Fit for a King

After a long day in the hot sun, I am no longer quite as much of a blankita (translation: pasty, pale little white girl) as when the day started.  My run this morning held a few surprises: apparently the nude community has a FIELD DAY on Saturday mornings at the beach.  And so does the NBA.  They had set up a mini-stadium on one of the piers, including inflatable columns emblazoned with NBA to surround the bleachers.  I’m not sure exactly why this tournament was going on, but they were allowing people to come and play 3-on-3 games.  I did see a few basketball jerseys during the day, but as any good scientist will tell you, it’s hard to determine causality.

The rest of my day was spent in Tibidabo, one of two mountains that overlooks Barcelona.

 The trolley that takes you between the Metro stop and the funicular (basically a metro that goes outside and takes you straight up the steep part of the mountain.  Similar to acensores in Vina del Mar, Chile, for those that have been there.

Beautiful houses on the walk up (I skipped the trolley ride)

  The name Tibidabo comes from the Bible verse, “et dixit illi haec tibi Omnia dabo si cadens adoraveris me,” or in normal person speak: “And said unto him, ‘All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.’ ” (Matthew 4:9).  This phrase comes from the temptation of Christ by the devil, but for those not in the know, it just makes a playful name that rolls off the tongue like a children’s book nonsense syllable.  The isolated phrase means, “I will give to you,” and the mountain packs quite a punch entertainment-wise.  I went for Sagrat Cor, the church at the peak of the mountain that boasts the fascinating combination of psychedelic doors, a church built upon a church, and a super tall Jesus statue crowning its peak.

See the two motifs?  The bottom one is supposed to resemble the fortress atop Montjuic; the second one is just a church.  Each level has fantastic views over the whole city... but more on that later.

   Statue by Man, Lighting by God

Despite its towering presence, the inside of Sagrat Cor (full name: Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor, or The Church of the Sacred Heart) was begun in 1806, completed 60 years later, and renovated in 1902.  The bronze statue of Jesus at the top represents the Sacred Heart, thus giving the church its name.  Sagrat Cor is not particularly large.  It has a strangely intimate feeling for a building made of so many tons of stone and stained glass.  The crypt, which is actually the most ground-floor level, is filled with colorful and slightly whimsical decorations.

 Up one floor, the main church has numerous columns but a small volume.  And finally, for the daring and curious, there is an elevator to the upper levels of the church.  The elevator takes you to a beautiful viewing deck,

then two sets of stairs take you successively higher until… you’re right up there with Jesus.  Literally at his feet.  At each of these higher levels, the wind of the city grows increasingly aggressive, making “photogenic” a term of the past.  Then again, if you’re scared of heights like me, the rising panic robs you of your vanity pretty quickly.

After descending from the tower, I decided to explore the amusement park a bit.  Yep, that's right kids, the church is literally in the middle of the amusement park.

 You might recognize this amusement park, the oldest and only remaining amusement park in Barcelona, from the movie Vicky Christina Barcelona.  Regardless, you wouldn't know much about it.  The Tibidabo Amusement Park was built in 1889 and still showcases some of its original rides.  As some people from my lab cautioned me, "It's no Six Flags.  Don't expect America."  Honestly? I'm not a huge amusement park person and was much more drawn to the old-school charm here.

 And a modern touch that was GREATLY appreciated: in the middle of the park was an electric fan with an attached hose so that it constantly sprayed a fine mist of cool water.  In the hot hot heat of the direct sun, this wasn't just for the kids.  This was the purest form of family fun.

 Tibidabo doesn't just boast an amusement park and a church, though.  It's also home to Torre de Collserola, a tower designed for the 1992 Summer Olympics by famed architect Sir Norman Foster.

Its futuristic design was originally ridiculed by the local inhabitants, but you can get used to anything, especially a steady income from tourism.  The pod, which is covered with a bubble-like design (click HERE for a close up) includes a popular viewing deck on the tenth floor that offers the highest viewpoint over the city.  Honestly, I think that the tippy top of the Sagrat Cor may be higher, and I didn't think the view would be particularly different from a few hundred meters away, so I skipped the second birds eye view of the city.

Down the road from the amusement park is CosmoCaixa, another "social work" by La Caixa bank.

 CosmoCaixa is a science museum, possibly the best one in Europe, and features a number of exhibits for an entrance cost of about a euro.  Plus, if you have any questions, they have some fabulous extra staff at their information desk.

While I didn't get a chance to tour the exhibits today, I'm hoping to come back.  So many tempting options at Tibidabo.

Spotted: Particularly entertaining advertising around Barcelona.

A full wall of a toy store.  Hey, with 50% of the 20-29 age group unemployed, at least there are recreation sports like Nerf gun fights to tide them over until the economy gets fixed.

 This was on a sign at Tibidabo.  I'm assuming it was meant to advertise a "magic mirror" type attraction, but I never saw any sign of the actual attraction.  Click on the photo to zoom in... and please enjoy the look on the little boy's face.