Postcard Barcelona

Dear Charlotte,

How are you? In a few weeks we will finally go to Barcelona. Are you excited to go as well? I read a very interesting article about Barcelona from Paul Goldberger. He is very enthusiastic about this city of charm. He mentions that Barcelona is a city where architecture and urbanism are one an that is what we are going to experience ourselves. So I have been thinking about the places and monuments and other sights of Barcelona.

I can’t wait to see some of the Gaudi architecture. I’m sure you’re pretty excited as well, because that’s the main reason to go there. The Sagrada Familia church was designed by Antoni Gaudi which I suppose you already knew, but did you know they never finished the project. Construction began in 1882 and it is scheduled to be completed in 2026. Unbelievable don’t you think? Another surprising fact of Gaudi is that he died because he was struck by a tram.

Besides all the Gaudi constructions there is more to see in Barcelona like the Arata Isozaki’s sport stadium and the Santiago Calatrava’s Communication Tower. They were both built for the Olympics in 1992.

We can also go to the nineteenth century section of the city calles L’Eixample. The designer, Ildefons Cerda, is not as celebrated as Gaudi, but it’s I think it's worth a visit. In this district the blocks are square, but they cut of parts of the blocks which gives weird shapes to the buildings. Sounds rather amusing don’t you think? I would love to go there during our trip.

Do you like art? I am fond of art so if you don’t mind I would love to go to at least one museum. The Picasso Museum and The Museum of Modern Art appear the most interesting to me.

I’m really looking forward going to Barcelona. I’m sure we will have a wonderful time and Like Paul Goldberger says: “The essential idea of Barcelona is that all of this beauty is to be used. This is not a city of charm; it has a deeper sort of grace, one that comes from understanding that the magnificence of the everyday is the most exalted thing of all.”

Love,
Julia

article: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/places/places-of-a-lifetime/barcelona.html