Growth of Modern Barcelona (1888 AD)

Today's return to Barcelona was an opportunity to learn even more about this beautiful city. In the previous tour, we focused on the oldest parts of the city from both ancient Roman and medieval times.

Today, we looked at four waves of change that swept through Barcelona and expanded the city each time.  Barcelona had been a major shipping and trading city for centuries, but its first wave of modern change occurred with the World's Fair of 1888.

Spain demonstrated iits imperial and cultural significance through artictecture and art, some of which still stands today.

The Arc de Triumphe (below) was made as the entrance to the World's Fair and was designed by Catalan architect, Josep Vilaseca. This brick arch was so loved that while the rest of the facility was torn down, the arch became the entrance to a garden square that houses ths local government's parliament.

You can see the tree lined garden with the arch in the background.  The stone building to the back right is the government building.

Below, the Christopher Columbus Monument was built at the entrance to the city from Port Vell.  It also marks the end of LA Rambla, an open air market that is still thriving today.  It was built as part of the 1888 event to celebrate the imperialism of Spain because Barcelona was where Columbus returned to meet the king and queen after his journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

At the base of the column, the Spanish king and queen are carved along with symbols of the regions of Spain that supported Columbus on his voyage including Catalonia, Argon, Castile, and Leon.

Best Laid Plans...C'est la vie

I woke this morning to find that the ship was rocking more than it had last evening, but I assumed that it was due to winds as I was bumping into furniture and struggling to keep my balance. As I was preparing to head out for breakfast, they made an announcement that due to mechanical problems, we were running four hours behind our planned docking at Toulon, France.

I took advantage of the nice morning to sit on the balcony and try to get my bearings.  A couple of hours later, the captain came on the speakers and informed us that the engine could not be fixed with onboard materials and we were heading back to Barcelona for repairs.

He then told us that the cruise would not be continuing on to any of the other destinations. 😢

So, nearly 12 hours later, we are still heading to Barcelona at a very slow speed hoping to arrive sometime in the night.  I am planning to spend the day further exploring the city and wait to see what happens next!  I do know that I will make it to Rome soon, even if it not on this trip! ☺

(Below) The sun setting on the Mediterranean Sea from my balcony.

Barcelona

Today was my day to explore Barcelona, Spain and it was a lovely day!

Our tour started with a drive around the city to get a look at the overall feel of the city. I found it to be clean, friendly, and comfortable.  My tour guide was named Connie and she took great pride in her city.  She often pointed out the many positive improvements that were made after Barcelona hosted ths Olympics in 1992. They made sustainable use of the Olympic Village by converting it into residential communities with public sporting facilities.  The stadium is also used for professional football (soccer).

My favorite part of the tour was the older part containing both Roman and Medieval sections!

On the edge of the cathedral of Barcelona, there is a section of the original Roman wall. (There is a photo at the bottom oc this section.). Barcelona was not a major Roman colony because there was little trading this far west at the time. However, it does still have a Roman presence including the streets and aqueducts that still bring water to some drinking fountains.  When it was Roman, the city was called Tarragona.

There is evidence that Christianity came to the Catalonia region of Spain and Barcelona as early as the 3rd century AD and there has been a religious structure at the site of the Cathedral of Barcelona since before it was first mentioned in texts dating from 599 AD. It was dedicated to Saint Eulalia in 877 AD. The story I was told was that she was a Christian in the time of the Romans who would not acknowledge the Roman gods, so she was tortured at the age of thirteen.

The cathedral is a combination of Romanesque design and beginning in 1317 AD, it was continued in a Gothic style.

You can see the differing styles that were completed over several centuries. The nave is surrounded by 32 chapels, each one was sponsored, designed, and paid for by the various guilds of the city.

The Grand Organ, below, took two years to build and was completed in 1539 AD. All of the wood in the catheral is oak from northern Spain

The cathedral was the site of the 1519 gathering of all of the sovereigns of Europe in the Order of the Golden Fleece.  They met as an assembly of peace. According to my tour guide, they claim that this meeting was the inspiration for the United Nations, which was formed after World War II.

The spires and the facade on this side of the cathedral were completed in 1913 based on a competition begun in 1882 at the cost of 1,700,000 pesetas. To understand the value, when the Spanish converted their currency from the pesetas to the euro iin 2002, one euro was worth 166 pesetas and today's conversion of euros to US dollars was 0.96 euros for one US dollar.  That is one expensive façade!

Below, you can see what is left of the Roman wall that once surrounded and protected the city.

Flamenco in Barcelona

In the middle of the of the Spanish Village, there was a tiny restaurant where they performed flamenco.

I learned that flamenco is not just the dancing, it is also the guitar music and the singing. Several performers entertained us while we had a lovely meal.

Most interesting to me was that the origins of flamenco are not completely clear, but it does see!m to include a bit of cultural diffusion!  Talking with people at my table, it seems that there is more than one story being told about which groups contributed to the creation of this unique entertainment hhat can be compared to American jazz in its improvised communication though dance and music. 

Among those groups mentioned as having influenced flamenco included Indians, Moroccans, and eastern European gypsies.  According to the guides, all of these groups immigrated to Spain around 500 years ago and it is believed that as these groups worked the anvil as blacksmiths, they created this form of communication to tell stories.  I was not able to follow the stories iin the dance or song, but I could certainly tell that there was conflict and tension! 

I was able to get some video, but the Wi-Fi is not strong enough to upload it because it is too long. I will upload it when I return.

Carmen was a famous flamenco dancer who performed at the 1929 World's Fair.

Barcelona's Spanish "Village"

After getting settled in my room, I was able to go on my first excursion of the trip!  We drove through the city of Barcelona in the dark.  I was not able to see everything...that will be for tomorrow, but I got a preview of the Olympic stadium, many interesting buildings, and some monuments including one for Christopher Columbus.

Our purpose for going out was to see a flamenco performance in what my tour guide called the Spanish "Village" built in 1929 for the World's Fair Exhibition.  The pictures below are from the village.

As part of the exhibition, they designed a village that would represent all of Spain for the eight months that it was meant to stand before being demolished.  However, it was so popular that they chose to keep it standing.  The exteriors are exact replicas of actual buildings throughout Spain, except for the fact that they used concrete and wood rather than stone.

The buildings in the first picture were originally hollow inside until renovations were made to create artisan work space along with retail space.

The church tower below was helpful in repairing the original when it was bombed and destroyed in World War II. Architects came to the village to study the intricate designs.

Dulles Airport

One last selfie before going into the airport :)

Security was quick! For the first time in a long time, I was able to keep my shoes on and not take all of my electronics and liquids out of my bags! :)

Now I can sit at my gate with a book and a tea from the Starbucks next door until I board my plane! Next stop...Barcelona, Spain!

Almost Ready for the Mediterranean!

Devices are charged, documents are packed, and my to-do list is almost complete!