BARCELONA: PEDRALBES MONASTERY

One sunny sunday afternoon (free admission from 3pm) of this early spring we decided to visit again the Monestir de Pedralbes. The environment of this monastery, located in a well-off area of Barcelona, is really peaceful. This gothic monastery, one of the finest examples of Catalan Gothic architecture, is well preserved and its cloister is really large and beautiful.

The monastery of Pedralbes was originally surrounded by a wall. However only two towers and two gates that gave access to the monastery are preserved.

On the left the apse of the church of Pedralbes Monastery and its bell tower appear and, on the right, a building belonging to the Conventet 

This street, called Baixada del Monestir, belonged to Pedralbes Monastery, so this door was its former entrance

The bell tower of the Pedralbes Monastery from its main entrance

A closer view of the Monastery of Pedralbes from one of its former gates

Baixada del Monestir street in Barcelona

Gothic window, buttress and the top of the bell tower of the church of the Pedralbes Monastery

Pedralbes Monastery Church

Bell Tower of the gothic church of Pedralbes Monastery from Plaça del Monestir (Monestir Square)

Bell tower and doorway of the church of the Monastery of Pedralbes

Main entrance to the church of Pedralbes Monastery, where you can see the gothic archivolts

Inside the gothic church of Pedralbes Monastery

Stained glass window inside the gothic church of Pedralbes Monastery

Pedralbes Monastery Cloister

This cloister of Pedralbes Monastery has three floors. I haven't ever seen this kind of cloister with so many floors

 Inside the cloister of Pedralbes Monastery in Barcelona

 Gothic cloister and bell tower of Pedralbes Monastery

  Orange trees inside the cloister of Pedralbes Monastery

A closer picture of the gothic cloister of Pedralbes Monastery with its gothic archs in the foreground

This cloister of Pedralbes Monastery surprises me because of its hugeness. It's bigger than the other cloisters I had visited before

In Baixada del Monestir Street there are the buildings that belonged to the walled monastery, like the Conventet. 

Baixada del Monestir Street in Barcelona. The Monastery of Pedralbes is on the left and the Conventet on the right

Conventet de Pedralbes

In the corner of Baixada del Monestir Street and the Monastery square is the building known as the Conventet, which currently remains outside the monastery.

Romanesque door to the garden of willows in Conventet of Pedralbes in Barcelona

It was built in 1329 to accommodate the community of friars who took care of the spiritual care of the nuns of the monastery. It is a simple building with a small cloister, which is the only original element preserved.

The Romanesque elements of El Conventet (windows, doors and the upper gallery) come from the collegiate of Sta. Maria de Besalú in Girona

It was reformed in 1919 by the architect Enric Sagnier incorporating elements from the former Romanesque church of Santa Maria de Besalú. Nowadays the Conventet is a private property, belonging to Gòdia family.

In the Conventet in Pedralbes, the architect Enric Sagnier adapted some old constructions next to the Pedralbes monastery

Besides Saugnier enhanced the modest facade with items brought from a great Romanesque building, the collegiate church of Santa Maria in Besalú (Girona)

Another view of the romanesque elements (upper gallery, windows and doorway) of The Conventet of Pedralbes

Conventet of Pedralbes in Baixada del Monestir Street

Some of the houses downhill from the monastery, facing the Conventet between the entrance and the lower gate of the wall, were a bakery or a butcher

Plaça del Monestir de Pedralbes

Courtyard of a house next to Plaça del Monestir de Pedralbes

Nice corner beside Plaça del Monestir in Pedralbes

Montserrat Abbey is another interesting visit to do near Barcelona (it's located 60 km away from Barcelona), especially if you like religious buildings. I also recommend visiting other beautiful monasteries in Catalunya, like:

• Poblet Monastery
• Santes Creus Monastery
• Vallbona de les Monges Monastery
• Montserrat Abbey
• Sant Joan de les Abadesses Monastery
• Santa Maria de Ripoll Monastery
• Sant Pere de Rodes Monastery
• Sant Cugat Monastery

Besides if you like gothic architecture, you would be interested in visiting the following religious buildings in Barcelona:

• Santa Maria del Mar church
• Barcelona Cathedral
• Santa Maria del Pi church
• Santa Anna church
• Sant Just i Pastor church
• Sant Pere de les Puelles church

- Useful information:

• Address: Baixada del Monestir, 9 (08034 Barcelona)
• How to get there: Metro L6 - Reina Elisenda Stop. Bus 22, 63, 64, 75 and 78 and Barcelona Bus Turístic, Blue Route, stop Monestir de Pedralbes.
• Web site: http://monestirpedralbes.bcn.cat/

- Opening time:

• From 1st October to 31th March: Tuesday to Friday, from 10am to 2pm. Saturday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm.
• From 1st April to 30th September: Tuesday to Friday, from 10am to 5pm. Saturday from 10am to 7pm. Sunday from 10am to 8pm
• January 1st, May 1st, Good Friday, June 24th and December 25th closed.

- Clicking on the next link, a Pedralbes Monastery location map.

Finally, clicking on the next link you will find links to more beautiful and interesting places of Barcelona, among them, the Gothic Quarter.

ESPLUGUES DE LLOBREGAT: PARQUE DE CAN VIDALET

Hacia tiempo que había oído hablar del Parque de Can Vidalet pero siempre había pensado que se trataba de un parque urbano más sin ningún aliciente especial.

Mi sorpresa fue grande cuando un día vi fotos por Internet de un lago con un templete sobre una roca en su interior perteneciente a ese parque. Así que una mañana soleada de domingo decidimos ir a descubrir como era exactamente este parque. Y nos llevamos una muy buena impresión.

El Parque de Can Vidalet está situado en la parte baja de Esplugues de Llobregat, muy cerca del límite con el municipio de L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, y constituye el espacio verde urbano más importante de Esplugues. Este parque alberga es su interior varios elementos atractivos como un Palacete o un lago con un templete.

Estos son los elementos más importantes de este parque:

• Palauet
• Passeig de les Palmeres
• Turonet
• Safareig
• Lago y Templete

Palauet

Palauet en el Parque de Can Vidalet donde está la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de Esplugues de Llobregat

Fachada principal del Palauet del Parque de Can Vidalet

Passeig de les Palmeres

Passeig de les Palmeres en el Parque de Can Vidalet de Esplugues de Llobregat

Turonet

Junto al Paseo de las Palmeras, una rampa de caracol sube a la cima de un pequeño cerro, conocido como El Turonet

Turonet en el Parque de Can Vidalet

Safareig

Safareig en el Parque de Can Vidalet

Sobre estas arcadas había un depósito de agua elevado desde donde se repartía agua a todo el parque por un sistema de canales

Otra zona de palmeras cerca del lago del Parque de Can Vidalet

Lago y Templete

La zona del lago tiene elementos propios de un paisaje natural (el propio lago, la isla, la gruta, las paredes y las bóvedas de piedra, la vegetación y la fauna) y otros cargados de simbolismo como el templete. Por ello es la zona del parque que más me gustó.

El lago y el templete forman para mi el lugar con más encanto del Parque de Can Vidalet

Una estructura de rocas de forma semicircular flanquea el lago por la parte de poniente y cierra la gruta, con aberturas por donde se podían contemplar los juegos del agua al caer en el lago.

Justo delante hay una isla: cuatro pies de roca emergen del lago y se unen formando una bóveda debajo de la cual está el embarcadero. La isla funciona también como el magnífico pedestal de un templete, de planta circular, formado por ocho columnas estriadas con capiteles corintios que soportan un tambor con relieves de motivos vegetales. Un puente colgante de hierro lo une a tierra firme. 

Templete en el interior del lago del Parque de Can Vidalet

Zona ajardinada alrededor del lago del Parque de Can Vidalet

El templete del Parque de Can Vidalet está situado sobre cuatro columnas de piedra formando una pequeña gruta abovedada

El Templete está unido a tierra firme por un pequeño puente metálico

Templete y lago del Parque de Can Vidalet desde otro punto de vista

Finalmente a continuación tenéis enlaces a otros parques de Barcelona:

• Laberint d'Horta Park
• Parque Güell
• Parque de la Ciutadella
• Jardins de Pedralbes
• Montjuïc - Jardins Joan Maragall
• Montjuïc - Mirador
• Castell de l'Oreneta Park
• Collserola - Sant Pere Màrtir
• Collserola - Carretera de les Aigües
• Collserola - Pantà de Vallvidrera
• Parque de Torreblanca en Sant Feliu de Llobregat
• Parque de Can Mercader en Cornellà de Llobregat

THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH

Although this TV Mini-Serie was released in 2010, I recently watched on television The Pillars of the Earth. It consists of nine episodes and has been produced by Ridley Scott. Some of the actors involved are well-known as Eddie Redmayne (as Stephen Hawking in Theory of Everything), Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games), Donald Sutherland or Hayley Atwell (Vengers Age of Ultron, The Captain America or Ant-Man).

The nine episodes are:

1. Anarchy
2. Master Builder
3. Redemption
4. Battlefield
5. Legacy
6. Witchcraft
7. New Beginnings
8. The Work of Angels
9. Illumination 

This is the review of The Pillars of the Earth I wrote in april 2013 after having read this book:

Review of The Pillars of the Earth

The Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel by Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. It is set in the middle of the 12th century, primarily during the reign of King Stephen and the Anarchy, between the time of the sinking of the White Ship and the murder of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The book traces the development of Gothic architecture out of the preceding Romanesque architecture, and the fortunes of the Kingsbridge priory and village against the backdrop of historical events of the time.

Besides the novel explores themes of intrigue and conspiracy against historical events. It explores the development of medieval architecture, the civil war, secular/religious conflicts, shifting political loyalties and how ambitious nobles and churchmen take sides in the civil war hoping to gain advantages.

The Pillars of the Earth, written by Ken Follet

In this period, Tom Builder and his family roam southern England, seeking work. In midwinter, his starving wife, Agnes, dies in childbirth. He encounters a woman Ellen, who lives in a forest cave with her son, Jack (Jack's father was a French jongleur who was executed after washing ashore and meeting Ellen.) Tom settles in Kingsbridge with Ellen and Jack, and his own two children. He works for Prior Philip, who wants to expand his priory by rebuilding a cathedral.

Accused of treason, the Earl Bartholomew is stripped by King Stephen of his county, Shiring, which is granted to Percy Hamleigh. Hamleigh wants to topple the earl Bartholomew because Bartholomew's daughter, Aliena, had rejected Hamleigh’s son William. Thus William attacks Aliena and her brother Richard at the castle. 

Homeless and destitute, Aliena and Richard go to petition the king for aid at the court, where they find their dying father Bartholomew in prison, who demands they swear an oath to work for Richard to regain the earldom. Aliena supports Richard financially by becoming a wool merchant, with Phillip's help, in Kingsbridge. There Jack meets Aliena and falls in love with her at first sight and, slowly, he will get that she falls in love with him too. Richard becomes a knight for King Stephen, fighting in the civil war against Maud.

William and Richard compete for the earldom, but it has been bankrupted by the prosperity of Kingsbridge at Shiring's expense. Attempting to restore his fortunes, William burns down Kingsbridge and kills many people, including Tom Builder. After losing her fortune again, Aliena agrees to marry Alfred though she loves Jack and hates him, as Alfred promised to support Richard in exchange. Jack and Aliena make love on the morning of her wedding. When she marries Alfred anyway, Ellen curses the wedding and renders him impotent and Jack, furious, goes to France.

Pillars of the Earth explains the construction of the Gothic cathedral of Kingsbridge

In France, Jack hones his skills as a sculptor and mason. Having learned his father's identity, he meets his family in Cherbourg. He did not know that Aliena was pregnant.

In Kingsbridge, Aliena gives birth to a red-headed son, and Alfred abandons her, as he has been impotent: the baby can't be his. Aliena, following the advice of Ellen, follows evidence of Jacks's sculpture through France and Spain (Santiago de Compostela and Toledo) finding him eventually in Paris.

Jack and Aliena return to England with their baby and they seek permission to marry. Philip forbids the union until her marriage to Alfred is annulled. This requires Waleran Bigod’s recommendation to the archibishop, but Bigod and the Hamleighs are allies, and they intend to ruin Philip and Aliena several times. Fortunately, justice will be done: William Hamleigh and Waleran Bidod will be punished, Philip and Jack will get their dreams and Aliena fulfill his oath.


Major characters

Jack Jackson: son of Jack Shareburg (Jacques Cherbourg) and Ellen; he becomes an architect and skilled stonemason.

Aliena: daughter to the Earl of Shiring, and the intended bride of William Hamleigh.

Tom Builder: A builder whose lifelong dream is to build a cathedral.

Ellen: daughter of a knight. She was unusual in knowing English, French and Latin, and in being literate. The lover of Jack Shareburg and the mother of Jack Jackson, she is discovered by Tom Builder while living in the woods.

Prior Philip: A monk who dreams of Kingsbridge rising to greatness with a cathedral.

William Hamleigh: The son of a minor lord, he temporarily gains the earldom of Shiring but eventually loses it to Richard, the son of the former earl, Bartholomew.

Richard (Richard of Kingsbridge): Aliena's younger brother, a knight who becomes a skilled soldier and leader, depending on Aliena for revenues from her wool business.

Alfred Builder: Tom's son, a mason who later marries Aliena.

Bishop Waleran Bigod: an ambitious and corrupt cleric constantly scheming his way to more power.


Minor characters

Jonathan: Son of Tom and Agnes Builder, he was raised from infancy by Prior Philip.

Jack Shareburg (Jacques Cherbourg): a jongleur who survives the wreck of the White Ship to become the lover of Ellen and father of Jack Jackson; executed. This execution is the beginning of history



Personal Opinion

Below you have what I liked the most about this novel:

• It is one of the most beautiful love stories I've read.

• At the end of the book justice is done, which leaves me a pleasant feeling.

• The pursuit of dreams. During the book three stories come together around the dream of building a cathedral: Tom and his family, Prior Philip  and his monastery and Aliena and Richard in their struggle to regain his father's County. The struggle for this dream joins Tom (and then Jack) with Philip. Aliena fight for the oath that makes her father and then to find Jack

• The message transmitted by the Book: Always follow what your heart tells you. Fight for what you love to do, for whom you love and do not settle for an easy life if you do not like it or this life do not fill you.

• It explains the everyday aspects of life in the Middle Ages and the social organization of this period, like:

• Everyday aspects of life in the Middle Ages: hunger, food (beer, brown bread, wine, clothing (coat, tunic, clogs, boots, leather boats, silk and linen), customs, hard life, church influence, territorial or  organization (earldom, city, castle, village, monastery or priory).

• Social organization: King, Earls, barons, bishops, nobles, knights, monks, merchants, artisans, farmers (serfs or freemen), outlaws.

• For war the King needs an army. It's gathered by earls, barons and knights in exchange for land, which are worked by farmers. With the wealth generated by these lands, nobles finance the army they get. The richness comes from taxes and licenses paid by farmers, merchants and artisans.

Finally, next you have links of other interesting book I have read:

• The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins)
• The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
• The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien)
• The Alchemist (Pablo Coelho)
• The Physician (Noah Gordon)
• The Lord of the Rings (J.R.R. Tolkien)
• The Cathedral of the Sea (Ildefonso Falcones)
• The Art of Loving (Erich Fromm)
• Ninja Crisis (Leopoldo Abadía)
• Annoyomics (Risto Mejide)
• The Shadow of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafón)
• The Afghan (Frederick Forsyth)
• The Eight (Katherine Neville)
• The Fire (Katherine Neville)
• The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
• Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
• Dante's Equation (Jane Jensen)
• Wecome to the Real World (Sandro Rosell)
• The Physician (Noah Gordon)
• The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
• Le Petit Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) 
• El Quijote (Miguel de Cervantes)
• Victus (Albert Sánchez Piñol)

BARCELONA: PARQUE DE TORREBLANCA

La primera vez que oí hablar del Parque de Torreblanca fue por el Mercat de Pagés que hacen los domingos por la mañana de 10 a 14:30. Pero durante tiempo no encontramos el día para ir a pasar una mañana de domingo, hasta hace unos días.

Me gusto mucho el entorno de la cascada del Parque de Torreblanca

Un domingo de enero nos levantamos con una mañana espléndida y recordamos este parque. Descubrimos que se llega fácilmente con la línea T3 del tram (paradas Torreblanca o Consell Comarcal) así que a media mañana nos fuimos hacia el parque para disfrutar de una mañana soleada.

El Parque de Torreblanca pertenece a los términos de Sant Just Desvern, Sant Joan Despí y Sant Feliu de Llobregat. En el corazón del parque hay un jardín romántico de finales del siglo XIX que destaca por su diseño basado en la imitación de formas y elementos propios de la naturaleza, con grutas, islas, cuevas, lagos y saltos de agua.

Llegamos al parque y fuimos directamente a la plaza donde se hace el Mercat de Pagés. Nos sorprendió que fuera tan pequeño. Apenas había 5 paradas en una esquina de la plaza. Es posible que al ser invierno hubiera pocas paradas al ser también pocas las verduras, hortalizas y frutas típicas de esta época. Compramos unas calabazas y un puerro y seguimos paseando por el parque.

Hortalizas en el Mercat de Pagés de los domingos por la mañana en el Parque de Torreblanca

El parque de Torreblanca tiene varias zonas bien diferenciadas. Además de la Plaza de la Torre donde tiene lugar el mercado, de una amplia zona de césped y de una pineda, están los lugares que a mí más me gustaron por orden en que los fui descubriendo:

• Un estanque con patos y una pequeña isla en su interior. 
• Un laberinto rodeado de palmeras con un mirador. 
• Una cascada junto a un lago.
• Un templete sobre unas cuevas rodeado de un lago. 

Estanque

Escultura sobre una pequeña isla en el estanque del Parque de Torreblanca

Laberinto

Laberinto del Parque de Torreblanca

Mirador del laberinto del Parque de Torreblanca

Vista de una zona de palmeras del Parque de Torreblanca desde el mirador del laberinto

Zona de césped en el Parque de Torreblanca

Palmeras junto a una amplia zona de césped en el Parque de Torreblanca

Cascada

Cascada en el Parque de Torreblanca

Imagen ampliada de la cascada del Parque de Torreblanca

Lago del Parque de Torreblanca con la cascada al fondo

Lago y Templete

Templete sobre el lago en el Parque de Torreblanca

Templete sobre una gruta en el centro del lago del Parque de Torreblanca

Templete del Parque de Torreblanca desde otro punto del lago

Puente de madera en el Parque de Torreblanca

Cafetería en la Plaza de la Torre del Parque de Torreblanca

Finalmente a continuación tenéis enlaces a otros parques de Barcelona:

• Laberint d'Horta Park
• Park Güell
• Ciutadella Park
• Pedralbes Gardens
• Montjuïc - Joan Maragall Gardens
• Montjuïc - Mirador Gardens
• Castell de l'Oreneta Park
• Collserola - Sant Pere Màrtir leisure area
• Collserola - Carretera de les Aigües
• Collserola - Pantà de Vallvidrera
• Parque de Can Vidalet en Esplugues de Llobregat
• Parque de Can Mercader en Cornellà de Llobregat