Barcelona: The pride of Catalan

Greatness doesn’t just come your way — it is created.  After all,  as my late father Ting Dayrit used to tell me, “To each man, his own madness.”

It was awesome madness that I encountered as I stood beneath the Sagrada Familia church, a work of genius and insanity by Antoni Gaudi. To Gaudi’s credit, he made the city of Barcelona famous today though infamous in the past. Who would have thought that his masterpiece, judged as wrong in the past, would turn out to be an icon of world architecture today?

What is it about Spain that inspires these artists to create such masterpieces? What is it with Barcelona that inspires such eccentricities?

Our Trafalgar group, led by Pan Pacific’s GM Helen Hao (who is also the GSA of Trafalgar in the Philippines) and top travel agents from the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India, discovered, on a pilgrimage trip, how Barcelona is a living museum al fresco style and how Barcelona gives tribute to the great artists and architects of the world. 

The city of Barcelona, a sanctuary of fiestas, siestas, churches and art galleries, is certainly the pride of Catalonia and comes first among cities that must be seen. The Book 1,000 Places To See Before You Die has Barcelona on the list.

And, really, you ought to see the magnificence of Sagrada Familia before you kick the bucket. The church is like a powerful magnet that attracts everyone — royalties, artists, aficionados, ordinary mortals. Said our tour guide: “The unfinished church, this masterpiece, is a showcase of the famous artist who dedicated his life to the church and died in 1926 without finishing it.”

The Sagrada Familia remains incomplete. It’s a roofless masterpiece of eccentric genius Antoni Gaudi. Our tour director, a stocky gentleman from Madrid, shared that the Catalan architect was run over and killed by a train in 1926 before he could complete his most bizarre, controversial creation. The Sagrada Familia is Gaudi’s most emblematic, idiosyncratic work — art nouveau with a twist. Gaudi worked on straight, organic flows and tapped into the spirit of Picasso, Miró and Dali.

As we strolled down the streets of Barcelona, we discovered more of Gaudi’s surreal creations like Pare Guelli, Building of Casa Batio and other private homes. But the most amazing of his works remains to be the Sagrada Familia — a seemingly melted sand castle suspended in mid-creation like wax. Gaudi only got to finish the crypt apse and façade of the church before his death. His remains lie in the crypt inside Sagrada Familia, with a museum that shows scale models of how he environed his church.

To date, we were told, four brilliant Catalan architects have been commissioned to finish the Sagrada Familia but they are having difficulty with such a challenge.

Another wonder of nature in Barcelona is the Mountain of Monserrat. Monserrat is both serrated and sacred as it is home to the ancient and world-famous Monserrat Monastery and Basilica where the mysterious and blessed Black Madonna resides. The Black Madonna is situated in a rocky promontory church that can be reached via a scenic dreamy drive to the Pyrenees mountains.

I felt holy at the monastery’s promontory, add to this the fresh winter breeze of the Pyranees that caressed me. But the minute I lined up to revere in the presence of the Our Lady of Monserrat, I felt some warmth inside me. My best friend Bum Tenorio, a devout of the Blessed Mother, told me the Black Madonna performs instant miracles, big and small. I said my prayer. It was a moment of gratefulness. I felt so much at peace. We prayed and lighted candles and listened to the pealing bells. It was a touching, mesmerizing experience. 

From a soul-lifting experience, our soles also got their share of finding other treasures in Barcelona. In fact, our heels had just warmed up in the early winter of Barcelona when we decided to tour the city on our own, on our first day, on a public bus. Down the university belt of the city, along Ronda Sant Antoni, we found an El Corte Ingles where we discovered the best lobster paella with saffron, on top of the shopping mall. This paella was simply divine and the best we had ever tried in our lives.

Truth is, Barcelona is a paradise for food and shopping. Walk down the long stretch of Ramblas and your senses are treated to a cacophony of sounds, sights and scents — all beautiful, mesmerizing, and, yes, appetizing. If you turn right to La Boqueria you will be happily trapped in the company of everything that will whet your gustatory palate. From plum to poplo (octopus, live and processed), cheeses to chocolates, to fish and meat and vegetables that are so fresh — everything that every human being eats can be found at La Boqueria. In Barcelona, your gustatory membrane will go haywire.

We visited a local vineyard called Giro Ribot in the outskirts of Barcelona for a “Be My Guest” dinner. There, as it was offered to us by the very genial owners of the winery, we tasted all kinds of cava (heavenly sparkling white wine) to our heart’s content.

A chic outlet shopping an hour away from the city called La Roca Village is a haven of designer brands. Here, you shop till you drop. Keep all your receipts because you can claim a tax rebate at the end of your tour at the airport.

As our gregarious and lovable group walked in awe down the Barcelona city, I realized my dad could not have been more right. The city is touched by timeless magic, mystery and creativity. Barcelona is the capital of the Catalonia region and great artists gravitate here. There’s Joan Miró from Barcelona, Gaudi from Taragoza and Dali from Figueres.

We visited the Dali Theater and Museum in Figueres, a relatively short distance bus ride from Barcelona city. The Dali museum — from its orange façade with egg-like structures popping on top of it to the art inside — is a mind-blowing reservoir of the finest work of the artist Salvador Dali. The museum, according to our local guide in the area, is actually Dali’s home. He was the one who built it. One cannot miss visiting this haven of eccentric works that define who Dali is. We indulged in the works of Dali that include a fascinating collection of treasures including a bleeding heart with red diamonds that beat, as the diamonds that surround it shimmer in their glory. This is certainly better experienced than explained.

Barcelona as old as a thickened tree, touched by 2,000 years of history. The city is awash in history and art masterpieces that make it an eclectic find.

This is my Barcelona, claim it in your heart and leave the place wishing you would always return. This is my kind of madness. It’s time to make it yours as well.

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Pan Pacific Travel Corp., the general sales agent of Trafalgar in the Philippines, and BDO Credit Cards tie up for a promo so you can enjoy a European Holiday for as low as $340/month. Packages are available on 0 percent installment for three months. Book on or before Dec. 31, 2014 to avail yourself of the promo. For more information, call 536-1265, 243-6666 or 810-8551 or visit  www.trafalgar.com and www.panpacifictravel.com.ph.

Email the author at miladay.star@gmail.com.