Some days make you wish you could go back to bed, get up again and start over. Some arejust better than others. Some are just perfect. They not be made better by anything…by more sunshine, by more blue skies, by more conversation, by more walking or talking or laughter or insight or awareness or laughter. That’s the kind of day I had here in Barcelona.
My flight arrived on schedule yesterday morning at 8:50, a short hop from Madrid. A short 45 minutes later, I was in the elevator on my way to my dear friend Connie’s rooftop apartment on Avenue Parallel. Only minutes later we were deep in conversation over cups of coffee and tea. The day was leisurely, ending with a walk to the Caixa Forum, a contemporary museum that is finance and run by one of Spain’s largest banks where we enjoyed a pastry and café before walking to the Montjuic where thousands gather on summer evenings to watch an hour-long water, light and music spectacle called the Magic Fountain of Montjuic.
The evening was as perfect as the day…no clouds, light breezes, 82 degrees, and thousands of Barceloneans strolling the plaza. Connie and I walked from Plaza Espanya, which is marked by two Venetian towers and is only a few blocks from her home all the way up Avinguda Maria Cristina to the Palau Nacional, the national palace, now home to MNAC, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. Created by Carles Buiga, the Magic Fountain’s first performance was in 1929 during the Great Universal Exhibition.
Promptly at 9 pm, the lights came on, the fountains roared to life and the music started. Let the “ooh-ing” and “ahh-ing” begin! I can only imagine that the fountain has an added benefit on a really hot evening, lightly misting and cooling everyone in its path. Pre-AC, it would have been a welcome relief on after a hot summer day. It’s impossible to experience this hour-long extravaganza and not ask oneself: How do they do that? How much water? How high are the highest plumes? So, a few stats: 134 pumps, 3,620 water jets, 2600 liters of water per second, 54 meters is the highest water jet.
Stats are one thing. Magic is another: the miracle of creativity that happens when a human imagination brings together light, sound, water and 134 pumps.
On behalf of the people of Dubai, I challenge Barcelona to a spray-off: their fountain against ours. You haven't lived until you've seen water jets writhe and sway to Arabian melodies, punctuated by bursts of white light emanating from the adjacent world's tallest skyscraper. Take that, Catalans!!!
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