First, I went to the Maritime History Museum where the real star was the building, where they once made the galleys--yeah, way back before the Atlantic was a thing. The Royal Galley got much attention and deservedly so. I have been to a few museums like this, but except for the one in Sweden dedicated to the Vasa, a royal ship that sank about 50 meters after it was launched, I don't remember a maritime history museum with such a huge percentage dedicated to one period long ago. I guess that says something about Spanish naval history of late? 
I then walked to the Joan Miro museum, which has a fantastic view of the city. I learned that Miro was, um, not a woman. Ooops. It was interesting to see his work evolve, including a late period where he liked to burn holes in his paintings and do other damage to them.
I then stumbled upon a gondola that would take me to the big castle on the edge of town. And following the general tourist rule to go up when one can, I climbed aboard. The views were outstanding, and there was some interesting history here. I really don't know much about the Spanish Civil War despite a certain dissertation I read a while back. This castle goes way back, and has played literally a pivotal role since taking it from one side gave you dominance over the other.
The evening was even more Barcelona-y, as I went out for tapas and flamenco. No, I didn't dance--I went to a place that puts on Flamenco shows for tourists. I wish I had a better seat, but it was still pretty terrific. They let us shoot pics and video for the last few minutes of the show so:
No comments:
Post a Comment