Barcelona is a true jewel of a city, rising up from the Mediterranean into the hills of Spain. Recently I traveled there as part of a conference my company, BEA Systems, held there – and fortunately I had a couple days to see the city.
I’ve now posted both pictures and videos from my explorations.
On Sunday, I was fortunate to meet up with a great group of people from around the company who were interested in seeing the old town and parts of Gracia avenue. As I’d later discover more fully, the old town is an extensive warren of narrow cobblestone streets and pathways – so dense that even Google maps don’t cover anything but the main avenues with street names.
What struck me the most was the work of the architect Antoni Gaudi who worked in the Modernisme (Art Nousveau) movement. Especially fascinating to me was Casa Batallo which is a like being transplanted into the world of Jules Verne.
Monday I met up with my co-worker Eddie, and visited some of the classic sites including the Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia church, before heading to the waterfront.
The rest of the week went quickly as there were talks to give, customer briefings, and all kinds of restaurants to visit (dinner hour starts around 10pm). I’d highly recommend Pla for the kangaroo if you find yourself in the city; as well restaurant torre d’alta mar for the spectacular views of the city. Eddie and I also managed to get a couple hours in at Fundacio Joan Miro, which I found to be another highlight of the city with a great side-by-side works of both Miro and Calder.
