Our last day in Barcelona started out with teeming rain, really the only bad weather day of the entire trip. Luckily it only lasted until about 10:30 which gave us time to relax just a bit and work on the blog. Then off to the Fundació Joan Miró. It took awhile to get to this area, Parc de Montjüic—a metro ride followed by a funicular up the mountain.


Miró founded the museum himself in 1975 and wanted it to be a contemporary art center. The views of the city are spectacular, and the building is very modern.Miró was a surrealist who evolved into a innovative contemporary artist. He used some specific symbols over and over in his paintings, and used many different medium including tapestry, sculpture, metal and more.





Jim and I are at odds about his work. He thought much of it was self-indulgent, I really enjoyed his use of color and modern techniques with the possible exception of a white unpainted frame with one blue dot or a single line towards the side. Come on, my grandchildren could paint that!




It was pretty easy to get the metro to go back down the mountain and back over to the Sagrada Família. The rain had stopped, and although cloudy, we wanted to make sure we got every last view of the exterior, especially the Nativity entrance.

We also made a quick photo stop at the Casa Batiló, yet another famous Gaudí building near our hotel which we hadn’t seen yet. I would have loved to get inside the head of Gaudí. This guy was very creative!



Back to our hotel to start packing and to get ready for our last night activity—Gustavo Dudamel leading the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. It wasn’t just the What but also the Where— at the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Palau de la Música Catalans. It is one of the most exemplary Moderista buildings in Barcelona. The terra-cotta muses spring from the backdrop of the stage, stained glass windows and sculptures abound, and whole place is like a garden of music.







Ironically, the concert, while very good, was kind of tired, as was Dudamel, with very little of the energy that he is known for. Yes, we are harsh critics, but we had just seen the Cleveland Orchestra play the same Brahms 4th a month earlier, and there was no comparison, especially the triangle part in the third movement. (Ok, ok, we’re pretty subjective.) The packed house loved it and were still clapping as we headed for home to get ready for our early morning trip to the airport.