Barcelona, Day 2: Museums, Castles, and Flamenco... and Fireworks

My tourism on day two was more dynamic and loud than I expected. It started quietly and ended with many bangs.  What did I do and what did I learn along the way?

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:

 Then I went back to my hotel to find ... a bonfire on a street corner and people randomly tossing around fireworks.  It sounded more like a battlefield.  The Barcelonians took it all with great calm.  I went back to my hotel room since getting wounded by fireworks would be most displeasing to Mrs. Spew.