Strategy

It’s early February and I’m catching up the blog. I won’t provide a daily journal of our travels a month ago in Barcelona--just select photos.
Here for instance are some interesting creatures who were inspired by Antonia Gaudi. They were in the lobby of a stately building--I can’t tell you any more than that.


For me they represent Barcelona in the sense that they seem to combine something historical and modern, a creative blend of ancient myth and science fiction.
Here is a mime painted as John Lennon. Kids would stand on the box next to him and have their photos taken.

This photo was taken on Las Ramblas, where a terrorist mowed down pedestrians last year.

We spent a day at Montserrat monastery, maybe 45 minutes or so from Barcelona. The photos won’t do it justice, but here goes. This sculpture is called Stairway to Heaven. Each step represents something different. If you want to know what, you can look it up! I’m doing a month of posts so I won’t be doing much in the way of research.

To my left is the monastery and dorms for visiting faithful coming for sabbaticals or retreats.

To my right, all the way to the right, is the entrance to a breathtaking chapel.

This is the view from where the famous Black Madonna sits. The tour guide told me one thing about the miracle of the madonna, wikipedia told me something else, a guidebook told me a third thing. None of it made sense, all were inconsistent. I think miracles are pretty much about faith and not about the application of reason--one reason I’m not a Catholic anymore.


The ceiling above the madonna.

I have never understood the need religions have for ostentation. The grandest churches were built at times of extreme poverty and privation. Is there not something in the bible about a rich man having a hard time getting into heaven? Was the idea that if a rich man invested in gold-plated cathedrals, he improved his chances? One theory I hatched while walking around this spectacular building was that Spain was repeatedly being conquered and reconquered by Christian and Muslim countries, and by French and Spanish kings (never mind Catalonia vs. Andalusia and other Spanish regions). Maybe the idea was to convince the masses that "our brand of religion is better than that other lot because we have better real estate.”
Like I said, not a lot of research going on.

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