August 8 Barcelona

At about 8:00, I headed up (literally, it was very up) the three miles to the Parque Guel, a Gaudí designed park that is quite a delight.

Motorcycles very popular—among women, too—here.  Lots of scooters, too.

At entrance to Guel Park:

It is a not really a parky-park, as far as I could tell, because but you can't go off specific trails.  A view:

Closeup of tree trunk that looks like giraffe's neck. Honestly, this one looks painted.  I had to look up to see that leaves were growing and touch the trunk to make sure the tree was real:

Section of a palm tree trunk:

Aqueduct in park:

Gaudí designed chair in Gaudí House:




Selfie in front of Gaudi mirror:




Then off to the market.  These are not the biggest tomatoes I have seen:

After market, went to a couple of museums.  The Museum of Contemporary European Art was utterly depressing.  Even this horse announces that:

As does this dog:

Here is why.  Do you know what is on top of the lettuce on the plate:  It is the flesh that woman on the right has cut out of the arm of woman on the left.  (They must have run out of jamon (ham):

Man with large breasts and partial remains of dead animal:

Then went on to museum of African and Asian and Oceanic and Mesoamerican Art.

Beaded and shelled African head dress.  (Do not know which country.)

Tall carved poles of the Asmat (New Guinea) people:

The absolute best item here was a description of a game played in Mesoamerica:

"Ballgame was a common cultural phenomenon throughout Mesoamerica.  It came into existence about 3,000 years ago and continued to be played until the arrival of the conquerors.  Although there were variants depending on the period and region, a ballgame represented combat between opposing principles existing in the myths of origins:  night versus darkness (day versus night), a combat from which the chain of successive worlds originated, as well as the stars, humankind and social order.  A ballgame had two teams—put on the same level as the gods—that confronted each other on a playing field that represented the sky.  The game involved passing a rubber ball through a ring positioned up high, mainly using the hips and elbows.  It ended with players being decapitated, a sacrifice that represented the continuity of the cosmic cycle connected with the land's fertility."

Curious minds want to know, inter alia:  Did the Mesoamericans leave a rule book?  Did they stop playing the game because the conquerers, not discriminating between sides, killed off all potential team members?  Why would a playing field represent the sky and not the earth?  Is this an early version of basketball?  (And why it helps to be tall.) How does being decapitated represent the cosmic cycle?

A ballgame player, with head—but wait—he has a bat, does he not, so where does the elbow and hip maneuver come in?



Museumed out, I made my way back to hotel to pack and get ready for departure, stopping on the way for a slice of eggplant and tomato pizza.  I am ready to go home!!

I de moment, adéu a tots.  Y, por ahora, adios a todos.  Quién sabe qué pasará después!