{"id":1126,"date":"2011-04-12T23:23:06","date_gmt":"2011-04-13T06:23:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interspacedesign.wordpress.com\/?p=1126"},"modified":"2021-06-27T07:22:14","modified_gmt":"2021-06-27T14:22:14","slug":"from-formals-to-gum-boots-cruising-rome-rio-and-forays-into-the-amazon-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/from-formals-to-gum-boots-cruising-rome-rio-and-forays-into-the-amazon-part-2","title":{"rendered":"From Formals to Gum boots: Cruising Rome-Rio and Forays into the Amazon, Part 2 – France & Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Port 2 \u2013 Cannes <\/strong><\/h1>\n

Cannes dawned cold and inclement. So we bundled up for the weather and stoically headed for the train station. Having been to Nice and Monte Carlo before, I decided visit Antibes in the morning and then check out Cannes and its Christmas market afterwards.<\/p>\n

Antibes is a romantically picturesque town less than 15 minutes by train from Cannes. Thankfully ignored by most cruise passengers who headed for the glitzier\u00a0cities of Nice and Monte Carlo, we had the place to ourselves. Vieil\u00a0Antibes (Old Town) is an eclectic mix of homes, boutiques, galleries, restaurants and bakeries. It also includes the souklike\u00a0neighborhood of the Commune Libre du Safranier<\/a>.\u00a0It was fun to get lost in the maze, where narrow streets and even narrower houses are covered with flowers & vines, and neighbors can chat from window to window.<\/p>\n

We eventually ended up at the waterfront, but except for the cafes, it was too early – at 11 am most places were still shuttered. After fortifying ourselves with hot chocolate and crepes (on top of the 2 pain au chocolates…) we headed back to the train station.\u00a0I\u2019d love to return and sit stroll through the streets on a sunny day!<\/p>\n

\"Commune<\/a>
Commune Libre du Safranier, where Napol\u00e9on\u00a0Bonaparte once lived.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Door<\/a>
The doors are unique in each of the houses, a contrast to the monolithic sameness of modern homes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Door<\/a>
I love the quirky location of the door pull, arrangement of the metal studs and texture of the glass of this old door.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Antibes<\/a>
Wrought Iron Sign of an Antibes Patisserie.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Not half as charming as Antibes, Cannes is home to the Palais de Festivals<\/a> where the fabled Cannes Film Festival<\/a> is held. As the French answer to Grauman\u2019s Chinese Theater<\/a>, the surrounding pavement of the Palais shows some 300 autographed imprints of film stars’ hands (Meryl Streep and Sharon Stone\u2019s included). At the nearby La Croisette, the tony waterfront promenade is lined with sumptuous hotels, apartments, restaurants and shops all geared for high octane consumption.<\/p>\n

After much WINDOW shopping, we wandered around the festive side streets which were decked out in Christmas decorations, went hog wild\u00a0over the scrumptious\u00a0rainbow hued\u00a0macarons\u00a0at L’Atelier\u00a0Jean-Luc\u00a0Pel\u00e9\u00a0and then visited March\u00e9\u00a0Forville. It\u2019s a food market where local chefs come to shop for fresh fish, vegetables, and meat every day except Monday \u2013 our port day. I was bummed. In its place was a forlorn looking flea market that drew little traffic from locals or tourists alike. We eventually braved the blustery wind to walk along the old port walls, just for the heck of it, then checked out the meager Christmas Market before getting back onto the ship.<\/p>\n

\"Edible<\/a>
Looking for simpler pleasures, I searched for the famed L’Atelier Jean-Luc Pel\u00e9 which sells exquisite pastries along Rue Meynadier. These are truly edible works of art!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Macar\"<\/a>
The patisserie offers 20-30 types of macaroons, including mint-anise and Menton lemon. We had the amazing foie gras with sea salt caramel and citron vert vodka \u2013 at 2 euros a piece, they were delightful mementos of our visit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Roadside<\/a>
Roadside sculpture around the Palais de Festivals – the white film strips made it resemble an artistically TP\u2019d reel to reel projector.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Port 3 \u2013 Barcelona <\/strong><\/h1>\n

Since Barcelona was the epicenter of the Modernisme<\/a>\u00a0(Catalan for modernism) movement, I was bent on experiencing its architectural treasures. In a moment of (irrational) exuberance, I got tickets to see architect Llu\u00eds\u00a0Dom\u00e8nech\u00a0i\u00a0Montaner<\/a>\u2019s Palau de la M\u00fasica\u00a0Catalana<\/a>\u00a0shortly after docking, and then join\u00a0a\u00a0Antoni Gaud\u00ed<\/a>\u00a0walking\u00a0tour at the Pla\u00e7a Reial (Royal Plaza) immediately afterwards. We ended up almost missing both, dashing haplessly\u00a0up and down La Rambla, Barcelona\u2019s main drag, as the locals point us in opposite directions for the landmarks.<\/p>\n

But it was well worth the effort \u2013 the Palau\u2019s sculpture, ceramic and stained glass were stunning; and the walking tour shed light on the life and work of the creative genius that was Antoni Gaud\u00ed. Both Gaud\u00ed\u00a0and Montaner favored organic forms, curved lines and parabolic arches, as well as extensive\u00a0ornamentation using ironwork, stained glass and stone.<\/p>\n

To cap off the day, we wandered quietly around the grounds of Montaner\u2019s Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau<\/a>, which like\u00a0El Palau, is a UNESCO World Heritage site.<\/p>\n

\"Palau<\/a>
The concert hall is the only auditorium in Europe that is illuminated entirely by daylight via the enormous stained glass skylight and curtain walls. Since photography is disallowed inside the building, these pictures of the Palau are from the internet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Detail<\/a>
The stained glass centerpiece is an inverted dome in shades of gold surrounded by blue that suggests the sun and the sky.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Muses<\/a>
The colorful, sumptuous sculptural decor of the concert hall celebrates both folk and classical music. Shown are instrument-bearing muses in terra cotta\u00a0and trencadis\u00a0(broken mosaic collage) with the bust of the music director Josep Clav\u00e9.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Barcelona<\/a>
Gaudi\u2019s work is steeped in symbolism. One of his most spectacular residential commissions, Casa Batll\u00f3\u2019s arched roof likens the back of a dragon, and recalls stories of St. George, the patron saint of Catalonia. And of course, there is the colorful fa\u00e7ade of trencadis as pioneered by Gaudi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Casa<\/a>
We didn\u2019t go into Casa Batllo, but I found this awesome picture. The light on the delicate plaster surfaces are particularly magical. The organic planes of the staircase, wall, and ceiling flow seamlessly together to form \u2018the house without corners\u2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Casa<\/a>
Casa Mila, popularly known as La Padrera (stone quarry), with its famous Darth Vader-like chimneys. The undulating rough-hewn limestone blocks and sinuous wrought iron balconies are reminiscent of eroded sea cliffs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Wrought<\/a>
Detail of Casa Mila, another celebration of ironwork, glass and stone. The vulture was purported to be an oblique reference to Gaudi\u2019s client, Pere Mila.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Barcelona<\/a>
The imposing entrance to the Hospital Sant Pau which is undergoing restoration for use as a museum and cultural center.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"View<\/a>
View of hospital roof with an eclectic mix of tiles, stone capitals, corbels and religious motifs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Hospital<\/a>
The hospital\u2019s access pavilion is crowned by a slender clock tower with exposed brickwork.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sagreda<\/a>
Detail of the Nativity fa\u00e7ade on the north side of Gaudi\u2019s Bas\u00edlica de la Sagrada\u00a0Fam\u00edlia showing Mary at the Visitation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sagreda<\/a>
Sagrada\u00a0Fam\u00edlia\u2019s fa\u00e7ade on the opposite side includes over a hundred contemporary sculptures evoking the Passion by sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs. Chosen to execute Gaudi\u2019s plans after his death, the work is starkly different from the exuberant ornamentation of the Nativity fa\u00e7ade.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo journal of my cruise-tour from Rome to Rio and beyond. Part 2 covers the French Rivera towns of Antibes and Cannes, as well as Barcelona, the epicenter of the Modernisme movement, as represented by acclaimed architects Catalan architects Antoni Gaud\u00ed and Llu\u00eds Dom\u00e8nech i Montaner. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7,415,15],"tags":[24,26,39,41,66,68,137,159,172,197,277],"class_list":["post-1126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-architecture","category-food","category-interior-design","category-travel","tag-antibes","tag-antoni-gaudi","tag-barcelona","tag-basilica-de-la-sagrada-familia","tag-cannes","tag-casa-batllo","tag-hospital-sant-pau","tag-la-padrera","tag-lluis-domenech-i-montaner","tag-palau-de-la-musica-catalana","tag-world-heritage-site"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/04\/barcelona-palau-de-la-mc3basica-catalana.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1126"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8742,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1126\/revisions\/8742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}