Picto Diary - 30 June 2018 - Barcelona
My first visit to Barcelona. TIMDT had been here a couple of times before with her cronies.
Above: TIMDT (or Granny, if you will) at breakfast, Cabana Restaurant. Disney Magic cruise ship. Barcelona, Spain. 30 June 2018.
Not alone in Barcelone.
Above: Art on Barcelona Street. Barcelona, Spain. 30 June 2018.
Where's Robert Smithson when you need him? Spiral Jetty ain't got nuttin' over the Catalons. — at Barcelona City, Spain.
There is art of varying sorts throughout the city.
Above: Family and guide Maria. Near Sangrada Familla Basilica. Barcelona, Spain. 30 June 2018.
We're back to using Europe for Kids company for transfer and guide service.... as we did in Rome over a week ago.
Above: Sagrada Familla Basicilica. Barcelona, Spain. 30 June 2018.
Like nothing you will ever see....
Wikepedia
The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (Catalan pronunciation: [səˈɣɾaðə fəˈmiɫiə]; Spanish: Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia; English: Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family) is a large unfinished Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Gaudí's work on the building is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site,[4] and in November 2010 Pope Benedict XVIconsecrated and proclaimed it a minor basilica,[5][6][7] as distinct from a cathedral, which must be the seat of a bishop.
In 1882, construction of Sagrada Família started under architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. In 1883, when Villar resigned,[4]Gaudí took over as chief architect, transforming the project with his architectural and engineering style, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms. Gaudí devoted the remainder of his life to the project, and at the time of his death at age 73 in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete.[8]
Relying solely on private donations, Sagrada Familia's construction progressed slowly and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, only to resume intermittent progress in the 1950s. Since commencing construction in 1882, advancements in technologies such as computer aided design and computerized numerical control (CNC) have enabled faster progress and construction passed the midpoint in 2010. However, some of the project's greatest challenges remain, including the construction of ten more spires, each symbolizing an important Biblical figure in the New Testament.[8] It is anticipated that the building can be completed by 2026—the centenary of Gaudí's death.
The basilica has a long history of dividing the citizens of Barcelona: over the initial possibility it might compete with Barcelona's cathedral, over Gaudí's design itself, over the possibility that work after Gaudí's death disregarded his design,[9] and the 2007 proposal to build an underground tunnel of Spain's high-speed raillink to France which could disturb its stability.[10] Describing Sagrada Família, art critic Rainer Zerbst said "it is probably impossible to find a church building anything like it in the entire history of art",[11] and Paul Goldberger describes it as "the most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture since the Middle Ages".[12]
Above: Granny's Charges. Bierras y Tapas. Tapas near our hotel, Marriott AC Sant, and Barcelona Central Train Station.
Tentative on most of the tapas offerings, at least they gobbled up a couple of large plates of chicken fingers.
Granny and Bishop kept the grand kids while the kids went out to explore Las Ramblas.
Above: Bud and Mynduveroan. Centro Comercial Arenas de Barcelona, Placa Espanya. Barcelona, Spain. 30 June 2018.
The fish clean off the dead skin from the feet... or it is so promoted. Whatever... the kids love it.
We found a great family friendly dinner place at this old bull ring, now a shopping center.
When we found this ... fish service... the other kids and grand kids had gone back to the hotel to rest for a very early departure back to the US.
Bull fighting was outlawed by the Catalan Parliament in 2010... taking effect in 2012. What better way to use the old bull ring than to turn it into a destination shopping and restaurant center.
Addendum:
Yes, but we have seen some other Mickey Mouse operations in our day!
the monk,
Salina, UT