Selected Museums, Exhibitions, Arts Events, and Seasonal Food Festivals in and around Barcelona
Fundació Joan Miro: “Un cos sense limits – A Body without Limits”
Opening October 26, 2007 and showing through January 27, 2008. A major exhibition focusing on changes in the portrayal of the human body through the twentieth century. With over 80 paintings and sculptures by 41 avant-garde artists: Maillol, Schiele, Matisse, Picasso, Miró, Duchamp, Chagall, Moore, Dubuffet, Basquiat, Tàpies, Saura, and others. Open: Tu-Sat 10am to 7pm; Thurs until 9:30pm; Sundays 10am to 2:30pm; Closed Mondays. Adults: 7.5 Euros (or Articket) + 4 Euros for the exhibition. Parc de Montjuíc, tel: 93-443-94-70, www.bcn.fjmiro.cat
Ateneu Barcelonès
This literary society and library is a rare place for quiet contemplation in the middle of the bustling Barri Gótic. Many Ateneu events are open to the public, and its old-fashioned spaces and small audiences made up of local bookish-types are a sweet antidote to the tourist-scene. Look for music and some movies to transcend the language gap, posted on the agenda section of their website (but only about a month in advance; stop in and check the schedule when you arrive). C/ Canuda, 6, tel: 93-343-61-21, www.ateneubcn.org. Also, the Restaurant de l’Ateneu serves a good, market-based, 12 Euro weekday lunch from 1 to 4:30pm, tel: 93-318-52-38.
The Bean Festival of Santa Pau
Amazing how a little bean, the fesol de Santa Pau, could be such a big deal. Tender and flavorful, these beans grow well in the volcanic soil of the beautiful Pyrennees foothills region of La Garrotxa. They are deliciously celebrated on the feast of St. Anthony, or “Fira de Sant Antoni, La Fira del Fesol” in their hometown, Santa Pau. In 2008, the party happens Sunday, January 20, with the main events in the medieval square at the center of town. After a traditional blessing of the flocks at 12:30, the “Fesolada” or feast of beans begins, featuring dishes prepared by restaurants from all around the region. See the “fires gastronomiqès” pages of www.festacatalunya.cat for more.
You can hit the festival on a day trip (figure about 1.5 hr drive to Santa Pau) but the Garrotxa is worth an overnight stay at any time of the year—there’s good food, excellent hiking on volcanoes and through beech forests, and a lovely rural farmhouse hotel or two. Garrotxa cheeses are getting to be well-known in the U.S. these days, but for now the area is still happily off the beaten trail. www.turismegarrotxa.com, where the nature section’s “walking itineraries” are useful.
Don’t miss our Garrotxa country hotel recommendation in the On the Menu page.
