A Trip to Raval and Maritim Muesum

I truly enjoyed this field study because I love being able to walk through Barcelona and take in new neighborhoods while seeing both new and old sights. The beginning of our visit to Raval was very familiar because for my spanish class, we had a scavenger hunt throughout this area. The first place pointed out, a famous bookstore that used to be a church was also one of the spots on our Spanish trip. It is always quite intriguing to me that buildings that had such great historical significance can also function as ordinary spots such as book stores. 

After our first stop, we walked by the MACBA, which is actually one of the sights that I have visited in Barcelona. I actually really didn't like the MACBA when I went. The art didn't really blow me away and much of it seemed to be trying to be something when, in fact, it was just a piece of string and two dots called "one plus two". Some people may say that this is deep and soul searching art, but with no disrespect I think it is really juvenile and trying to hard to be legitimate. However, I do find the history behind the MACBA to be interesting. It is great that an area that used to be more sketchy, poorer, and have a lot of prostitution was able to be transformed into a popular meeting spot for teenagers, skateboarders, and art enthusiasts.

View from outside the MACBA in El Raval

As we continued our journey through Raval, we stopped at a hospital where it was pointed out to us that this hospital was were Gaudi was taken after he died. Gaudi was hit by a tram and because he dressed as if he was poor, no one in the morgue could identify the celebrity architect. I still think the comparison that was drawn saying "it's as if Lady Gaga died and no one even knew" was hilarious just because to think of Gaudi as Spain's Lady Gaga of an earlier era is just completely random and funny. However, it is a weird concept to think about; when someone of such importance goes through tragedy in the United States and in this century and the past few decades even, I feel as if everyone knows within minutes, hours at the most, so it is a strange concept to imagine.

On our tour, we continued down a main street of Raval towards the museum. We passed a beautiful, five star Barcelo hotel that is near a political building and it's visitors can sometimes have political influence. I found that to be very interesting. We also discussed the concept of young people overtaking houses that were vacant and we saw one up close. The artwork on the outside was very interesting.

Art created on the building by youths living in a vacant home

 Our last stop was the museum. It was very interesting to see and as we learned, shipyards were very crucial to Catalan history because they served great purpose during the Catalan expansion. Ships and the sea were crucial to Catalan expansion because ideas, technologies, goods, food, and more were exchanged via ship. This also once again reenforces the importance of the sea in Barcelona's history. I found this trip very worthwhile and beneficial to the understanding of this concept.

La Boqueria

La Boqueria is one of the most important displays of Catalan culture that I can think of, especially in terms of Barcelona. Besides that, it is probably the most interesting and comprehensive market that I have ever visited in my life.

In my opinion, markets make the food shopping experience more enjoyable, more personal, and it is always comforting to know that your food is the freshest and that the people who you are buying food from are completely knowledgeable about their products.

I have visited La Boqueria many times. The first time I didn't know much about it. I had seen pictures of candy online from other tourists and I figured that I would check it out. It was really cool and everything looked very well put together and fresh. I remember being amazed by the assortment of foods and how they were arranged. Particularly, the fruits and vegetables all looked perfect, fresh, and I can say with confidence that I wanted to purchase ALL of them.

The next time I went to this market was with a food tour that IES organized. The guide, Artur, taught us about the different areas of the market, when it is best to go, where to eat for tapas, when the food is freshest, and what stands are the cheapest. It was a lovely experience to learn about the market in this sense and get a work, liveliness, and function of the market. The following are some photographs that I took during that visit.

Furthermore, La Boqueria is an example of Catalan culture because it shows the importance of the Catalan connection with food and the sea. Food is a very important part of Catalan culture; Catalonia has great vegetables, fresh fish which shows the connections to the sea, fruits such as oranges, olive oil, garlic, and wine. The Boqueria displays this is a way that is conducive to both tourists and locals, elucidating the elements of Catalan culture in an economical, social, and cultural manner.

A Truly Magical Experience

On Saturday February 12th, I attended the magic fountain show of Montjüic on a whim because I heard that it was cool. I didn't know much about the show, but it was amazing. The lights illuminated all throughout the plaza and it reminded me of a show at Disney World, but with more Spanish/Catalan flavor to it. I felt this way because of the music, the people, and the atmosphere. There were so many adorable kids who were amazed by the show and it was really a great experience to go to.

Because I enjoyed this show so much, I decided that I definitely want to go back in the future. I looked up some information about the show that I think is important to share. The first performance was on May 19th, 1929 as a part of the Great Universal Exhibition. I didn't know this, but I am going to learn about the exhibition soon in my International Events class at IES and it is always funny to me when two classes can connect in theme and studies.

Anyway, Carles Buigas submitted his plan a year before this exhibition and thought that his project was way too ambitious to be created and completed on time. However, with the help of over three thousand workers, this amazing show that displays many elements in a spectacular sense was created. The combination of music, motion, water, light, and color formed together make an amazing show that is worth the see, in my opinion and according to almost every review.

I think of this show as a great display of Catalan culture because it was originally created as a part of something that displays the strength and artistic innovation of Catalonia, particularly Barcelona. The technological and artistic innovation shows how rich the culture of this area is and because of that I think it is very important as a cultural entity in addition to being a fun and entertaining show.

Tortosa, Catalonia

Every semester, the IES Liberal Arts and Business Program in Barcelona goes on a study journey. I am not sure where they have gone in previous years, but we were fortunate enough to be the guinea pigs for Tortosa. According to our provided guide Tortosa is a historic town for Muslims, Jews, and Christians on the River Ebro and has "a special charm that makes it unique" with fortresses, churches, and palaces. IES may have exaggerated a little...don't get me wrong the view was absolutely amazing, but Tortosa sure lacked charm in my opinion. It kind of seemed like a ghost town because there were very few people, which was disappointing to me because I originally was very excited to see a place that seemed so important to Catalonia and its culture.

However, more than a month after this experience, when I reflect on it, it was an important place to visit. I decided to do some research(because my tour guide was giving her first English tour and consequentially, I couldn't understand much of what she was saying. I learned that Tortosa is the capital of the comarca of Baix Ebre and located 12 metres above the river. It is in the province of Tarragona, which I look forward to visiting. The main sights include the castle of San Juan, the Cathedral, Bishop Palace, Despuig Palace, Oliver de Boteller palace, Montegut Palace, and Lonja, which is the oldest Market in Aragon. I remember seeing one castle and the Cathedral, but besides that I do not think we made it to all the main sights of Tortosa. I wish I could've seen this market because markets are very important cultural settings and it would be interesting to compare this market to the markets in Barcelona.

Nevertheless, Tortosa did provide me with some amazing pictures that are showcased bellow and I am hoping to enjoy the rest of the Catalonian cities even more, although I am thankful that I had the chance to see a place with such important historical meaning.

Beautiful View of the Ebre River

Castle

I enjoyed the detail of this door; it stood out in the midst of the stones

Oldest Jewish Gate in Europe

Beautiful Sky

A Trip Back in Time to Roman Barcino

Our trip through Barcelona into the Roman town of Barcino was a great cultural journey, even for the short hour and a half trip that it was. As we walked from IES towards the Cathedral, we walked through many narrow streets and I could see the juxtaposition of the old and new architecture. When we arrived at the Cathedral, it was a sight to see as always. The Cathedral de la Santa Cruz y Eulalia de Barcelona was actually the first church that I ever visited in Europe. On the first week of classes, my roommate and I wandered into the Cathedral and I was pleasantly surprised. 

I have only been to two American churches in my entire life, because that is not the religion that I am and thus far have had very few reasons to visit in America. However, in Europe, it is completely different. The Cathedrals are immaculate with gold and jewels spread through. It is a completely new and amazing feeling to explore these Cathedrals. I researched the Cathedral to learn that it was constructed throughout the 15^th, 14^th, and 15^th centuries and faced the Roman Forum of Barcelona. I could imagine all of the people gathered in the forum back in time and it was really amazing to be standing in the same, or at least in very close proximity, to where people stood in Barcino so many years ago.

view of the cathedral

close up of some of the amazing architecture

As we made our way to the Museu D'historia de la Ciutat, we saw other sights and views from the Roman Barcino era. Since pictures often speak one thousand words and can display alot more than words, bellow are some of my favorite pictures from our walk to the Museum.

 The museum was very amazing to me. My favorite part was the Roman pillars in the entrance because it was fascinating to see artifacts from so long ago. It kind of reminded me of being in Jerusalem and walking through the old city because you see such unbelievable artifacts. It almost makes you stop in your tracks and think if its even possible that something so old could be preserved so well. This is how I felt through most of the museum; I was in awe that such antique artifacts were in such great condition and I felt for a few minutes at least like I was transported back in time. I liked seeing the tic tac toe board because it served as a reminder that even as technology and ideologies same, many simple things stay the same even after hundreds of years. This visit was most definitely an eye opening experience and I enjoyed it very much so.