With the late hours we kept last night, we slept in this morning since there was nothing pre-purchased on the schedule until this evening. Leisurely awakening and getting ready, we again opted for the hotel breakfast–their croissants are a dream–before setting out for the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (National Art Museum of Catalonia).
The museum is housed in what had been the main site of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. After the exhibition, in 1934, it transitioned into a museum focusing on Catalan art. The collection within aside, the building’s architectural design and ornamentation are an artwork to behold in themselves. And today being the first Sunday of the month, there is free admission to most Barcelona public cultural institutions. So the place was crawling with local families, students and tourists alike. (We Clevelanders are so fortunate to have an Art Museum that has been and remains free to visit every day.)
But it was never overwhelming. The exhibition space is so large and so well designed within the building’s original footprint that we never felt like sardines in a tin such as one does when visiting the Sistine Chapel.
Here’s how today shaped up:
After another cava-inclusive breakfast at the hotel, we made a beeline for the nearest Metro station and transportation to the Mountjuic area of Barcelona.
Mountjuic, as its name implies, is a broad, shallow hill with a relatively flat top just southwest of central Barcelona. It name translates to “Jewish mountain” in medieval Latin and Catalan due to the remains of a medieval Jewish cemetery found there. Rising up from the Mediterranean coast, it was a natural site for several fortifications over the centuries. It was the site of the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition and remnants of that World’s Fair include the Palau Nacional (now the Museu Nacional d’Art de Calalunya), the Estadi Olímpic (the Olympic stadium), the Font Màgica (the Magic Fountain) and a grand staircase leading up from the foot of Montjuïc to the Palau.
Upon reaching the Paral-lel metro station, we transferred to the Montjuic funicular railway which carried us to the top of Montjuic. Emerging from the hilltop station, all of Barcelona was at our feet.
We continued our ascent on foot, walking along a perimeter road that passed by the Jean Miró museum (now off our to-do list) and the Olympic Stadium before reaching the Museu Nacional d’Art de Calalunya.
The museum is housed in what had been the main exhibition hall of the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition. After the fair ended, it transitioned into a museum focusing on Catalan art, opening in 1934. The collection within aside, the building’s architectural design and ornamentation are an artwork to behold in themselves.
As expected, there was no entry fee to the museum today. Being the first Sunday of the month, there is free admission to it as well as most Barcelona public cultural institutions. And, while the place was crawling with local families, students and tourists alike, it never seemed too crowded. The exhibition space is so large and so well designed within the building’s original footprint that we never felt like sardines in a tin such as one does when visiting the Sistine Chapel.
Thus began our hours-long adventure into a world of Romanesque and modern Catalan art in this incredible setting.
Leaving the museum, we headed down the grand staircase that led to the Magic Fountain (currently shut down due to a water shortage crisis) and onto the Plaça D’espanya where we caught the Metro line. Back at the hotel but having missed lunch, we purchased and shared a deli wrap from a nearby sandwich shop before taking our much-needed siesta in preparation for tonight’s ticketed event.
Refreshed, we bundled up against the evening chill and headed to the Plaça de Catalunya to catch the Barcelona Christmas Tour bus. This city goes all out with holiday lighting. There are strings of lights and lit-up themed decorations strung across most major streets in the city. For our 90 minute tour, we braved cold, windy conditions seated in the open upper deck of the bus. Earphones had been supplied for language-appropriate narration…but the audio quality had all the clarity of an American fast food drive-thru window (read: none!) and was beneficial only when there were Christmas carols being played.
Returning to the hotel, we decided to warm-up with a cocktail on the rooftop terrace bar. However, while the bar was stocked and ready for service, there was no one around. There was even a basket with bags of potato chips sitting at the ready. Our call-outs fell on deaf ears and the whole terrace appeared to be abandoned. With no barkeep in sight, we decided to descend to the lobby bar and imbibe there while listening to a live pianist pound out cocktail-appropriate mood music. And I grabbed a bag of chips, to be added to our tab downstairs, as a nice tide-me-over until we decided on a place to dine. Little did I know how well-sealed the chip bag was…until, after much twisting and tugging, it exploded open, its contents flying out in all directions in front of the elevators. Overcome with laughter by the Great Potato Chip Disaster and without any means of clearing away the salted shards of evidence, I went to the front desk to request a clean-up on the terrace and then to the bar to have the butchered snack bag added to my tab.
For all my embarrassment, we had a very pleasant time talking with the bartender and the bar back, both of whom were very proficient at the piano as well. When the hired pianist took his break, both bar men took a turn tickling the ivories…and they were both very good. Finishing our second drink, we inquired if there were any restaurants nearby that the bartender recommended for a quick and easy dinner. He certainly came through.
Just a few blocks from the hotel, a long sloping driveway-now-walkway led down to El Nacional: a former parking garage that has been repurposed into an eclectic assemblage of diverse dining options. We chose an island bar about midway into the place and feasted on a tapas dinner with cava (me) and beer (Rob). Satiated, we returned to and turned in at the hotel.
14,210S/6.4M
Barcelona 