My plane landed this morning around 10:30 AM. I packed light, making sure to include laundry soap to enable washing out my unmentionables, and so did not have to bother with luggage retrieval. Read the fine history "Barcelona" by Robert Hughes, the late art critic for Time Magazine. He is a sprightly writer who spares few details about the Roman days through modern times, and gives a lot of insights into Catalan exceptionalism, especially with regard to art, architecture, and urban planning. Here's a link to the book
For the prurient, he notes that the Catalans are more interested than most in a fully functioning digestive system, and have graphic artwork through the ages to support this. It turns out the George Washington of Catalonia is a fellow known as Wilfred the Hairy. He was a man among men and had many interactions with Charles the Bald.
After arrival, I took a cab to my hotel, which is in La Zona Alta East, not far from the University and the soccer stadium, just off the Avinguda de la Diagonal, a major thoroughfare. After unpacking, I took a long walk down the Diagonal. I passed the Casa de les Punxes, pictured below, which was my first exposure to whimsical Barcelona architecture. I'm sure the will be more.
After a quick Big Mac and a total time of about an hour, I arrived at perhaps Barcelona's most iconic sight, the Sagrada Familia Basilica by Antoni Gaudi. They're still working on it. I stayed outside and had a photo shot, per below.
I then took the subway back near my hotel. On the way there, I came upon this fine church, nearby.
Later I met my Notre Dame colleague Karel Matous, with whom I work closely on a research project. We walked towards the conference stopping at the marvelous La Limona for fish, spinach, and watermelon. It was delicious. At the conference registration, I found several people I knew. Karel said my former UIUC officemate Jim Stewart was on the plane, and so I hope to see him soon. Talked at length with a colleague from Georgia Tech. Walked back to the hotel to try to get a good sleep tonight.
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