Montserrat

Our visit to Montserrat was one of the best days I have had so far in Barcelona.  The views were spectacular and the knowledge I gained about the history of Montserrat, Barcelona, and Catalonia was deep.

The bus that took us near the top of the mountain looked like it was going to tip over and kill everyone as we went around every corner, and the 80 degree angle we took on the trolley to the very top was more than frightening.  However, when we got to the top, the views and history was worth every second of terror.

We could see the Pyrenees Mountains, and overlooked the outskirts of Barcelona.  The weather was perfect and we were able to learn about the history of the hermits of Montserrat and the legend of the Black Virgin, which both surprised me, and was something I had never heard of before.

As we walked into the Monastery that held the original Black Virgin, I got an eerie feeling of importance and mystic.  I am not religious, but when I saw the Black Virgin and saw the way other people were looking at her, it made me feel a little different.  I realize that in order to believe the story you have to have faith, but even without it, there was something about it that gave me the chills.

The art gallery inside the monastery was interesting as well.  I normally am bored by art and hate going to art museums, but the one thing that caught my eye was the Picasso painting from when he was 13 years old and had had no prior training.  The painting was of an old man and the detail was unbelievable.  We weren't allowed to take pictures, but to see it in person was enough to understand how talented Pablo was.





The trip to Montserrat was great and I really enjoyed the views and the hiking.  I learned that "Montserrat" is a very common name for women of Catalonia and can see why.  The mountain is beautiful and although it is a little nerve racking to get there, it is truly a sight to see.

Olympic Stadium and Montjuic

The Olympic grounds and Montjuic provided some of the best views I have seen of Barcelona.  The olympic area was fascinating because the 1992 olympics were a turning point for Barcelona and Catalonia as a whole.  Seeing the monuments and the architecture of the area, caped by Montjuic's beautiful views, this area is somewhere special.  

After learning about how the 1992 olympics was such a huge success and a way for the Catalonian people to see the outside world after decades of dictatorship, it was cool to see the area where it all unfolded.  Luckily I went on a beautiful day so the sky was clear and as the sunset on the cit, it made a nice red and pink overtone over all of the buildings.  

Although we didn't know that you could take a trolley to the top and ended up walking the entire mountain, it was a great experience.  To see the castle that overlooked the ocean at the top of the mountain was spectacular and just another place in Barcelona where I felt like I was experiencing history first hand.  This is where Barcelona defended their city and it was another place in the city that distinguished the pride the city has and the pride that Catalonia has as a "nation."

The views were unlike any I have seen and the city looked as "European" as I had imagined before I came.  Great day.

Estadi Cornellá-El Prat

Last week I visited Estadi Cornellá -El Prat to see the grounds and experience the stadium and the history of the less well-known Barcelona fútbol club, RCD Espanyol.

Unlike Camp Nou, which holds nearly 100,000 spectators, Cornellá is a much smaller stadium holding around 40, 000, which can often mean that the fan base is more dedicated.  The tour of the stadium was awesome nonetheless as we got to see the locker rooms, press area, and even go on the field.  Because Espanyol's history is not comparable to FC Barca, and because the stadium is brand new, there was less to see on the tour, but the experience was just as amazing and in fact more intimate because the players and team are not as world renowned.

The stadium was beautiful and the facilities were amazing.  The architectural design of the stadium itself was very modern and after walking around the entire place, I can say that there are no bad seats in the entire stadium.  After learning the history of the team, it seems just as rich as FC Barca, but without the success to go along with it.

The tour was great and being a fútbol fan I always enjoy learning more about teams and seeing how the professionals overseas are treated like royalty.  It was a great experience and I plan on seeing the atmosphere of a game in the near future.

Camp Nou

Soccer or fútbol has been my life since I was 5 years old and to have the chance to visit one of the most famous stadiums in the world and see arguably the best team in the world was awesome.

On January 22nd I saw FC Barca beat Racing Santander 3-0 in a relatively dominating performance by the home team.  However, it wasn't just the game that I enjoyed, it was the entire experience.  From the time I got off the metro I knew I was in a special environment and at a special place.  People from all over the world to watch FC Barca play at Camp Nou and just the sight of the stadium is exciting.

When we arrived outside of the stadium, there were hundreds of people lined up on the street waiting for the players to arrive, proving that everywhere outside the United States, fútbol is king and the players are of the highest celebrity.

When it was time to go into the stadium and watch the game, the atmosphere got even more electric and when the players were announced the entire stadium saluted them in chant.  It kind of reminded me of communist Germany in the way that all of the fans chanted at once.

The game itself was amazing as we watched Messi, Villa, Xavi, and company at their best and Racing had no chance.  Pedro scored within 2 minutes of the starting whistle and the game was always in their hands.

Growing up in an area where soccer is nothing, it was great to be in an atmosphere that appreciated the sport for how amazing it truly is.  It was also awesome to see how sport can unite people and bring people together from all over the world.  Fútbol is truly a universal language.

Last week I also did the "Camp Nou Experience," and got to see the locker rooms, trophies, history, and field of Camp Nou and FC Barca, which was actually worth the 19 euros I paid for it.  I got to see the press room, press boxes, and media section of the stadium, which was also cool to see up close after seeing it so often on TV.   Overall, my Camp Nou experience has been awesome and hopefully I can catch another game in the upcoming months.

Museo Maritim and Shipyard Walk

Our trip from IES to Museo Maritim offered knowledge and many great photographic opportunities as we passed Barcelona's modern museo of MACBA, the University of Barcelona, beautiful gardens, and finished at the old shipyards where we learned of the rich maritime history of Catalonia.  

Located on the coast of Spain, Catalonia obviously has a vast history of maritime culture and it was cool to see a prominent area of a significant Catalonian past time.  Although we were not able to go inside of the museum, I still got the feeling of how important it was to the history of not only Barcelona, but also Catalonia.  Like the Museo d' Historia de la Ciutat, I found it fascinating that they built the museum where the old shipyards actually were.  I think this makes the experience much more real and informative because it is not only telling you about the history, but it is also showing you through authentic remains.

As we made our way down Las Ramblas and passed Macba and the University of Barcelona I found it interesting to see how locals and University students both interacted and acted in an area not cluttered with tourism.  Students and children crowded the streets and squares, which reminded me of my home University, a feeling that I hadn't had in Barcelona until this moment.

MACBA also fascinated me not because of its popularity, but because again I was able to see the dichotomy between the ancient architecture of Barcelona and the modern architecture of MACBA.  This type of comparison always intrigues me, and because it is so abundant in the city of Barcelona, the layout of the city amazes me.

There was one modern building that was by far my favorite sight of the field trip.  It was a glass University building located inside a small square and it was constructed in a way that you could see in its reflection, the ocean and the coast, which is something that blew my mind.  It was one of the most creative architectural accomplishments I have seen.

Another thing I found most interesting was seeing a building that people live in for free because it was abandoned.  That type of thing would never happen in the United States as far as I know, and it is weird to think that people know this is going on and simply can't do anything about it.  To me that seems unfair, but when people find a way to cheat the system like that it always intrigues me and reminds me that nothing is perfect.




Overall, the field trip was very informative and like I said, even though we were not able to enter the museum itself, I understood and appreciated its importance to the history of Catalonia.

Roman Barcino and the Museo d' Historia de la Ciutat

Our trip to Roman Barcino and the Museo d' Historia de la Ciutat was very informative and it was fascinating to see ancient roman ruins still standing today.  The fact that these structures have stayed preserved is remarkable and the idea to build a museum around the ruins, to me, is ingenious.

The city of Barcelona, with its architecture and layout, gives me an old city feeling to begin with, but to finally see the actual remnants of what the Roman city of "Barcino" truly looked like completed the puzzle and made everything more real.

The walk from IES to the Museo d' Historia de la Ciutat was neat in itself because it was like a preview to what the museum was going to show us.  Stopping to see gothic architecture, cathedrals, and small details of the city provided a perfect introduction to what we would eventually see in the museum.  When we got closer to the museum was when I found the field trip to become very interesting because we were able to see modern architecture transform into what it was hundreds of years ago right before ours eyes.  It was like watching history unfold in 30 minutes.

The museum itself was fascinating because it combined ancient roman remains and artifacts with the very modern architecture of the museum itself.  Because the museum was literally built around the remains, it was a special dichotomy to see.  One room would be red brick walls while the next contained the stone of the ancient romans.  The one room that was most interesting to me was the bottom floor where the roman remains of baths, storage spaces, and other unique roman structures could be seen.  The most fascinating part of this to me, however, were the glass walkways that had been built over the remains.  It showed how far we have come technology wise and architecturally and I found that an amazing sight.

The preserved roman columns were another of my favorite as i found myself wondering how hard it must have been to create such structures that long ago.  It is amazing to think that even without the technology we have today, what humans are capable of.

My pictures: One of the Roman Columns, one of a musician in front of classic Barcino architecture, one of the museum at night with an interesting lighting through the windows, one of the museum itself, and one of Xavi picking his nose.