Just outside Barcelona is the mountain, Montserrat (not to be confused with the more famous island). A short train ride makes for a great day trip up the mountain. You can choose to go all the way up by either cable car or railway, with the cable car being faster. I chose the cable car and it offered amazing views up the mountain (not for those afraid of heights). A couple of funiculars take you up even higher where you can choose various walking trails. I will freely admit to choosing one of the shorter trails because at this point in the trip, I already know that selecting a more adventurous one is something I will regret. And my shoes are wearing down to the point where traction is at a premium!

Above the city is Montjuïc, or Hill of the Jews (when Jews were in good standing there, I assume).  There is a beautiful park, National Museum, the Poble Espanyol (a Spanish village representing the different buildings of Spain with artists, shops, cafes), the Olympic Stadium (built for the an alternative to the Berlin ’36 Olympics, but not used due to the Spanish Civil War. It was the site of the ’92 Olympics), and more. It overlooks the city and is a great way to spend a day.

Park:

Here are some night shots around town:

More to come on Barcelona.  But tomorrow I take the train to the final pit stop before returning to the U.S.  On to Madrid.

Sagrada Familia is probably Gaudi’s most famous work, a basilica that was started in 1882 and has never been completed. They say it will take another 80 years to complete it. Damn unions! However, the inside was recently completed and was just dedicated a few weeks ago by Pope Benedict XVI. For that reason, and the fact that two religious holidays fell on Monday and Wednesday here, the line to get in (and pay 12 euros for the privilege) went around the block. I didn’t realize that this was a special occasion and assumed this was the case all the time to get in. Which made me think with that kind of money coming in, it shouldn’t really take longer than a 100 years in total to complete, but that’s just me.

I was not about to wait two hours to get in, but when I was told that it was an unusually large queue, I gave it another shot a couple days later.  Sure enough, I was in in about two minutes.

Everyone is quick to point out that this is not a cathedral, but a basilica, and that Barcelona has only one cathedral. Which, being of different faith, made me run to WikiAnswers to see what the difference is. Completed or not, it is an impressive piece of work.

As previously mentioned, the influence of architect Antoni Gaudi is all throughout Barcelona, from houses built for the wealthy, to the design of Park Güell to the famous Sagrada Familia, the basilica that was started to be built in 1882 and is still under construction.  Gaudi uses the influences of nature, color, and mosaics to build truly unique structures.  The sad thing about Gaudi is that such a large figure had such a, pardon the pun, pedestrian death as he was hit by a tram on the street.  One of his most famous building, commissioned by a wealthy couple, is known as La Pedrera, a nickname meaning “The Quarry” in Catalan because it took so freaking long to build, the neighbors hated it.  Kinda like a mini version of the Big Dig.  Technically, it is known as Casa Mil à.  You can tour some of the apartments and go on the roof.  Note, there are a lot of steps going up but you don’t realize it until once you’ve passed the elevator and regret not taking it.

Without a doubt, Barcelona must be on any list of the top architectural cities in the world.  I mean, wherever you turn is another magnificent building.  There are many styles here, from Gothic to Neoclassical to Art Nouveau to Modernism.  One of the most important architects is Antoni Gaudi, whose designs dominate much of the city.  More on his work in a separate post.  But here are some samples of the great architecture here.