The tour guide was quite passionate about Barcelona, Catalonia and Gaudi. This was very good because though the excursion was supposedly about Gaudi, she was able to and did educate all about Spain.
The main stadium from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics was not built new but was renovated and repurposed for the Olympics. The swimming and diving venue is open to the public for swimming and diving since the Olympics 24 years ago.
Montjuic Castle is in the downtown area of Barcelona. It dates back to 1640 and 
was initially built as a military fortress. In 1694, additions to the structure were made and it became a castle. Between 1779 and 1799, the castle was made into its present form. It had been a museum but closed in 2010. It is presently under the control of the city of Barcelona.
Onward to actual Gaudi architecture. Casa Milà was built between 1906 and 1912. This was Gaudi’s last project, other than the Sagrada Família that he had been working on since 1883. It was built for a couple as their home, with extra space to rent out.
In true Gaudi style, the architecture is reminiscent of buildings in Dr. Suess’ books except Gaudi died at least 10 years before Dr. Suess’ first book. (Hey, perhaps Suess saw Gaudi architecture when he was in Europe during his time at Oxford during the mid-1920’s. Maybe he liked it and decided to use it in his own drawings.) The outside of Casa Milà is a sand color with iron balconies that appear to be vines and/or seaweed. This particular tour did not allow for us to see the inside of the building.
Next, we moved on to the Sagrada Família. Gaudi was put in charge of this project in 1883 when the previous architect and project manager quit. The job was to build a large catholic church for Barcelona. 
Gaudi was a very dedicated and religious man. He worked on this project from 1883 until his death in 1926. As an architect, Antoni Gaudi made drawings to plan his projects but apparently these were usually incomplete because he preferred to make models of what his completed projects were to look like. Basílica I Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família was no different. He also realized that he would not live long enough to see his church completed. He worked on the church for 43 years. So far, the church has been under construction for 134 years. It is planned that the major structure of the church with its façades and its spires will be completed by 2026, one hundred years after Gaudi’s death. Final decorative portions are expected to be finished within six years the major structure being finished.
Though the church had been started by a different architect, when Gaudi took over, he totally changed the design and went forward with his plan. His plan was for the church to have 18 spires and three façades.
The three façades are to represent the Nativity, the Passion and Glory. To date, the Nativity and the Passion have been completed. Glory was started in 2002 but is not near completion, even after 14 years of construction. Unfortunately, the shore excursion did not include seeing the interior of the cathedral. Waiting in line
without a reservation was at least a two hour wait. The highest part of the interior when completed will be 250 feet high. There are five aisles and the main organ has 1492 pipes. The amazing thing is, the building of the massive edifice is NOT being officially funded by the Catholic church (the Vatican) or any Spanish governmental agency. The total cost is being borne by private donations and from tickets sales to the public to see the inside of the church. It is reported that the 2009 construction budget was 18M euros.
Not seeing the inside was a bit disappointing but there will be another day, hopefully before 2026 but if not, I plan to be there to see the opening. I hope that some kind of way, Antoni Gaudi will be aware of the completion of his masterpiece. He dedicated more than half of his life to this church for his God. I am pretty sure that God will be pleased with Gaudi’s work.
After the Sagrada Família, we went on to Casa Batlló. This was actually a remodel of a home built by Gaudi in 1877. In 1900, a new family purchased the property and in 1904, Gaudi was hired to redesign and remodel. Because of some of the design elements of the façade of Casa Batlló, it was sometimes called Casa dels Ossos (House of Bones). 
The front roof portion resembles what one might image a dinosaur or dragon skin might look like.
Columns and spindles of the balconies on the front façade give the appearance of bones or even rib cages, most likely leading the locals to give the building the nickname, House of Bones. The roof top/patio area outside is beautiful, whimsical and functional with incredible views of Barcelona.
Even the exterior portions of the chimney stacks are decorated to make a necessary, functional part of the building, interesting and pleasing. The use of mosaic tile adds color above and below terrace areas on the back of the apartment areas, as seen from the roof top patio.
Large windows and a central light well bring a lot of natural light into the building, even in the areas of the building, not inside the apartments. The use of ceramic tile and mosaic tile adds color and probably helped keep maintenance of the areas to a minimum.
A hallway fireplace and sitting area gives one that sense of Dr. Suess. A long hallway with white arches again gives one the feeling of being inside a large beast, looking at the ribcage from the inside.
Whether you like them or not, no one can ever say that Gaudi’s Casa Batlló, Casa Milà or Sagrada Família are just boring architecture. They are far from it.
As we headed back to the ship, we could see as the crowd was starting to gather for a pro-secession rally in Barcelona. Though Catalonia, the region of Spain that includes Barcelona, is recognized as a fairly autonomous by the central government of Spain, many people are seeking Catalan independence. This has been ongoing for many years and by the end of the day, I heard that a couple hundred thousand people participated in the peaceful demonstration.
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Back at the ship, there was time for a short nap prior to dinner. This night, I was assigned to a table with different wait staff than the previous three nights. Tonight I had Edmund, the waiter and Lizette, the assistant. This turned out to be the best pair yet. They were not only attentive but also very helpful. Edmund made suggestions for the meal and dessert. This is what I would expect, though none of the previous pairings had done the same. Edmund suggested the onion tarte as an appetizer and the chicken Waldorf salad to go with the ribs and baked Yukon Gold potato that I had selected as my entrée. Edmund was right. The onion tarte was delicious and is something that I would have never picked. The chicken Waldorf salad was light, tasty but not filling, with chunks of chicken, apples and nuts, leaving plenty of room for the entrée. The ribs were tender and well-seasoned with a complimentary sauce that was not overbearing. The meat still had its integrity and was not mushy or falling off the bone from being overcooked. The baked potato was perfectly done and with just a bit of butter, salt and pepper, completed that portion of the meal. For dessert, Edmund suggested the peach blueberry cobbler. Now being from the Midwest, I love a good peach cobbler but I am usually a little leery about eating such at certain restaurants. Additionally, I am NOT a fan of blueberries except for in muffins. There was also carrot cake on the menu and I almost never pass up carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. I took a chance and went with the peach cobbler. Again, another homerun. It was fantastic. After a nice cup of Earl Gray tea, I left the dining room with a piece of carrot cake for later.
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SUNDAY EVENING SHIP ACTIVITIES
After a day ashore and a wonderful dinner, I decided to check out the ice show that evening. I had not made a recommended reservation but I decided to try to get in anyway. Fortunately, there was available seating. The show had already started in Studio B.
The show was called ISkate. It was great. The skaters were great. The music was
great. It was ice skating set to music, kind of “Grease”-style with music and costumes from the 1950’s, ‘60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. The cast had about four women and seven guys. They were all good at bringing the audience into the show and seemed to be having a good time themselves. Normally this is NOT
something that I would go to see. I am glad that I went because I really enjoyed it. If I knew someone going on a cruise on that particular ship, I would recommend they see the show.
After ISkate, I decided to check out Adult Karaoke at On-Air on the Royal Promenade, Deck 5. It was quite interesting. The crowd was very excited and ready to participate. Initially, there were lots of singers and some were very good. Some singers were not so good but were having a good time. The audience was quite supportive and did not hesitate to show it. Eventually, they did run out of singers and time. The potential song list was quite long but I did not see anything that I wanted to sing myself but I enjoyed watching the singers, as well as the crowd.
This was the end of the day for me, after a couple of slices of pizza from Sorrento’s. It had been a long day and I was a bit tired. Monday morning we would be on the island of Mallorca, part of Spain. So far, the cruise has been great. The ship has so much to do. The shore excursions have been fun, interesting and educational. I realize that it has only been a taste, more like a movie trailer, of what the Mediterranean countries have to offer. I just cannot wait until tomorrow.
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the-wandering-doc
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