Barcelona 2010: Barceloneta and Port Vell, Picasso Museum

Wednesday we went to Barcelonetta and the Port area which was where the beaches, board walks, marinas and seafood restaurants were found. This turned out to be my second favourite day and I've found the common denominators - outdoors, sun, fresh air and sculptures! The people on the beach were lapping up the sun, including a few topless sun-worshippers (young, nubile, non-wrinkly ones even which is not always the case!). But the water must have been cold since no one was in it. We found a nice restaurant with an outdoor patio and a view of the water and had the Fisherman's Paella for two and a huge jug of Sangria de Cava which we couldn't finish. On Thursday we had a tour of the Picasso Museum and saw a new side of Picasso, and a part of his work that we've not seen in previous exhibitions. This collection focused on Picasso as a young boy and man, when he first started out as an artist under the tutelage of father and then Fine Arts School followed by time spent in Barcelona and Paris. To see what he produced starting at age 13, with little to no formal training yet, was amazing. It was interesting to see the constant changes in his style as he grew up and was influenced by various peers. The tour guide was excellent in describing the history of Picasso and explaining the nuances of the art pieces on display. We learned about why he started signing his name as just Picasso instead of Ruiz Picasso (his father and mother's surnames), what triggered the "Blue Period" and how adept he was a copying the styles of other famous artists until he came into his own style in Paris. The highlight of the exhibit was a series of paintings (of which he did over 44) that reinterpreted a famous painting called Les Meninas. There was also a fascinating video that showed individual portions of the original painting which then visually morphed into various Picasso interpretations. Again, no photos allowed so I had to find these on the internet to use as memories.