Barcelona is not short of its own versions of Art Nouveau and Gothic style architecture which became known as Modernism in the late 19th century. The scale and extent of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau started in 1902 on the medieval site which has been in continuous use since 1401 is something to behold.

La Sagrada Familia is one of Barcelonas iconic buildings and well worth a visit, in fact I have probably visited dozens of times and the nice thing is that because of the on-going building works it always looks different!
This Gaudi masterpiece has been a work in progress for the last 100 years with frequent and heated debates as to whether the "new" part is really in keeping with the Gaudi original.
This post was inspired by a news item recently which assured us that it would finally be finished in 2010 and so I decided to have another look and see what a Sagrada Familia without cranes would be like.
I decided to look at details rather than the undoubtedly impressive overall impression with its soaring towers, zooming in on the fruit and bird life hidden on the facades and the amazing use of stone, ironwork, glass and ceramic tiles.
My unequivocal conclusion is that there are so many interesting and fun things to admire in/on this church that it will always be a pleasure to visit, and just for the record I love the "new" part and hope that cleaning the pollution stained exterior of the "old" part can begin when the cranes do eventually come down, but I think 2010 is optimistic, personally!

This extremely interesting and well put together exhibition at the CCCB in Barcelona (next to the MNAC) is a must to get the sense of the creativity which has made modern Catalonia famous.
It unites the main thinking and trends of architecture, music, image and literature since the end of the 19th century. We see for example some of the original sketches and scale models that Gaudi used to test his designs, right down to individual pieces and how they were created using all sorts of materials.
The creative genius of Salvador Dalí and the poet/surrealist Joan Brossa also feature as multifaceted and deeply interested in science and how they incorporated these theories into their work is captured on film and in their art.
Ideas for city planning are shown evolving over the last 100 years with influences from some of the main local architects as well as  Le Corbusier and others, and right up to date projects which are still evolving like the 22@ district and the Forum.
An altogether fascinating way to spend a few hours and come out with a greater sense of the ways in which Catalonia has evolved into what it is today.