Barcelona Opera House

Front of the Opera House

Entrance to the Opera

Balconies

Ceiling

Main floor and stage. It was a glorious evening of opera. They did Werther. The singer who played Werther received a five minute standing ovation in the middle of the third act. Wow, an impressive performance. 

Mural - The Sea

Barcelona Cathedral

Center aisle.

Side aisle.

Side alter.

Main alter.

Looking up at front tower. One must be impressed with Gothic architecture and the use of the vaulted arch to hold up massive amounts of stone. 

Miro Museum

Street reflecting light

Lights Reflected

Send Nudes

F. C. Barcelona vs. Los Palmas

Before the game.

Los Palmas kicks off after a Barcelona goal.

Barcelona left wing centers the ball.

A crowd of 90,000 enjoyed a Barcelona win 5 - 0. Soccer is the dominant sport here.

Murals

These tasty drawings seem to be influenced by the art of Keith Haring, but it is not his work. I could find no artist name on these. 

La Sagrada Familia

This church was designed by well known Catalonian modernist Antoni Gaudi, 1852-1926. This was his vision for a modern cathedral. The corner stone was laid in 1882, and it has been under construction with interruptions ever since. The Spanish Civil War prior to WW II brought construction to a halt for 20 years, and revolutionaries burned Gaudi's studio and crypts because the Catholic Church supported the Nationalists. I first saw this church more than 50 years ago. The four towers shown here were finished then. But there has been constant construction ever since. The building is scheduled to be completed by 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death. He was killed by traffic walking across the street.

The new main entrance. None of this was here 50 years ago.

Sculpture detail. Looks like a Cylon warrior behind the figures on the left. There has been some controversy surrounding the sculptures.

Tops of the new towers under construction. The construction is paid by a million tourists a year who pay to see the inside of the building. This is the top tourist site in Barcelona.

A number of architects have followed Gaudi since 1926 to complete his vision. 

Old Bull Fighting Arena

We saw six bulls go through the ritual pageantry, bravery, stupidity, and death back in 1964. Catalonia has now outlawed bull fighting, but they saved the exterior of this Moorish style building by turning it into a shopping mall. There are at least half a dozen high end restaurant on the top floor that has a great view of the entire city.

This is looking toward Fort Magica de Montjuic from the top of the Arena.

This is the new shopping mall built inside the bull ring. Walking out across that large circular floor I half expected 1,200 pound of angry muscle with sharp horns to come charging out shorting and pawing dust, but all I heard was the rustle of shoppers plastic bags. Times do change in 52 years. 

Metro

Glass Magic

Circus Raluy Legacy

Barcelona 2

Two Murals

Expressive

The first photo was a diner caught making a point while reflected in a mirror. The second is just graffiti on a security door of a closed bar. 

Barcelona Day One

We are in Barcelona, Spain. The following photos are a completely random selection of pictures. Click on them to see more than just the thumbnail displayed here. 

This is the view from our balcony. We live on floor P three stories from the ground. Floor 2 is above us. This does not seem logical, but that is how the buttons on the elevator work.

Someone might need Spi service, but they are closed, or seem to be closed from public view. Spi service is seldom out in the open.