Rising Vistas, New Points of View, New Realities

The Barcelona Pavilion by Mies Van der Rohe was an oasis of tranquility in the hot sun, part way up the incline of Montjuic. It tantalized us as we walked around it, our views impeded by vegetation, the shadows playing on the slabs of stone. And then we entered.

The word pavilion has new meanings now, openness defined by lines, spaciousness between the planes of stone, glass providing light, and columns providing support. All four of us were entranced. It meant the world to Rob, who had only seen the foundations when we visited the site in 1985. It was marvelous, and people were visiting from many other countries, and many under 40!

 Further up the slope, escalators brought us to a little cafe, not the chic ones at the heights with the "best" views, but the food was good, the staff helpful, and the shaded seats very much appreciated! One more level up and we began the normal Meredith wandering techniques, finding shrubbery of interest, meandering in the direction of the Miro museum. Along the way, I glanced through a fence to see a tree stump that included a beautiful cat in its very form.

 Miro was intriguing, his early journey from traditional art making into the realm of the dreaming mind, and the museum itself with its interior spaces and external spaces interacting and bringing the colors from outside into the white interior. The contemporary exhibition of Mona Hatoun's work was another layer of interaction of object, and view, with the viewer.







The heat was wearing us down, along with the continuous uphill walk, so we splurged and took the cable car up to the top of the hill. The castle was originally built there , its crenellations and thick walls had a purpose in the 1700's, but it was turned into a military prison, and later used by the Franco regime for its torture crimes.

There is something about the place, like an open beach resting on steady foundations and floating above the sea and the city. Such beauty and form, with such deep reverberations. All of us responded, taking each successive level of the structure and walking the peripheries. For me, the Sanskrit refrain Lokah Samastah Sukino Bhavantu (may all beings be happy and be free) ran nearly continuously through me. Yet the sheer vastness of view, the working docks and shipyards below, the sprawl of the City of Barcelona between the hills, even just the color of the sea itself and the calls of the seagulls made this place magical. The stones, the massive quality of the walls and arches, all testimony to the hands that built them.

Rob and I found an Asian grocery on the way home and even though Jesse and Russell bought themselves Burger King hamburgers on the way home, they were happy about the cold noodles sesame-peanut sauce and pork dumplings that we served up as supper. Tomorrow we journey by train outside of town for an adventure at a Cava vineyard. So far our simple local store wines have been really lovely, so we look forward to seeing how these delicious wines grow from grape to bottle.