Walls in Spain: Busy day on the town!

Yesterday was our 23rd wedding anniversary. Bucky is in California on business so I wanted to make sure I didn't sit around the apartment all day on my own. Plus, it was Mother's Day here in Spain so I figured lots of people would be out and about. I did some research online on Saturday evening and discovered that a number of museums are free the first Sunday of the month, so I thought I would visit one! The weather called for rain so I figured it would be smart to be inside.

My morning started with a walk in the rain with India. Because the weather was yucky, we just wandered around the neighborhood and I discovered that there was a race going on. There were tons of WET runners in yellow t-shirts moving through the streets looking exhausted. I discovered that the end of the race was at the "place" right by our house so they had reason to be tired!!

Once I got India settled back at home, I headed to the Gothic quarter via the metro to visit Museu Frederic Mares which houses sculpture from the ancient world through the 19th century. The building used to be a palace so it is lovely in itself and I enjoyed wandering through the rooms to view the amazing sculptures. Two of the four floors house collections of various things and it is overwhelming to see. There are massive collections of everything you can think of from stamps, to reading glasses, to binoculars to swords.

Inspired by the Museu Frederic Mares, I decided to go visit the Museu D'Historia de Barcelona which was close by. On my way, I ducked into the building that houses the archives of the Crown of Aragon which is on the list of European Heritage sites. It was lovely and a nice chance to get out of the rain. Once I got to the Barcelona History museum, I watched a film that showed the development of Barcelona throughout the years and then wandered underground through the excavated roman remains of the original city.

After emerging from underground, I decided to head over to La Virreina: Centre de la Imagte which is located on the Rambla. Apparently, this museum is free of charge all of the time and it is a place I will send visitors who are interested in film, photography and funky art. It was pretty cool. The projects that were displayed ranged from historical information about filming the flamenco dance to a video where people count one by one. Again, the building was a palace so it was also impressive.

I then walked over to Palau Guell, which is another Gaudi building, but I had just missed out on the free tickets. They were closed to new visitors for the day so I walked back to the Gothic quarter and waited in line to visit Barcelona Cathedral. I was at the front of the line for the opening and had a nice conversation with a couple who were visiting from the UK for the wife's 50th birthday celebration! Once I got inside, I realized I had been there before with Lucie at Christmastime when we visited the live crech scene, but we had not taken the tour of the roof. I did so this time around and was pleased to find that an elevator took me there! It was especially cool because I was the only one on the roof at the time so my visit was peaceful and powerful.

Feeling accomplished with my day full of history, I headed home to Gracia. I finished the day off with a walk with India to Park Guell where we admired Barcelona from afar. It was a great day even though Bucky was missed!