BARCELONA TRIP PART 2 | DECEMBER 29 - JANUARY 3

BARCELONA TRIP PART 2 | DECEMBER 29 – JANUARY 3

January 9, 2011

DECEMBER 29

Before returning to Barcelona we drove north on the Costa Brava up to the French border. Beautiful and quite small towns, nice curvy roads and the Mediterranean sea remind us how far we are from home.

Parc Natural

Port de la Selva, is a municipality in the comarca of the Alt Empordà in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the northern coast of the Cap de Creus and is an important fishing port and tourist centre.

Port de Llançà

Can Narra restaurant is such a great place to stop in Port de Llançà.[br]
C. Castellar nº 37,[br]
T 972 380 178 / 972 121 078, 17490[br]
Port de Llançà.

Merluza a la plancha with steam potatoes

Rape (Monk fish) a la plancha with steam potatoes.

Crema Catalana (Catalan Burnt Cream)

Portbou, it is located near the French border in the Costa Brava region, and frequently serves as a dropping off point for SNCF trains coming from Cerbère in France.

[br]

DECEMBER 30

Back in Barcelona we begin our city exploration at Santa Maria del Mar Church, get some tapas at the Barceloneta area and during the afternoon, visit the Antoni Tàpies Foundation.

Santa Maria del Mar is an imposing church in the Ribera district of Barcelona, Spain, built between 1329 and 1383 at the height of Catalonia’s maritime and mercantile preeminence. It is an outstanding example of Catalan Gothic, with a purity and unity of style that are very unusual in large medieval buildings.

A chocolate sculpture at the Chocolate Museum

Sergio took us for lunch to the Barceloneta area, a small and crowed restaurant was the choice. Sadly I don’t recall the name or the address, but as we discovered later, the Barceloneta area is a good area to get fresh fish. Look for the small places that are two or three blocks from the water. The restaurants facing the water are more expensive and the first choice for tourists. The small joints are pack with locals and as Sergio told us, in the old days were the fishermen place to eat.[br]
[br]
The entrance was pack with people waiting to get a table, we decided to eat standing at the bar. We started with Estrella Damm beer, Alioli mussels and Bacalao croquette. Later grilled artichokes and pulpo al ajillo.

Aioli Mussels

Bacalao croquette

Grilled artichokes

Pulpo al ajillo

Antoni Tàpies Foundation

Antoni Tàpies personal library

Antoni Tàpies Foundation interior patio

Another interesting Art Nouveau building

Later on the day we went the Joan Miró Foundation. Photos were not allowed so we don’t have any visual record of our visit, only a shot from the roof were you can see the city.[br]

The Fundation Joan Miró, Centre d’Estudis d’Art Contemporani (Joan Miró Foundation) is a museum of modern art honoring Joan Miró and located on Montjuïc in Barcelona, Catalonia.

The building housing the museum is itself a notable example of modern design drawing from regional traditions. It was completed in 1975 by architect Josep Lluís Sert, who conceived it like an open space, with big terraces and interior courtyards that allowed a correct circulation of the visitors. The building was broadened in 1986 to add the library and the auditorium.

The Foundation has also a space named “Espai 13”, dedicated especially to promote the work of young artists who experiment with the art. Also temporary exhibitions of works of other painters are carried out. Moreover, the foundation carries out itinerant exhibitions to introduce the work of the Spanish artist.

DECEMBER 31

The last day of 2010, Alfonso spent the morning helping Sergio, silkscreen printing an art project for a client. I decided to visit the Casa Milà by Antoni Gaudi, and also see Javier Mariscal at la Pedrera, an amazing exhibition of 40 years of work of this multitalented Valencian Spanish artist and designer. I was able to take photos at Casa Milà, but not at Mariscal exhibition. Definitely it’s one of the top of my list for the best 2010 art shows.

[Show as slideshow]

Casa Milà apartment interior[br]
[br]
Later on that afternoon we went to see the Parc Güell. It’s a garden complex with architectural elements situated on the hill of el Carmel in the Gràcia district of Barcelona, Catalonia. It was designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí and built in the years 1900 to 1914. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Works of Antoni Gaudí”.

Sergio and I at Parc Güell [br]

[Show as slideshow]

New Years Eve Dinner preparation and party with friends after hours. 🙂

[br]

JANUARY 1, 2011

A new city exploration begins at Parc de la Ciutadella and later to the beach, where we had some Chinese food from a trendy restaurant that offers wok dishes. The food was decent and but not worth to take pictures. The city has more color and vibrant flavors than this stir fry restaurant.

Parc de la Ciutadella

Frank Gehry‘s Peix d’Or sculpture at la Barceloneta neighborhood.

Apparently it was a laundry day

El Cap de Barcelona, 1991-1992, is a surrealist sculpture created by American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein for the 1992 games in Barcelona, Spain. Its English title is “The Head”. The sculpture was Lichtenstein’s first outdoor work using ceramic tile. It is said to acknowledge Gaudi and Barcelona’s affinity for mosaics.

Gamba sculpture by Javier Mariscal on Colon Avenue

JANUARY 2, 2011

A new city exploration began at Macba Museum, where a very extensive collection of contemporary art is featured. The building is beautiful and natural light plays well with this very contemporary architecture.

The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art (Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona, or MACBA) is situated in the Plaça dels Àngels, in El Raval, Ciutat Vella, Barcelona. The museum opened to the public on November 28, 1995. Its current director is Bartomeu Marí (since 2008). The building was designed by American architect Richard Meier & Partners (1987–1995)

Later on the day we decided to visit the interior of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral….Something that you need to see if you go to Barcelona. REALLY OUTSTANDING.

[Show as slideshow]

[br]

JANUARY 3, 2011 | LAST DAY IN BARCELONA

We began our day going to Tapas 24. This very nice restaurant was recommended for our friends Alejandra and Cristian and we really enjoyed the food, the service and the ambiance. Don’t miss it if you go to Barcelona. [br]
[br]
Tapas 24[br]
Diputació 269[br]
08007 Barcelona[br]
T 93 488 0977

Pa amb tomaquet (Tomato-rubbed bread) and two cañas

Fish croquettes

Bomba croquettes (Large deep-fried potato balls stuffed with meat) along with aioli and salsa brava sauce.

Braised tripe

Arròs negre or arroz negro (black rice in Catalan and Spanish respectively) is a Valencian and Catalonian dish made with cuttlefish (or squid) and rice, somewhat similar to seafood paella. In fact, some call it paella negra (black paella in Spanish).