Day 4: The Correct Map, Museums Are Open, and an Evening Stroll.

The correct bus. I sat downstairs.

The approach

Now that the whole map thing was settled, I hopped on board the Blue line and set out for the Monastir de Pedrables bright and early. My plan was to be the first one in at 10am and my plan came together beautifully. It's pretty far from the city the center but when we drove past yesterday, I was intrigued. Built in the 1100s, it has the look of something old and sacred. While most of it is a museum and tourist attraction nowadays, parts of it still function. A nun gave me a nice smile when we walked past one another.

The gardens inside. Operational since the 1100s. The nuns grow healing herbs all throughout.

There were many cool things to see in the monastery. During the Spanish Civil War it became a repository for many works of art in hopes they would be protected and hidden from Franco's bombers. They were but as a result the church fell into disuse since it filled up with crates and other things.

I was blown away by these choir books. They're HUGE. I put my hand in the shot to try and give some relative size but I don't think the photo does it justice. To use them you need these special stands.

Is this place trying to send me a message?

I spent about 90 minutes taking in all of the artwork and pathways I could take. It reminded me a lot of the Shrine of Rumi in Konya with the rooms set up as they would have been when in use and explanations of daily life. I did have to laugh when I went into the refectory and saw this on the wall: Considera Morientem, or consider the death. I know it was talking about Jesus but come on... that's a bit much to deal with when trying to relax.


Back on the bus to the Palau Reial de Pedrables (Royal Palace). The guide book advertised a tour of the palace and a separate museum dedicated to royal and noble fashion. Seemed like a good thing to take in and it was the next stop on the bus. Yeah... closed. They were setting up for some concert or some such. I did tour the grounds, which were peaceful and beautiful, but left museum-less. I did find the Hercules statue design by Gaudi. Bonus!

The spigot is designed to look like a dragon. Gaudi sure loved his dragons.

Since Camp Nou, the home of FC Barcelona was next one the route I similarly decided to hop off and see what I could see.

The first thing I saw was 22 euros for a tour. Lou Ferrigno has been unable to get $20 from me for an autograph for years and I wasn't about to let Barca win that battle. I asked the security guard if I could go through the gate and take a few pictures and he said I would have to buy a ticket. He was wrong. All I had to do was walk through the official merchandise store 3 stories, by the way, and there I was.

I hung out for a few, took some photos, had lunch, bought some souvenirs, and headed to the next destination.


Next stop: the National Art Museum of Catalunya (MNAC) and today it was open. I loves me a good art museum and despite half of the museum being closed for who know what reason, the Medieval and Renaissance exhibitions were open. OK, I'm sure most of you aren't into art like I am so I won't post copious pictures of incredible pieces. I will however pause to talk about the frescoes.

The medieval frescoes painted 600 to 1000 were beginning to suffer water, smoke, and age damage so through an incredible process, some geniuses figured out how to remove the frescoes from the chapel and apse walls and remount them in this museum. What they done here is essentially recreate these small medieval chapels and put the frescoes exactly where they belong. It's amazing.





To think that these works of art were once painted onto the walls of places hundreds of miles away is a real mind blower. It really did feel like I was into and out of many different chapels. They paid attention to so many architectural details to get it all right. I'll repeat, these are the original frescoes, not recreations.

The stoning of Saint Steven

Lots and lots of artwork to take in. I now have a lot of examples to show the students when we get to Medieval Romanesque and Gothic artwork as well as the Renaissance. Works by famous artists were all over the place. I loved it.





I really wanted to see the Joan Miro museum. I can't explain why as I'm not the biggest fan of his work but since my city pass got me in for free and it was on the way, I figured why not. Oh... funny story. While I decided to pass on the Olympic Stadium tour I noticed a bunch of young girls camped out for One Direction tickets. Hard core. The tickets don't go on sale for another day or so.


So back to the Joan Miro museum. He's a modernist, a dadaist, and a surrealist. I'd love to show you pictures but the girl at the ticket booth was kind enough to say "no foto". All in all, much of it looked like scribbles and homages to penises and vaginas. Up on the roof there was a distinct lack of guards so I snapped an illegal picture of a this statue to the left. Interesting enough.


The one on the right is an autobiographic piece. Looks like something from a Pixar film... with a penis.


My feet were beat so it was back to the hotel to freshen up and figure out some dinner. Around the corner from me is La Bodegueta, a restaurant all of the locals I worked with told me to be sure to go to. Well, it's on the same block as me so why wouldn't I? I was not disappointed. I chose to eat inside rather than at the outdoor tables on the Las Ramblas.

The doorway is under that watch sign and it was exactly the type of place I was looking for. Dark, locals, smelled amazing, and had a seat at the counter with my name on it. I ordered in Spanish and the woman was kind enough to correct my pronunciation. I'm so used to the "ll" sound in Spanish being a "y" but in Catalan, it's a hard "L". ENough of that... check out how my evening wound down.

I ordered the pork salami and she cut it right there in front of me.

Beer, tomato bread (served everywhere here), salami, and a nice plate of anchovies. I was in heaven.