Field trip through the Raval

Cool sculpture on the side of a building

What the Raval means

People playing guitar

Model of the 1st submarine.  

Barcelona Shipyards

Inside with the Arches.

For this field trip we visited the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona.  We visited the old hospital, the Maritime museum which was the old shipyards and also the square around the MACBA museum.  This field trip was really interesting and I enjoyed seeing a part of Barcelona I had not really explored before.  Although we were not able to go into the Maritime museum it was still really cool to see part of the old structure and to learn more about Barcelona as a port city.  I wish that the museum had not been under renovations and we could have visited the whole thing.  Guess its just motivation to go back.  I really thought it was interesting that a lot of the historical buildings in Barcelona have been converted into cultural centers or libraries.  Such an excellent way to preserve the space but also make sure it is being used.  Barcelona does an excellent job of turning the old into the new.

I think that the Raval is a really unique neighborhood of Barcelona because it does have the old historical buildings but it also has a modernity about it.  I also think its interesting that a lot of immigrants live in this neighborhood.  I dont remember if we were told this on the field trip but was there a reason for this? My favorite part of this field trip would be the Barcelona Library that we visited which near it had a really pretty courtyard.  There were two guys playing the guitar in the courtyard and this really interesting spire sculpture in the middle of it.  I think it was interesting to compare this field trip to the first one in the gothic neighborhood.  I think its interesting to compare the styles of architecture in the two different time period and how Barcelona has adapted to using the original buildings.  In both areas the buildings have been incorporated into the city but the gothic area has really embraced the more historical aspect of this and turned it into a more touristy area.  The raval is also very up and coming for Barcelona which may play a role in the fact that it is less touristy (which I like more).  This field trip was interesting however I had already been on a similar one for another class so it was somewhat repetitive, although i enjoyed learning about the area more.