Filling in some gaps in Spain, a Greenland cruise and I'm getting a tattoo!

RooFlyer · 2025-08-11T23:52:18+1000

At the end of the Sagrada I was struggling - abt 34 degrees and on the go for hours. I foolishly decided to walk back to my hotel (rather than taking the metro), at abt 2pm. Don't ask me why. When I got back, shower and then I thought a nice swim in their rooftop pool.

Unfortunately it was a no - a million kids in the pool.

So I settled for the Accor drink (a beer) and looked at the view.

Place next door also had a pool and bar going

After a G&T, and therefore much revived I decided to venture out to the Cathedral and the 'Gothic Quarter' - on the Metro, getting off at Urquinaona at Placa de Catalunya, once on the edge of the Old Town, now considered the centre of Barcelona. A protest was gathering as I walked past heading for the Cathedral.

Straight into pedestrianised area, with many enjoying the Saturday afternoon.

Straight ahead, the Roman Porta del Bisbe gate with two cylindrical towers. It was built in the 1st century. and extended in the 12th centuries. The stones for its construction came from a quarry on the Montjuïc mountain and the Romans called it the "Praetoria Gate".

At the bottom of the LH tower is the remains of an aqueduct.

I just think its incredible that, over 2,000 years, no-one nicked 100% of the stones of these things.

Almost next door, Barcelona Cathedral.

The present cathedral was built during the 13th and 15th centuries on the site of the old Romanesque cathedral , which was itself built on a Visigoth- era church preceded by an early Christian basilica , the remains of which can be seen underground in the City History Museum . The completion of the imposing façade in the same style, however, is much more modern ( 19th century ).

Unfortunately, it was closed. When will it be open? Between 2pm and 4:30pm tomorrow. Phooey.

RooFlyer · 2025-08-12T00:09:15+1000

So I walked around the neighbourhood. Back of the Cathedral. No flying buttresses, just buttresses.

Love a good grotesque and gargoyle

Around the corner, the The Palau Reial Major "Grand Royal Palace", a complex of historic buildings located in Plaça del Rei. It was a residence of the counts of Barcelona and kings of Aragon and built between the 14th and 16th centuries.

This is the tower

The Placa del Rei.

RooFlyer · 2025-08-12T01:18:42+1000

Continued a bit of a random walk. Found the Plaça de Sant Felip Neri, named for the church at its end. The pock-marks on the church front have a horrible origin - its easy to forget the Spanish Civil War

Wikipedia

The square was once home to the Palace of Neri built in 1752. In the mid-20th century, Renaissance buildings from other areas of the city were moved stone by stone to the square, instead of demolishing them to make room for urban developments. When the hotel Neri was built it was faced in similar gothic stone to maintain the gothic style of the square. In 1938 during the Spanish Civil War, Francisco Franco laid siege to the city of Barcelona. On January 30, one of Franco's Nationalist forces bombed the church, killing 30 people, most of whom were children from the School of Sant Philip Neri and some of whom were refugee children from Madrid, who were in the church as it had been turned into a makeshift orphanage. As people pulled survivors from the rubble, a second bomb hit the square, killing 12 more bringing the death toll to 42. It was the second worst bombing hit in Barcelona during the war. Evidence of the bombings can be seen in the pockmarked walls of the church. Museu del Calçat, a footwear museum in the square was closed in 2015 and the building remains unused.

Agnus Dei, which is Latin for "Lamb of God". This symbol is commonly found in Christian art and architecture and represents Jesus Christ as a sacrificial lamb.

The emblem of the shoemakers guild (or so Google tells me)

I discovered a lot more interesting history later

Plaza de Sant Felip Neri: un rincón de paz que recuerda la guerra

La plaza de Sant Felip Neri nos recuerda los horrores de la guerra, pero también un videoclip y un edificio del Born entre otras historias

becinadas.es

Basílica de Santa Maria del Pi.

It is known that in 987 there existed a church outside the city walls and to the west of Barcelona. This was a small Romanesque church dedicated to the Blessed Lady of the Pine Tree (one of the titles of the Virgin Mary). The church was most likely built between 1319 and 1391. It opened on 17 June 1453. The style of the church was Catalan Gothic, with a single nave almost devoid of ornamentation. Peter the Ceremonious made donations at the year 1379 to begin to build the bell tower, which ended in the works directed by Bartomeu Mas, between 1460 until his death in 1497. The chapel de la Sang also was built by Bartomeu Mas in 1486.

The rose window is covered on the outside, so not very bright.

RooFlyer · 2025-08-12T01:36:15+1000

The church has had a rough history

It was affected by the bombings of 1714 during the War of the Spanish Succession and by the explosion of a non-related ammunition dump causing the collapse of the presbytery and destroying the main altarpiece and all the ornaments that there were, although the Virgin and other images were saved. There was also damage to a side chapel as well as in all of the nave's stained glass windows, which were broken during the siege. The church finds itself without the kidnapped bells and the ruined temple. Beginning in 1717, repairs began with the work of Joan Fiter, but a first restoration project was not carried out until 1863-1884 by Francisco de Paula del Villar y Lozano. The roofs of the chapels, the front and the rear facade were restored. The Baroque decoration of the temple was also eliminated. Towards 1915 it was restored again.

In 1936 the church was gutted by a fire deliberately set by anarchists, who wanted to destroy the building. The church was restored following the end of the Civil War.

The bed of Santa Maria del Pi - used in the celebration of the Assumption of Mary, with a cataflaque bearing a recumbent image of the Virgin - this one dating from 1801.