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Pueblo Español
The Poble Espanyol – the Spanish Village – is a collection of iconic architecture from different regions of Spain built on Montjuïc Mountain in Barcelona for the 1929 Universal Exhibition.
Barcelona is unique.
The second largest city in Spain, Barcelona is touted as one of the world’s leading tourist, economic, trade fair, and cultural centres. It is the capital of the semi-autonomous community of Catalonia, a wealthy area of 7.5 million people with its own language and culture and distinct history.
As the regional capitol, Barcelona is central to the ongoing fight for Catalan independence from Spain – a fight whose modern history began in 1922, and more recently resulted in the street clashes leading up to the referendum on October 1st 2017, and the political upheaval following the (failed) declaration of independence on 27 October that same year.
Fortunately, the streets were mostly quiet when we visited in April of 2018 – even though the area was still under Madrid’s direct rule. We did spot locals with large Catalan flags heading to a protest march, but we stayed well away!
What we were able to enjoy was a condensed “tourist’s take” on a fascinating city: merely sampling the food and architecture. We delighted in our evening of tapas and flamenco in the fascinating Poble Espanyol; we thoroughly enjoyed a morning walk along and around Las Ramblas, admiring the wide boulevards and narrow winding laneways, and stopping for crispy fried churros and hot chocolate; and we marvelled at the architectural treasures and oddities on our “included” afternoon bus-and-walking tour.
Join me for a brief look at a culturally rich city.
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Seagull
Our boat is comfortably docked in Barcelona’s Cruise Port as we wait for the tour buses that will take us out to dinner. (iPhone6)
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Barcelona in the Dark
I love riding through a strange city after dark – you get impressions of the place without distracting details.
Archway into an Architectural Wonderland
Called Pueblo Español in Spanish, Poble Espanyol in Catalan, or Spanish Village in English, this open-air architectural museum comprises 117 full-scale replica buildings representing fifteen of the autonomous communities of Spain.
Inside the Pueblo Español
Replicas of the Church of the Carmelites Aragon and the Tower of Uberto, Aragon, nesltle among the other charming buildings atop a winding stairway. Although the Poble Espanyol was intended to be dismantled once the International Exhibition was finished, it’s popularity saved it.
Replica Tower of Uberto, Aragon
Today it houses souvenir shops, a museum, a theatre, restaurants, cafes and bars, as well as craft shops and artisans’ workshops. We were there to visit Tablao de Carmen, named for Carmen Amaya, a Barcelona native regarded as the greatest flamenco dancer of all time.
Noemí Ferrer
The inside of Tablao de Carmen is cozy and dimly lit as we eat tapas, drink wine, and watch some of the best flamenco artists in the world light up the room …
Feet Stomping
… and set fire to the floor. Noemí Ferrer has been dancing in flamenco clubs since she turned four.
Manuel Jiménez Bartolo
While definitely originating from the southern region of Andalusia, the relative contributions of Spanish Romani (Gitanos), native Andalusians, Castilians, Moors, and Sephardi Jews to the development of flamenco is a subject of disagreement.
Manuel Jiménez Bartolo
Flamenco consists of cante (singing), toque (guitar), baile (dancing), jaleo ( chorus vocalisations and clapping), palmas (handclapping) and pitos (finger snapping).
Manuel Jiménez Bartolo
Music director and performer Manuel Jiménez Bartolo demonstrates the passion and control that epitomise flamenco; maturity is thought to be required to adequately convey the duende (soul) of the style.
Ricardo Fernández “El Tete”
Born into a gypsy family, young “El Tete” has flamenco in his blood, …
The Youngest Cante
… as does this young singer – the child of one of the troupe – who rounds out our evening.
Agència Estatal d’Administració Tributària
The next morning, maps in hand, we walked past the Catalan State Agency for Tax Administration as we left our Port Vell dock behind …
Maritime Museum
… and continued past the Maritime Museum, housed in what was the royal arsenal of Barcelona, where ships were built between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries. The palm trees attest to the Mediterranean climate, and the distinctive Taxi Ecològic cars are – of course – hybrids.
Building Ornamentation
Beautiful old buildings have been re-purposed to house modern conveniences, like corner shops and pharmacies.
La Rambla
The broad, tree-lined pedestrian street La Rambla is almost empty as we start down its length.
Jardí de la Casa Ignacio de Puig
Paved streets branch off to the right, into the Barri Gòtic (or Gothic Quarter).
Polisia
There is a visible police presence everywhere.
Dark Corridors
The passageways honeycomb through the buildings …
Carrer d’Hercules
… and under archways, …
Bride, Groom and Bicycles in Plaça Sant Jaume
… coming out upon unexpected sights!
Basílica dels Sants Màrtirs Just i Pastor
In the next square over, a homeless man reads his book on the steps of a Gothic church dating back to 1342.
Bronze Cowboy
We stop to enjoy crispy fried churros dipped in rich hot chocolate sauce, before returning to our boat – pausing to wonder at some of the curious street performers who have come out.
Mirador de Colom
Of course, we have to note Christopher Columbus, high against the late morning sky, where he points south-southeast towards some unknown destination.
Principality of Catalonia on the Mirador de Colón
The 60 metre-tall monument to Columbus stands on a beautiful octagonal pedestal, decorated with tributes to people related to Columbus and other luminaries, illustrations of some of Columbus’ first voyages, and representions of the four Spanish kingdoms.
Cathedral of Barcelona
After lunch, we head out on on a group walking and bus tour …
Guitarist
… with our first stop at the Gothic Cathedral of Barcelona.
Spires of the Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia
This beautiful building was constructed across the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries.
Inside the Cathedral
The interior of the cathedral is ornately beautiful.
Madonna
Casa Batlló
Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí i Cornet is known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. From the bus, it was difficult to fully appreciate Casa Batlló, considered to be one of his masterpieces.
Casa Milà
Many of Gaudí’s unique and idiosyncratic buildings are located in Barcelona; from our tour bus, we a got glimpse of Casa Milà: the last private residence he designed.
The Casa de les Punxes
Gaudí is not the only Spanish architect who has left is mark on Barcelona: the city is dotted with quirky buildings, including this modernist take on a medieval castle designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch.
Arco de Triunfo
The Arc de Triomf designed for the 1888 Barcelona World Fair by another Catalan architect, Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas, brings us back to earth as we rejoin our boat and prepare to leave the city behind.
In spite of all safety warnings, I was one of two people on our boat whose wallets were stolen somewhere around the Cathedral. This causes all kinds of problems when you are travelling by sea, and left me with (temporary) negative feelings about the city.
But, it’s a fascinating and beautiful place – and I’d go back and explore it properly if I had the chance.
Until next time,
Happy Travels!
Pictures: 14-15April2018
[…] was the last stop of a two-week cruise around the edges of Europe, starting in Barcelona (see: In the Land of Flamenco and Gaudí). Unfortunately, my husband was called back to Australia, and had to disembark at our penultimate […]