Buenas Mañana from Barcelona 😁. Spent a nice day getting reacquainted with a unique city I’ve been to a couple times before, in 2013 and 2016. 

It’s hard to compare Barcelona with any other city in Europe…the architecture, layout and spirit are truly Barcelona’s alone. At the turn of the 20th century, the city was home of the Modernisme architects, most notably Antoni Gaudí. On previous visits, I’d seen Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell and his other standouts. 

This time, I visited another Modernisme architect’s work, Lluís Domènech i Montaner’s Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau. This fascinating complex was built as a hospital for the poor in the early 1900s and has been restored as a UNESCO historical site. 

More than just a hospital, the complex was designed as a place for pioneering new concepts in care. The buildings were designed to allow as much sunlight as possible as it was believed this would help patients heal. The interiors were done in the Modernisme style of bright and shiny tile work and mosaics. 

In the 30s, when the king of Spain visited, he complained that the beauty of the complex made him feel like his palace in Madrid was a country cottage 🤣. They say a society is measured by how it treats its least fortunate – if so, Barcelona society at the turn of last century was an advanced one, indeed.

I naturally stopped by Sagrada Familia to see progress on this forever under-construction masterpiece since my last visit. They say it’s close to being finished – but they’ve said that for decades lol. 

A couple nice meals – lunch at Vapiano (one of my favorite European chains) and tapas for dinner. 

Getting ready to board the ship this afternoon…the long sail across the ocean about to begin 🚢.