In a garden

I'm exhausted. I don't know how anyone gets anything done here--going out super late and staying out until super early in the morning....

I'll guess I'll pick up with the Palau de la Música Catalana, my field study for my architecture class on Tuesday. As the name would suggest, it's a music hall. The Palau was built in the early 1900s and was built for the Orfeó Catalá. It was built from public donations, and enough money was raised to hire Domenech i Montaner. Fun fact: Domenech i Montaner and Gaudí are considered the fathers of Modernisme in Spain. It is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL building. I don't have any pictures because pictures aren't allowed, and it was raining (seriously, what drought), so I don't have any of the outside. The entire building, inside and out, is designed to be a garden. Why? Because the Palau was built in what use to be a super industrial part of Barcelona, so the Palau was to be a garden in the center of all that industry. The columns are done in mosaics of different flowers and plants, each column different.

All the details from the main theater evoke some natural element. The most breathtaking part about the main theater is the chandelier/skylight. I think it's probably more appropriate to call it a skylight because it is all natural light. The whole thing is done in glass and it looks like a sunflower (my description really isn't doing justice to its beauty). It drops out of the ceiling like a water drop--to nourish the garden, and the sunflower represents the sun, also to nourish the garden. As the chandelier uses only natural light, there are stained glass windows all around the top of the theater. The idea was to use only natural light for the theater.

The amount of glass work is interesting, especially for a theater. Glass isn't really the best material to use for good acoustics, since it doesn't really absorb sound that well. However, there is a ton of padding and wood in the seats to help absorb some of the sound. At point, the Palau was going to be torn down. I think one of the reasons was because of the bad acoustics and all the noise you could hear from the outside because of the glass windows. Luckily, the Palau was saved. The windows have since been reinforced, so I don't think there is much noise from the outside. I don't know how great the acoustics are though. Either way, the Palau is GORGEOUS.

The back wall of the main stage hosts muses-I think 12, but I don't remember. Each of the muses is dressed differently and playing a different instrument. They represent and welcome all genres of music. In the theater you can also see the Valkries from Wagner. Wagner was considered a modern composer, so it's a nod to modernism. There is also a bust of Beethoven, and classic columns, a symbolizing the classical. It's a beautiful fusion of past and present, welcoming all music. Fun fact: The Palau was spared during the Spanish Civil War (Franco sought to get rid of all kinds of regional nationalism). The name was changed from the Palau de la Música Catalana to just the Palau de Música.

The other field trips this week were pretty lame. Thursday I went to the Museum of Catalan History with my History class. I love history and museums, and I thought it was pretty boring. I don't care for guided tours of museums. I like to walk around on my own Even if I had just been able to walk around, I wouldn't have gotten much out of the museum--everything was written in Catalan.

On Thursday afternoon, I went on a walking tour on Passeig de Gracia, a posh shopping street right next to school. There's a couple of Gaudí's works on the street, as well as some by other Modernist architects. The walk would have been great had it not POURED. Of course, my umbrella was in my other bag. I did have my beach towel with me because I was planning to go to the beach after glass (I bet you can guess how that worked out). I wasn't really paying attention to the architecture, but I do remember seeing Casa Amatller and another house (I don't remember who did it though).

The only mention I'm going to make about nightlife this past weekend is techno music and how much I hate it. And smoking inside. Not a fan. Febreeze was one of the best, most useful things I packed (thanks Greta!).

I have more to say about Costa Brava, but I'm going back today!! Our RA has a beach house there, and invited us for the day, so I'm off to enjoy more of the beautiful Spanish coast.