Sweet Endings

Today was my last day of work.  And how did I spend it?  I left the house at 7:30 AM and rode the Metro halfway across the city to Barceloneta and hustled over to Baluard, my favorite bakery, when they opened at 8.  I then bought a pantload of delicious baked goods for my lab mates, which I delicately balanced as I rode the Metro completely across the city to work.  I had everything laid out by the time the rest of the lab arrived.  Perfect Friday morning surprise.  Am I good, or am I good?

Suffice it to say that my labmates have a new favorite bakery.  And if you ever go to Baluard (especially when they've just baked the first batch of morning delights) and they have these round shaped pastries with a reddish tint, they're wicked good.  I'm going to have to go back at least once more before I leave.
I also finally gave my presentation.  It went really well, but it was strange to be ending a chapter of my summer.
After preparing for tomorrow's trip, I went out on one of my last Barcelona adventures, this one to Pavellons Guell.

 While you can go inside on a guided tour, it's short and doesn't show you much more than the gate and the stables (so I hear).  But the gates are the best part.  And here's how it all happened:
Eusebi Guell (of Palau Guell and... all other Gaudi-Guell collaborations) bought Palau Reial in 1882 as a summer home, then set Gaudi loose on the place.  It was the first place Gaudi used his broken tail mosaic (trencadis) styel.  The gardens included in the estate had three original entrances, but only two remain today. The most famous one is the Porta del Drac or Dragon's Gate, which was the private Guell family entrance that connected to their home.  While the University of Barcelona has bought the gatehouses, the same family still lives in the small groundsman's house on the property.  Cute, right?
And now about that Porta del Drac.  Gaudi was inspired by the poem L'Atlantida by the Catalan poet Jacint Verdaguer.  In the poem, Hercules tries to steal golden oranges in the garden of Hesperides, but there's a dragon standing watch.  Unfazed, Hercules slays the dragon to get his fruit fix.  Oh, and this all happened while Hercules was wandering the Iberian Peninsula, sinking Atlantis, and creating the Mediterranean Sea.

 Since I lack the same dragon-slaying prowess, all I can say is: thank God for Boqueria market.

 I spotted the La Caixa headquarters on my walk to the metro station.  It's a complex of three buildings, including two "skyscrapers" (one is a bit stubby).  They're very... angular.  Sort of nubby-looking.  And the La Caixa band at the top of each of the two towers?  It rotates 360 degrees, like the Space Needle restaurant, but way faster.

And then, with a whiff of nostalgia, I walked my neighborhood.
I mentioned Casa Fuster, now a hotel, in one of my first Barcelona posts (I took a picture with the doorman).

 Now a luxury hotel, Casa Fuster was constructed in 1906 during what I like to call Barcelona's Bourgeoisie Boom on Passeig de Gracia.  It was designed by Domenech i Montaner.  It was one of his last designs, and was built after his death.

Casa Fuster was a gift from Senor Fuster to his wife, but apparently he also wanted to make Barcelona more beautiful.  It was considered the most expensive house in the city at the time, due to the high quality materials (marble, etc) that were used in its construction.
It seems, however, that the Fusters didn't live here very long.  They moved in during 1911 but sold the house to Jame Ymbern Fort a mere 11 years later in 1922.  Then, the building transformed into a cultural center with the opening of a restaurant, Cafe Vienes, and the influx of poets and artists who used Casa Fuster as a gathering place.  Sadly, this gem was almost demolished in 1960s (though the people of Barcelona were very upset at the mere suggestion of demolition), but was then bought by an electric company that restored it.  Casa Fuster now stands as a five star luxury hotel.  In a city that's so beautiful, I can't help but wonder what other gems have been lost that I'm too busy too miss.


Spotted: A flamenco outfit.

Today, I actually spotted a family who had bought a flamenco outfit for their child.  I've seen these hanging in windows but, until today, had never actually seen someone purchase one.  Let's set a few things straight.  Flamenco is not from Barcelona, and Barcelona is not famous for flamenco.  The city has produced some flamenco acts, but the dance belongs to Madrid and southern Spain.  Flamenco originated in the province of Andalusia and is the musical outlet of the poor and oppressed.  The oppressed part fits the long suffering of the Catalan people under a repressive government, but they have found their own means of expressing this grief.
For more information on the history of Flamenco, click here.