Adventures in Spain: Day 4
Happy New Years Eve! We slept in in preparation for a late night and slowly rolled out of bed and headed towards a bakery we had heard amazing reviews from. Funky Bakers was a 10/10 with good coffee and an amazing sausage roll! Would definitely recommend to anyone in the area!
Now that we were fueled for the day we continued meandering around Barcelona's Ciutat Vella district as we saw Torre de las Aguas, saw some of Gaudi's first city lamp post's, and took a delightful beach walk!
After relaxing we headed to the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau in the Horta-Guinardó district. The former Hospital of the Holy Cross and Saint Paul, is a complex that was built between 1901 and 1930. It is one of the most prominent works of the Catalan modernisme architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The complex was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997 and after visiting I can see why. Unlike many of the other attractions we visited this area was relatively quite and peaceful. I learned so much about the history of medicine and care in the area while experiencing the beauty of the buildings. Composed of 12 pavilions connected through long underground galleries within its large green space, Sant Pau is the largest complex built in Art Nouveau style. It was a fully functioning hospital until June 2009, when the new hospital opened next to it. It underwent restoration for use as a museum and cultural center, and re-opened in 2014
While in the hospital I took one of my favorite photos of the trip. from the front windows you can see Sagrada Familia and seeing Gaudi's famious work from the window of such a beatiful building was pretty dang cool
We decided to go back to the hotel and take a nap before our NYE dinner reservation. On our walk back to our hotel we got to pass Sagrada Familia again and got the chance to learn more about his life and death. Below is some direct information about how he sadly met his end.
""Nicknamed “God’s architect,” Gaudí stated that he designed and built all his work for the glory of God. On June 7, 1926, during his walk to confession, Gaudí was hit by a tram. Because of the 73-year-old's unkempt appearance and the fact that he didn’t have identification in his pocket, people who witnessed the accident thought he was a beggar. Gaudí lost consciousness, but taxi drivers wouldn’t bother taking a beggar to the hospital. A doctor who lived along the Gran Via was alerted to the accident and went to examine the old man, but he concluded that nothing could be done. A police officer eventually took the gaunt, injured Gaudí to the Hospital de la Santa Creu, where he got rudimentary care . It wasn't until the next day that the chaplain at the Sagrada Família recognized the beggar as the architect, but it was too late—Gaudí died two days later, on June 10, 1926. His funeral procession snaked through the city, ending at his immense, unfinished church. He was laid to rest in the crypt of the Sagrada Família, underneath the continued efforts to finish his elaborate, colossal sanctuary. Directly from the following source"[ 0 ]
We stopped by a pastry shop to grab a quick snack in La Pastisseria Barcelona. This passion fruit cheesecake with white chocolate could have convinced me to move to Spain.... We also got a chocolate 2025 treat!
We got fancied up and headed out to NYE Dinner at the Alchemix. Maybe now is a good time to talk about restaurant culture. Spain has a large culture of dinner reservations. Nearly every night we needed a reservation to have a dinner spot. A lot of this is because there is a history of long dinners with lots of conversation. For instance our NYE dinner was 4.5 hours long! And many people were content to stay past midnight since the restaurant was open till 2 am! The dinner was absolutely amazing and every bite was a delight to the taste buds I so wish I had gotten a copy of the fixed menu! On our walk back from the restaurant we saw locals setting off fire works in the streets!
[ 0 ] Raga, S. (2024a, March 11). Gaudí’s Accidental Death: Why the architect was mistaken for a beggar. Mental Floss. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/72482/gaudis-accidental-death-why-great-architect-was-mistaken-beggar#:~:text=The%20residents%20of%20Barcelona%20mourned,finish%20his%20elaborate%2C%20colossal%20sanctuary.
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