Barcelona was a major stop - neither of us had been there before and everyone tells you you have to go. I was looking forward to seeing the architecture of Gaudi and the other modernista movement architects, Peter was less enthused as he expected to find it too florid for his taste. As a result we spent our first days walking the Ramblas, exploring the port, going to Tibidabo, visiting the Maritime Museum, the Picasso Museum, the Cathedral, and it wasn't until late on our second day that we took the tourist bus to Sagrada Familia. None of the photos that one has seen of this famous building give you any idea of the scale - it was so much bigger than I expected, in all dimensions. Peter began to revise his views then, but was unexpectedly captivated by Casa Mila which we visited the next day. We were both impressed by the emphasis on useability in the architecture and design, and Peter was fascinated by Gaudi's use of inverted catenaries to solve structural engineering problems. We returned to Sagrada Familia to see the inside (we arrived after closing time the first visit) and were awed by the expanse of Gaudi's vision. We then terrified ourselves by taking the elevator ride to the top of those amazing spires. As with much of Spain, the scale of the construction work going on was as impressive as the partially-finished product, cranes towering even higher than the spires.
Serendipity struck again when we were handed a leaflet advertising a concert in the Palau Musica Catalunya. After a short break from modern architecture to visit the excavations of the Roman city in the Museu Historica, we experienced a wonderful classical guitar recital in this amazing art deco hall - the perfect event for our last night in Spain.
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