PROTEST IN BARCELONA

DAY 3 & 4:             After a leisurely breakfast we walked up La Ramblas and through the Eixemble area of Barcelona, slowly working our way toward Sagrada Familia.  After walking for two hours we arrived at Barcelona’s primary landmark.  The Sagrada Familia, for those not up on such things, is the partially completed cathedral that was designed by Gaudi in the earlier part of the last century and has been under construction for the past 90 years or so.  It was finally consecrated by the Pope in 2010 but there are many years of work remaining.

Certainly it is a very impressive structure (the choir loft seats 1,000) and arguably may be the last cathedral of this scale ever to be built.  After viewing the inside we made our way to the elevators for our scheduled trip up the Nativity Tower (we purchased our tickets on-line yesterday).  Upon arrival we were told that the Tower was closed “due to a technical difficulty” and that our money would be refunded to our credit card account.

Disappointed we went outside to at least have a view of the towers.  To our surprise we saw several young people rappelling hundreds of feet above the ground.  They were all dressed in green and were waving large banners with slogans.  Because they were so high up (to say nothing of our minimal Spanish) we couldn’t make out what the banners proclaimed.  However, once back to our hotel we enlarged our photographs and the desk clerk was able to determine that the protestors were from Greenpeace and they were upset over the Russian’s haviing imprisoned their activists.  Perhaps seeing this dramatic and death defying form of political protest was more interesting than what we might have seen had we been allowed inside the Tower.

In the evening we decided to take in a Flamenco show, partly because we had just attended one at Performing Arts Series in Antigonish, and I wanted to see if this show would be any better.  All I can say is that I preferred the one here, only because the performance was shorter.

On the way to the Flamenco show we walked past the Opera House just as the patrons were arriving.  That was an interesting sight as all the women were wearing floor-length gowns and several of the men were dressed in tails; and I was stuck at the Flamenco. While waiting the start of the show Betty suggested we should order a pitcher of Sangria (lots of tourist drinking Sangria at street cafes).  At the end of the show our pitcher was still ¾ full.  I wished I could have sent the stuff to Rob Ford.  If that wouldn’t turn him off drink I don’t know what would.

After the show the evening improved dramatically as we chose another Tapas place.  As there were no tables left outside we opted to take the 15% discount and free Cava to sit inside.  The food was spectacular, especially the pieces of rib steak smothered in foix gras and carmelized onions.

IN DEFENCE OF FLAMENCO:  I should have done my homework.  The main singer sounded to me like he was having an acute attack of appendicitis, and the principal dancer had a beautiful face stretched in a series of grimaces.  Google told me that Flamenco began after 1492; the year King Ferdinand declared that all Gypsies, Jews and Muslims would convert to Catholicism on threat of death by burning.  Flamenco is an expression of the pain and anguish caused by that declaration.

On Saturday the crowds increase dramatically and it is sometimes difficult to elbow one’s way down the street.  Restaurants raise their prices by about 25%.  Nonetheless we enjoyed the day walking through the El Born district to the Picasso Museum.  After seeing many of Picasso’s early works (representational not cubist) we had a curry at a little Pakistani Restaurant before taking the Funacular up Mont Juic (not very interesting).  Then we attended a band concert (with strange Sardanan dancing) in front of the main Cathedral.  Later this evening we had our last round of Tapas before leaving Barcelona.  At the Bar service was very quick and I got back to the hotel in time to watch Mount A’s last minute field goal to win the Loney Cup.  Ain’t technology grand.  I expect I was the only one in Barcelona watching that particular football game.