Seniors in Spain 2018: 7/14/2018-Barcelona-Parc de la Ciutadella/Citadel Park, Picasso Museum, drinks at Story, castellers, La Bouqueria Market, dinner at NAP

Dorie plans to explore Citadel Park so even though Richard and I were there yesterday we arrange to meet her in front of the Barcelona Zoo at 11:00 AM. We're also going to visit the Picasso Museum and I want to see the castellers at 6:00 PM. Richard and I have a light breakfast at Serra Patisseries again but this time I get the scrambled eggs with ham. It is very good with the eggs being scrambled/cooked well and not runny. Richard gets the same thing he had yesterday-toast.

We arrived at Citadel Park a bit early so we decided to walk over to the Parliament Building. Unfortunately we're not able to have a tour. You must book on line for that. We decide to sit on a bench near the zoo to wait for Dorie and do some people watching. Lots of people strolling through the park and one tour group too. All too soon we see Dorie, Blue, and Ronan walking to meet us. We turn around to walk back into the park as the zoo is at one end. Their goal is the dragon fountain and lake. Nice because I didn't see that yesterday. It really is very pretty with lovely statues, the running water. Then we walk by a huge elephant statue. Very life like and people are getting their pictures taken next to it. The park has a good size lake. You can rent rowboats for 30 minutes and the prices aren't too bad. For 2 persons it's €6 for 30 minutes. We watch the rowboats and the ducks for a bit then continue to walk. We are heading back to the end of the park by the zoo and going to the Picasso Museum which isn't too far away.

Parlament de Catalunya

Gorgeous dragon statue

Elephant statue is very life like

Lake where you can rent row boats

Lots of ducks

Reasonable rates

Picasso Museum. A good representation of his early years. He spent ages 14-23 in Barcelona before heading to Paris. 300 paintings in chronological order for the most part. Good text panels in every room and guards who make sure no pictures or video are taken. Timed entry 13:15 or 1:15 PM. Cost for senior is €7 each. It's nice to get these lower costs for being 65+. We start with his earliest art when he was age 9! Childish pencil drawings to some very nice oil paintings. His father (also an artist) kept everything his son ever did. In two rooms we see works from Picasso's teen years. On display in another room is the menu cover he created for a hangout he frequented with his friends-El Quatre Gats/The Four Cats. Influences of time spent in Paris. His Blue Period. His Rose Period. Some hints of cubism. His obsession with Velazquez's Las Meninas. His later years on the French Riviera. I'm bummed you can't take pictures. And surprise-I find I like Picasso. Not as much as Monet but enough to really enjoy visiting this museum and all that I've learned about this great artist of the 20th c. He was a master of many styles-Cubism, Surrealism, Expressionism and many techniques like painting, sculpture, prints, ceramics. Born in Malaga, Spain 1881. His Blue Period paintings are called that due to his reaction to the suicide of a friend. The mood is melancholy. Then when he gets a steady girlfriend we have his Rose Period. Seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. In his mid 20s he reinvented painting with a bold new style called Cubism. Subjects somewhat recognizable with several different angles of the subject at one. In his senior years in the south of France his paintings are rich with sun, color, water. Lighthearted and childlike. In the museum gift store I buy some postcards of the paintings I liked best. We have spent over 2 hours here.

On the left is La Familia de Felipe IV o Los Meninas by Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez, Madrid 1656 and on the right is Las Meninas (segun Velazquez) by Picasso, Cannes 17-08-1957

Friend, personal secretary. Jaume Sabartes with ruff and cap 1939

Las Meninas (Isabel de Velasco, Maria Barbola y Nicolasico Pertusato) by Picasso, Cannes 24-10-1957

Science et Charite by Picasso age 16 , Barcelona, 1897

Picasso's sister Lola, Barcelona 1899

Blue Period-Picasso's Azores de Barcelona, Barcelona, 1902

I want to see the castellers but they don't begin until 6:00 PM. We have time so we decide to stop for drinks. STORY. It's a cute place. Beer, mojito, cherries for Ronan. Nice to sit and relax. Wander through the Barri Gothic. Placa de la Gardunya. Ramble de Raval. This is the Festa Major de Raval. 3 groups of castellers-Barcelona, Cerdanyola, and Sant Pere i Sant Pau. This is the Catalan tradition of erecting a tower built solely of people. Large group at the bottom-pinyas-in case anyone falls. Then the base-baixos. Manilles who help get people to the top. The castle/tower is topped by a child. Judging is how fast you erect the human tower and how fast they take them down. We get to the square. The groups are here. A nice size crowd of watchers. A few tourists like us. It really is amazing to see. I asked Ronan if he would like to be one of the kids doing this and he said "no way." While watching one group did suffer a fall coming down but it was nice to see this same group get back and erect another tower successfully. Learn more about this at www.cccc.cat They were still demonstrating their skills but we are hungry so it's time to find a place to eat.

STORY

Castellers of Barcelona in the red

Castellers of Barcelona

Castellers of Sant Pere i Sant Pau

Castellers of Barcelona

Castellers of Barcelona and me

Castellers of Sant Pere i Sant Pau

Walking Dorie spots La Bouqueria Market. We go inside, walk around and see many stalls. Selling jamon/ham, sausage, produce of fruit and vegetables, olives, cheeses, seafood. There are places to eat here too. We exit and continue walking up Las Ramblas, over towards the Barcelona Cathedral, through Barri Gothic to this pizza place Dorie wants to try.

Jamon/ham

Olives

Fruits

Meats

Sausages

Fruits

Fruits and vegetables

Seafood

Barcelona Cathedral

Dinner-NAP which stands for Neapolitan Authentic Pizza. Menu in Spanish and on the placemats. Cute. Pizza oven-wood fired. Drinks-beer, wine, lemon soda. I order recula salad that I will share with everyone. Richard and I order a margherita pizza to share. Dorie orders a margherita pizza for herself and Blue orders the diavola pizza. Ronan has his own food-fruit and cured meat which he has grown to love while traveling in Portugal and Spain. He's still a picky eater. The pizzas are very tasty and we finish them all. The salad was great and a nice addition with the pizza. Cost without tip $39.28. We walk around back to where Richard and I can catch a taxi back to our hotel. The others will take public transport-either the metro or a bus-back to their hotel. It's going on 9:00 PM and we're tired. Tomorrow is Sunday so Richard and I will visit the Barcelona Cathedral while Dorie takes Ronan to Labyrinth Park of Horta. We will meet up some time in the afternoon.