On a cold clear day

On a cold, clear day, we boarded the 39 bus that would take us from our apartment to Plaza Uroquiona in 30 minutes. The 39 bus drives through Old Town Garcia with its variety of small stores, boutique hotels, and government offices. The end of the bus line is in front of one of our favorite coffee places, Citizen Coffee https://citizencafe.es/]

It’s a cold day. Our agenda is open, so we stop for a coffee.  Walking in, we see that the front couch is unoccupied, so that’s where we land. The waitress is young and from Argentina. At this restaurant, many of the staff are from all over Argentina. Maximo and our waitress struck up a conversation with the usual questions…Where are you from? How long have you lived here? Do you love Spain? Etc

After enjoying and finishing my decaf cappuccino, we sat and chatted a bit more. The wind has picked up, but there is no rain yet. The next bus up to the Juan Miro Foundation is the 55 bus. Luckily for us, it’s just a few steps away from Citizen Coffee.

https://www.fmirobcn.org/es/

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The Barcelona bus system

Barcelona’s bus kiosks usually have a paper schedule posted on the wall and/or an electronic display showing the approximate arrival times of buses at that station. It’s always delightful to realize the next bus is in 8 minutes, as it’s cold and the wind is whipping by.

A rather large woman from Cuba sitting next to me, speaking to Maximo about how much better life is here in Spain. Then she turns to me and asks where I’m from. I respond in Spanish with “It’s complicated,” as I have learned to say that I was born near New York City. This makes everyone happy as they know where it is and the reputation of New Yorkers.

Today is another day for conventional bus dialogs. She continues on talking about her family and daughters.  Maximo is enjoying the dialogue.  My teeth are chattering, but I see the bus.  We signal for it to stop and get on in the middle section of the bus. Our routine is that I get the seats, and Maximo pays for the bus.

Now we have an hour ride

Now we have an hour ride up to Parc de Montjuïc. Maximo puts his arm around me, and I lean into him and fall asleep.
What seems like minutes later, I wake up, and we are three stops away. I feel refreshed.

Parc de Montjuïc is a small hill in Barcelona where the Olympic Stadium is located, and a few other large open areas. The view of Barcelona from the top is breathtaking on a clear sunny day. Today is overcast and cloudy, but the vista is still impressive.

Our stop. In front of the foundation building.  It’s a white rectangular concrete building perched on the vista, as we can see through the two sets of glass doors. There is a Miro sculpture in the shallow reflecting pool. Stunning!

We had purchased our tickets

We had purchased our tickets online, after stashing our coats, scarves, bags, and backpacks in the free locker, we were ready to see the exhibition entitled Miro in the United States.

This show comprises both sculptures, paintings, and etchings from the 1930s to the 1950s. It’s all about the influence of Miró’s playful style on many different artists, collectors, and curators in the United States, well, really mostly New York. It’s as if he has permission for many artist to be playful in their works.

For me, it was eye-opening to learn how many women artists he influenced, whom I had never heard of or seen their work in the United States.  In particular, Henrietta Myers, who studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, married fellow artist Earle Miller. She changed her name to Peter Miller as she knew it wasnt possible for a woman to have gallery representation possible. And this was in 1940.

There were a few other art surprises.

There were a few other art surprises, too. Artists whose works I was not familiar with. Maximo just wandered the space. Looking at the work he liked. He enjoyed some of the work, but most left him blank.

The space itself is composed of a few rectangular halls, juxtaposed and bisected by others. Most walls are painted white, but a few are infused with the intense colors of large paintings or even textiles.

Overall, the foundation is a great space to learn more about Joan Miró and his place in the art world, and it has an inviting gift shop and a lovely indoor/outdoor restaurant where coffee is served in intense yellow cups.

But if course I visited the gift shop

But of course, I visited the gift shop and bought a pair of earrings by a Barcelona artist. They had umbrellas on sale, so I got a hot pink one for Maximo and an orange one for me. Umbrellas get blown out on the streets of Barcelona by strong winds.

All in all, it was a good day. As we waited for the bus, a mother and two young boys showed up. The boys insisted on clanging their tree branch sticks on the poles of the bus kiosk. The mother tried her best to get them to stop, as the sound was annoying to most of the waiting passengers. She was not successful. 

The two boys were so proud of the music they were making. Luckily for us, the bus arrived shortly, and we all boarded. The mother and her sons sat in the first seats, and we sat in the middle of the bus. Grateful for the seats, as we had an hour-long ride back to Plaza Uroquionana.

As we went through the sections

As we went through the sections of the city we had not visited before, I was able to connect various segments of the city. Barcelona is a small city with a dense population.

This city always presents an adventure wherever you go on the bus, on the metro or walking. As unexpected things tend to happen when you least expect them.

Have a coffee with a friend, tell your partner you love them. Be kind to people you don’t know. But most of all, be kind to yourself.  Breathe.

Additional photos from Joan Miro Fundació