In Barcelona pickpockets outnumber tourists about 10 to 1.
Indigo
· 1 year ago
Barcelona is oft touted as a gay mecca. Now I admit it's been a number of years (Franco was alive then) since I've been there, but . . . is it?
Sugapea
· 1 year ago
Superb...Chris. When you double-click them...it's like being there. Thank you so much!
Older_Wiser
· 1 year ago
I'm just not fond of religious art work...it played too real a role in subjugating people and stifling the work of artists who had no chance because they could not get commissions from the Catholic church, royalty and rich patrons. Art was controlled by them and received its value from them. For me, it only has historical significance.
It makes you wonder how much talent and art was lost because of that practice.
falloch
· 1 year ago
Chris, your selection was so beautiful - now must go back to Barca, cause I missed that museum the first time; too busy channelling Gaudi, and swimming in the nice warm Mediterranean :-) Transport-wise Barca also has the bicycle scheme, if you're there for longer than a long weekend. Buy a swipe card and pick up a bicycle from a bike rack at one spot in the city and leave it at another.
Indigo
· 1 year ago
Velazquez is too complicated for the North European eye. Nothing is transparent, everything is ironic. I love his work but I perceive the world along those lines so he makes sense to me. Anyone subliminally puritanized (?) has been robbed of the ability to see what how he re-presents external appearances. </art critique>
Wisterley
· 1 year ago
I was in the Met the other day and it was full of schoolkids. New Yorkers teach their children, too. And no one under-appreciates Velazquez.
I kind of agree. Anyone who takes an art history course anywhere learns about Velasquez's preeminence among artists. More than anyone he is the fulcrum between past and present. Young artists revere him.
elRey
· 1 year ago
ME ENCANTA!!! Barcelona is a wonderful city. Great public transportation, a city beach on the Mediterranean, 'bicing' bike system, like Velib in Paris. Spain is a very progressive country better technology than the US, bullet trains, great food and wonderful people.
pickpockets? I don't think so, I have spent ever summer there for the past 4 year and never had any problem with pickpocket, I'm sure the problem exists as it does in all tourist areas but 10:1 , hardly.
I'm surprised at the defensive tone of some of these posts.
nicho
· 1 year ago
I will be in BCN in about two weeks. Everything everyone says is correct. As far as pickpockets, stay away from the tourist-heavy places, like the Rambla, and just have some street sense. I avoid the Rambla as much as possible, except to go to the Liceu. Anytime you find a teeming mass of rubes, you're going to find pickpockets.
I am looking forwards to just sitting and chatting with some wine and tapas, a cortado now and then, a trip to the beach and Tibidabo, and I will definitely check out MNAC. Oh, and Sitges too. Love Sitges.
Gary SF
· 1 year ago
BCN doesn't have a gay 'ghetto' but there are a few blocks of the Eixample neighborhood that are pretty 'gay.' But yes, it is very gay friendly and there are lots of gay clubs and bars. If you are interested in a nice after-work gay bar, Punto BCN is a great place. Something a little more 'raw' - New Chaps. Make sure you stroll down the Rambla Poble Nou (not Las Ramblas), from Diagonal to the beach. It is a great neighborhood. Also, in the Gracia district, Carreer (Calle) Verdi is fun. There are a few indy cinemas there and many films are in English. To see the immigrant populations - and their wonderful shops and bakeries - mostly from various countries in Africa, Pakistan and India, check out the Raval - Carreer de Sant Pau or Carreer de l'Hospital. The 'upscale' part of the Raval is on Carreer Came. All of these Raval streets intersect with Las Ramblas. However, I would avoid the Raval at night, unless you really know the area.
I was wondering how I missed the MNAC when I was there in 1995, but the website says it reopened in December of that year, so it must have been closed. I went to the Museu Joan Miro, but Miro doesn't thrill me. I liked the Calder mercury stabile hermetically sealed in Plexiglas, though. I took the train to Montserrat one day. There's an aerial lift to the shrine from the train station. Beautiful setting, especially shrouded in fog, but it was so tacky and crowded.
doctressjulia
· 1 year ago
I totally agree with Older_Wiser. And, in that martyr painting... is that someone getting SAWN IN HALF from the head down??? That's MESSED UP. Fucking Xtians. Always killing for the "Lord".
All Comments
When you double-click them...it's like being there.
Thank you so much!
It makes you wonder how much talent and art was lost because of that practice.
http://www.mezzo-mondo.com/arts/mm/velazquez/VE...
Also:
http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazquez...
And, some 15th century Spanish beefcake...
http://www.abcgallery.com/V/velazquez/velazquez...
pickpockets? I don't think so, I have spent ever summer there for the past 4 year and never had any problem with pickpocket, I'm sure the problem exists as it does in all tourist areas but 10:1 , hardly.
I'm surprised at the defensive tone of some of these posts.
I am looking forwards to just sitting and chatting with some wine and tapas, a cortado now and then, a trip to the beach and Tibidabo, and I will definitely check out MNAC. Oh, and Sitges too. Love Sitges.
The next to last painting, of the man in red, reminds me of Scott Thompson's Buddy character:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XIxgGl3vE4&feat...
Is Barcelona a gay mecca? Well, gay marriage is legal in Spain, and check these out:
Gay Pride Barcelona - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyL7YWEuKDA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgBj8seopCs&feat...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQxS9Y_4BMU
I took the train to Montserrat one day. There's an aerial lift to the shrine from the train station. Beautiful setting, especially shrouded in fog, but it was so tacky and crowded.