at Funchal
Fishing village colors
In the fish market
Flower merchant in traditional clothes
In the Madeira winery
Living on the side of a hill
Hang on!
Vietnam and his new wife, who had a birthday
Jennifer's birthday on the same day as romola
Gibraltar at dusk
Caribbean cruise on the Jade
We do a lot of cruising, but never on Norwegian. So when we saw a very low price on a cruise from Houston, we decided to give “freestyle cruising” a try. Especially since they offered upgraded dining.
The ship was the Jade, and we had an inside cabin. It was small, but for our purpose just fine. The room attendant was attentive and did a nice job. The wood finish looked quite rich and attractive. Our only complaint was location, right above one of the night clubs, made for noisy evenings.
The food was very good, especially the upgraded dining. No problems there, although the open dining can get quite busy. The one problem we did have was that the Asian restaurant used MSG, which Romola is allergic to. So we skipped that restaurant.
Overall though, we enjoyed the ship and her crew. So much, we’re going from Houston to Barcelona on her in April.
The NFL Jade
The food markets in Spain are incredible. If you can eat it (and some you shouldn’t) you can find it here. Just for fun, browsing lets you see and learn things you’ve never known before. And if you’re adventuresome, bring your wallet… Some highlights from the Barcelona and Cadiz markets.
Chocolate
Famous (and expensive!) hams
Any cut of meat
Eggs
Mushrooms!
Blood oranges (I think)
All kinds of fruit
Colorful candy
Veggies
Fish
More fish
Baby goat
Not sure how you prepare this!
Peppers
Barcelona visit
The city of Barcelona is a “must see” visit if you go to Europe. Architecture, arts, food, markets, street life… it has everything! So our recent 4 day visit, while short, yielded many pictures which I will try to reduce to a few albums. This one is on the city itself and it’s many picturesque venues.
Approaching Barcelona after a long flight
City overview
Ah yes, the always busy La Rambla
Daylight on the La Rambla
Lots of eating options
Street mimes are quite good, actually
John Wayne in Barcelona?
Give money, watch him peddle
No camera, no problem.. have a drawing made
Early evenings and the crowds arenot there yet
Inside passage
Many statues
Even lamp posts are decorative
Palace on the hill
Communication tower from last Olympics
Part of Olympic Village
Castle on the hill
At one time the city was defended from sea attacks
Inside architecture
Harbor at dusk
Dusk in the city
Columbus at dusk…
… and at night, still pointing the wrong way!
Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain
This is our third visit to Barcelona, and our third visit to the Sagrada Familia. You could go here 100 times and never see the end, just a fabulous structure. Under construction for some 120 years, it looks like another 100 before it is finished. Simply amazing!
Main entrance, south side
The north entrance is kind of foreboding
Looking up inside the church
Some of the stained glass windows
Sunlight streaming through the stained glass windows on one of the columns
There are carvings everywhere
The pulpit canopy
Form, color and light
Laninga's Travel Blog 