Spain 4/7

Our last full day in Barcelona, and we head straight back to Montjuic to the National Museum of Catalonian Art thinking we would spend a bit of time there and then move onto another gallery. Well, the Museum is about as extensive as a museum could be and has some extraordinary displays. Some of the earliest art is from churches all around Catalyuna and are murals and paintings on beams as well as some statuary and church artefacts. The sections of wall containing the murals have been brought in and the walls rebuilt according to the original church. They are, in the main, amazingly well restored and preserved and a fair number of them. Perhaps you are getting an idea of the scale of this museum. We travelled through the galleries in chronological order - Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Modern. The range is mind boggling. I lost Rob somewhere along the way so when I was gasping for a cup of something I tried ringing him and sending him a text message telling me where he is. He didn't arrive before I had finished it so I went and had a look at some more and then went into the shop for a quick look there. Rob found me, which was nothing short of a miracle as he didn't have his phone on him and wasn't at all sure where I was. We started to head out, only to be distracted by a temporary photographic exhibition. That put paid to going anywhere else - but never mind, instead of that we enjoyed a glass of cava on the terrace outside the museum. Very pleasant sitting in the shade with Barcelona spread out before us. Picking up Stig and Kate, off for lunch at their favourite square - this time at Angelo's restaurant which Kate tells us is known for their fish. We have the "menu" and I order a rice dish that is a speciality of the house. It was a bit like a small paella, or a risotto - rice in a rich tomato sauce with a lobster claw, some gumbas (small prawns) and some pork in it. Delicious. As Angelo was serving Kate's fish he stopped at a small service table to take the bones out before putting it on the table - I wish that was a service one could get at home. I am not keen on fish bones at all. We finished off the meal with a 'digestif' bright yellow liquer - none of us knows what it is called, nor are we sure what was steeped in the unlabelled bottle, but we all agree it is delicious and a fitting end to this our final lunch. After the usual siesta, we have a very light, very quick bite to eat and then take the metro to where we think the building called "the torpedo" is as Rob is particularly keen to see it at night. It is a bit similar in shape to the crystal egg in London. As Rob is going to see that in a few weeks he thought he should see this one to sort of round it out. Well, we came into the street and thought we headed in the right direction after we clapped eyes on it. We began to feel that we had walked miles and should just about be underneath it but Stig pointed out that it is the tallest building in Barcelona and so will probably be further than we think. So after getting some local advice, off we go again - more walking for miles and then lo and behold there it is, right in front of us looming large and colourful towering over everything around it. Out come our cameras and we marvel at it, taking pictures both clear and artistically diffused (or wobble cam) and then decide to head over to have a look at Sagrada Familia close up at night as there is a metro station there and we can head home on that. More walking, and would you believe it, we walk past a bar so we all refresh ourselves there before taking off again. The bar is next to Momumental - one of the working bullfight arenas in Barcelona. The one near Plaza Espana is now closed and is being renovated as an office and shopping complex. The bullfight season starts soon, but not that night. Sagrada Familia looks absolutely fascinating at night, in a way that differs greatly from the daytime viewing. Stig points out a donkey statue on the nativity facade and tells us that Gaudi went into the countryside to find a donkey he liked, brought it into the workshop, shaved it and took a cast of it for the statue. I had noticed when we were there earlier a sequence of photos for the creation of one of the angel statues that started with an actual skeleton so was not surprised to hear about the donkey. Authenticity is all apparently. Exhausted from all our walking we hop on the metro, walk the last kilometre or less home from the station and fall into bed. Tomorrow we leave Barcelona ,,,,