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Post by cheerypeabrain on Nov 14, 2010 16:03:03 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2010 17:27:33 GMT
Beautiful photos -- yes, I have been to Barcelona more than once. One of these days I will try to dig up some of my photos, too. I think they are mostly of the Sagrada Familia, though.  |
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Post by mich64 on Nov 14, 2010 20:31:46 GMT
Hi Cheery, I really enjoyed studying the architecture in your photos. So unique. I have never been to Barcelona but I think I would really enjoy it. I will put this in my journal as a reminder because the buildings and intriguing. Thanks!  |
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Nov 14, 2010 21:22:18 GMT
I bet you took some amazing pics K2...I was using my little 'point and shoot' ! the guide kept cautioning us to be careful of pick pockets as she said that there were several working the areas where we were. I was a gibbering wreck!
Mich64...it really is a stunning place...the bits we saw anyway. Lots of art nouveainspired lamp posts and some incredible parks, statues and buildings.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 15, 2010 6:24:29 GMT
I am dying to go to Barcelona, and your pictures raised that desire to a frenzy.
The pictures of the Sagrada Familia are wonderful. You captured some great angles. Are the parts still under construction designed by different people, sort of "in the spirit of", or is there a master plan?
I totally see myself in that first "Emerald City" Gaudi building you show!
Is there anything at all in the Spanish Village, or is it all facades? It looks brand new.
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Post by bjd on Nov 15, 2010 7:54:07 GMT
I have been to Barcelona a few times, although not for quite a while now. That Spanish Village already existed years and years ago, so I think it's just a tourist attraction but with real buildings.
The first time I went to the cathedral (the old one) the courtyard had some geese. They were watchgeese -- I suppose because they make a lot of noise and are considered to have nasty tempers. But they had disappeared by the 1990s when I went back.
Another thing we had also noticed between two visits quite distant in time was the pollution. Checking photographs taken from Parque Guell (north Barcelona full of Gaudi architecture), in the early ones you could see the sea, in the later ones you couldn't. Once a year -- I think it's in October -- all the Gaudi buildings that are usually closed to the public are open for a few days. The Sagrada Familia church was just consecrated by the Pope a couple of weeks ago, but I think the completion date is 2012.
Barcelona is also a very popular city for youthful tourism and for European exchange programs. I would agree that there are lots of pickpockets and various scams there, but don't dare mention it on TT because all the Catalans living there get nasty. But the only place I and my daughter have ever been pickpocketed -- separately and 30 years apart -- was Barcelona.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 15, 2010 8:10:30 GMT
That Spanish Village already existed years and years ago, so I think it's just a tourist attraction but with real buildings. Cheery says above that it was built in 1929. It must have either been restored, or kept spiffed up all these years -- doubtful, with a civil war having occurred. The Sagrada Familia church was just consecrated by the Pope a couple of weeks ago, but I think the completion date is 2012. Cheery said 2012 is what the guide told them. It must be the official date, but will they make it in time? Does the fact that it was just consecrated mean that it was never used as a church in all this time?! |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2010 8:38:56 GMT
They said on the French news that the date of completion was something like 2025.
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Post by lola on Nov 15, 2010 14:56:18 GMT
Really nice photos, cpb.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Nov 15, 2010 15:46:15 GMT
They said on the French news that the date of completion was something like 2025. thinking about what we actually saw I'd say that was a more realistic date ;D There were plans to demolish a huge area of shops and offices that are currently situated next to the cathedral..to make way for a garden. |
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Nov 15, 2010 15:46:47 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2011 11:55:36 GMT
I missed quite a few of these great threads while I was away. This is simply gorgeous.
I am planning a trip to Barcelona this year,along with some other places in that region,nothing specific to date. My husband has cousins who reside there,and I have always wanted to go. Any more information that folks might be able to share would be most welcome and appreciated.
Thanks for the fine photos and thanks BJD for the tip on pickpocketing,it certainly caught my attention.
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Post by gertie on Feb 4, 2011 23:25:53 GMT
Thanks for the fine photos. I love those Gaudi buildings. I believe there is at least one in Paris as well? At least it certainly looked like the first exemplar shown in your pictures.
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