Jewish Tour: Interesting exhibit on Salomon ben Adret (Barcelona, 1235-1310)

Yesterday I was with three fun New York couples from Russian-Jewish origin, and as we were going to visit the Old Town if we could have a little Jewish Tour of the medieval Barcelona during our time together.
So we visited the Call (medieval Jewish Section) and we entered the Center of Interpretation run by the Museum of History of the City.

 

During our Jewish tour we visited the exhibit on Salomon ben Adret

In the upper floor they had just open an interesting exhibit on Salomon ben Adret, the most important rabi and thinker of the Barcelona Jewish History. It was great to learn how he became a very influent man who was consulted from all over the Mediterranean to help interpreting the Talmud in the wisest possible way and how he defended the orthodox interpretations in front of some rationalist and mistic new trends that were appearing at the moment.

Tomorrow I'm back to the Old Town with another Jewish family and I'll be able to take them there for a little Jewish Tour!

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To know more about my tours, visit Foreverbarcelona.

The Romanesque Section of the MNAC is back!

After being closed for several months for restructuration of the display, the Romanesque Section of the MNAC has been finally reopened to the public.


Nonetheless, this is the most important collection by far there! You won't find such a large selection of Romanesque frescos anywhere else: they were carefully removed from their churches of origin in the Pyrenees before collectors with no qualms bought them for almost nothing to take them into their own countries. Then real size exact copies of the churches structures where built in plaster, to home the frescoes who were reglued there. Simply unique!
Plus that's not all, the Romanesque section also includes altar fronts (religious paintings on wood), crucifixes and cross descent groups (wooden sculptures) as well as silverwork.


The purpuse of the restructuration of the way the collection was displayed was simplyfing the understanding of this art period (the number of pieces of artwork has been reduced to a small number of selected pieces of the highest quality) as well as to create a more intimate athmosphere that remided that of the medieval churches. They were quite limited by the type of art that is displayed (they couldn't move around those huge plaster apses, of course!), but they made a beautiful job playing with the lights and the shadows and distributing some of the pieces in locations where it'd made sense they were if they were inside a real church.

Can't wait to be asked to take someone there on a museum tour!!!

Kids celebrated the end of the school year in the Park Güell

One of the things I love the most about being a tourguide is that the city is alive, and everyday there might be something fun going on that we might be hitting during a tour.

This is what happened last June 22nd during my tour with a group of American teens travelling with Explorica. June 22nd is usually the last day of school in Catalonia, as the next day we celebrate Saint John's Eve which is kind of the summer equivalent for New Year's Eve here.
Well inside the Park Güell, one of Gaudí's most famous projects, there is a primary school: Baldiri Reixach. And as we got there to visit the Park, the school kids were celebrating the end of the school year and were parading with some traditional big-heads, giants and a dragon made by them. My teens were fascinated to see how local kids celebrate their last school day!
Check the pictures I took!

Two big-heads represented Gaudí and his patron, the count Güell, while some other were inspired in the flower pots Gaudí designed for some of the park bridges. The dragon was clearly like the famous fountain of the Park, while the double-faced giant represented the school kids: a boy and a girl.

Plus, at the end of the tour, the teachers handed me the following letter:

June 22nd, 2011

Marta,

Thank you so much for an informative morning in Barcelona.
We learnt a lot of history in a few light and fun hours. Like a "good class".
We hope to come back to Barcelona and experience more.
Sincerely,

The students of Spanish of the John F. Kennedy Catholic High School in Seattle, WA, USA

Daytrip to Girona + Lunch by the beach

Llafranch beach from our restaurant

Some weeks ago (sorry I couldn't post this earlier) I spent a few days showing around a group from Epicurean Ways. On our last day together, we went out of town. First of all, we headed to Girona for some sightseeing and culture: we walked around its charming Old Town, saw the medieval walls, the Cathedral and its Jewish Section.

The group at lunch

Then we went to Llafranch, a great seaside town in the upper Costa Brava where locals relax in the summer. We had a restaurant overlooking the beach, where we ate a delicious fideuà (sort of noodle paella). What a beautiful day it was!

Yummy fideuà

Sagrada Família news

Two news about the Sagrada Família Church this month:

1. After several weeks of being closed for repair works due to the fire caused by a mentally-ill person last April, the Crypt has been finally reopened to the public last Sunday. Great news!

2. The door of the main entrance, that after Pope Benedict dedication of the church had remained outside of the visitors itinerary, has been finally added to it and now visitors are allowed to see it and read on it the words of the Our Father prayer in Catalan and the first sentences of it in upto 50 different languages from all over the world. Quite impressive!

Feedback from Neil and Marlee Taxy

Neil and Marlee Taxy were part of a larger group I toured with. I took them around on a walking tour, and I also recomended them places to go eating in Barcelona. Here is their feedback:

Elise Meyer mentions me in her blog

The food journalist Elise Meyer from NYC dedicates this week post to two great summer Spanish dishes: paella and gazpacho. I gave her and her husband Henry a foody tour last year and we had a lot of fun together discovering the best kept gourmet secrets in town!