Our son is a senior at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD),
and is spending this, his senior year, at Universidad de Barcelona. I
spent a couple of days with him in January as a side-trip from business
in the UK. He lives in a flat above Las Ramblas, the main drag in
this very interesting and historical city.
We did not visit any mechanical music sites, but there are several
"must see" places in Barcelona:
1) Palau de Musica -- music performance venue that is just incredible;
daily tours
2) Park Guell up the hill -- the consummate Antoni Gaudi work and
definition of operating "outside the box"
3) Temple Sagrada Familia -- the world's largest "sand castle", a Gaudi
cathedral that's been under construction for 100 years with another 100
estimated to complete. Remarkable art; remarkable contrasts in style
within a single architectural creation; remarkable determination to
keep his vision alive.
4) The Gaudi apartment buildings, La Pedera and Casa Batillo on Paseig
de Gracia.
I did not have time to visit the local palace, where one might
conceivably run across some musical instruments. This is a city full
of varied architectural styles and a real visual delight.
Ultimately, for me, Barcelona was defined by the impact of Gaudi. We
have a few digital pictures that we can e-mail or post to our site if
that would be of interest.
Hope you have a great time!
Richard Oliver
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