Buildings and a beach

The Museu Picasso occupies a merchant's residence in a wealthy area.  It was informative on Picasso's life and had a lot of his early work, which is so different from the cubism that he is famous for.  It's nice to focus in on one artist after visiting so many museums with collections of various styles and artists.  We can get lost rather quickly.  Then we strolled the Gothic quarter's narrow side streets and plazas.  It started raining in the early evening but didn't last long.  The rain cooled the air and cleared the sky.  We saw some of Gaudi's eccentric buildings.  Gaudi architecture, famous in the modernism movement (and a Catalan version of Art Nouveau) defines a lot of the city.  Barcelona is an architectual playground.  The Gothic, modern, and downright bizarre architecture somehow mixes well. We are gaining new appreciation for inspiring and creative architecture.   It's also been fun to go shopping together and dress fashionably after two years of wearing a small selection of old, handwashed-stretched, sun-bleached clothes. 

Yesterday morning we got a message from Margaret (Peace Corps volunteer friend in Swaziland traveling in Europe) that she was in Barcelona!   Meeting up became our number one mission.  On our way to Parc Guell, we stopped in a cafe for espresso and coffee, then walked around another Gaudily work, the La Sagrada Familia, which is his most famous building.   Construction started in 1882, and is expected to be completed in 2026, although the date seems to keep moving further back.  Maybe the oddist looking church ever.  Then we went to the park where much of Gaudi's design decorates the hilly area in colorful tile mosaics.  We ran into Margaret and her friends before planned, and it was great!  So fun to see her, hug her, spend some time together, and hear about her travels. Had lunch and then they were off to Paris.

Spent the hot afternoon at Barcelona's urban beach.   The Mediterranean water was refreshingly cool.  The beach was pebbly (not sandy) but soft. There were women without tops wading in the water and sunbathing, and one particularly hairy man without a care in the world (or article of clothing) laying out for all to see.  Flying to Marrakesh this morning.