Barcelona Day Three

My day started again with breakfast at the Mercat de Santa Caterina after which I headed for a look around the nearby La Ribera district. My first port of call was the Museu Picasso, which contained a superb eclectic collection of over 3,000 of the Master's works from his early years when he did portraits and sketches up to his Classical, Cubist and Ceramic periods. The collection was housed in five contiguous stone mansions with beautifully preserved courtyards and marble staircases. I then headed to the Museu de la Xocolata or Chocolate Museum, which traced the origins of chocolate from cocoa beans to its arrival in Europe, including the machinery used in its production along with a collection of superb chocolate models of emblematic Barcelona buildings such as the Sagrada Familia produced by Master Confectioners. The museum was housed in the former Convent of the Saint Augustin Order and located on its 2nd floor was the Arxiu Fotografic Exhibition de Barcelona, which displayed a very interesting collection of photos relating to the city from the late 19th century until the end of the 20th century. Nearby was the Parc de la Ciutadella, which contained the Parliament de Catalunya, and I took a stroll through its verdant lawns. From the Park I headed down the Avenue del Marquės de l'Argentera to Estacio de França, a gorgeous local railway station constructed in a classical Art Deco style in marble with tall arched entrances and windows, embellished with wrought iron. I continued on to the Barceloneta District, where the Museu d'Història de Catalunya is located. This wonderful museum traces the 2,000 years of Catalan history with a superb display of artefacts, machinery, models and videos. My day concluded with a visit to the 14th century Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona's pre-eminent Catalan Gothic church. Pythagaras would have been in ecstasy over its geometric perfection.  The ceiling of the basilica is 80 metres long, 33 metres wide and the height of the central nave is also 33 metres and when viewed from the front fits inside a perfect circumference and in combination with its 16 octagonal columns gives a feeling of lightness. In the evening I attended a delightful Spanish Guitar Concert at the petit Basilica Santa Maria del Pi. This tiny gothic church is the most beautiful I have ever been in and if I lived permanently in Barcelona I would attend Mass each Sunday just to be an abstract part of it.