Just as Prague is dominated by the aura of Franz Kafka, so is Barcelona under the influence of Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926).

Barcelona is the capital of the proud area of Spain called Catalonia. The year 2002 is the 150th anniversary of Gaudi's birth. His controversial masterpiece, the church called Segrada Familia, is still incomplete. It is still being erected, with the workmen using Gaudi's principles and designs. People will be able to pray in the completed church in about 40 years.

Gaudi may be much acclaimed today but he has been repudiated and reinvented on various occasions. Upon his death his teaching disappeared because his forceful, creative personality was not conducive to having successors.

There is a serious doubt in my mind as to whether Gaudi was an architectural genius or just a madman with a monied patron. His patron, Eusebi Güell, was immensely wealthy and never said, "No" to Antoni. The City Park Güell looked like a Disneyland with Gaudi's strange creatures and statues.

Gaudi disliked straight lines and his buildings were unusual but not boring. He loved colors and he used broken glass and broken marble to get his desired effects. We entered the Casa Mila (La Pedrera), a building he designed.

It has flowing lines and we see his technical genius and fertile imagination. Genius or madman? is a question you, my reader, will have to answer yourself.

Barcelona reminds one of Paris with wide boulevards and open plazas at each street intersection. They give a feel of space and ease.

While you are in the same confused state, take a side trip to Figueres and enjoy the Dali Museum that is true wackiness. Every room is nutty.

Salvatore Dali (1904-1989) went through many artistic periods. From Surrealism to the unusual creations of his later life the viewer can appreciate the artistic ability of the artist. His 1950 Cadillac with a mannequin at the wheel, a sailboat 40 feet in the air, heads where stomachs should be and women's breasts liberally and freely sprinkled everywhere are all a part of the fun. Dali, himself, is buried on the premises among his famous melting clocks and a Dali museum of unusual jewelry.

Lunch on the Costa Brava was close by. The views of the blue Mediterranean Sea were gorgeous. We ate in a town called LaEscala which is the "Anchovy Capital of the world." The anchovies were thick, meaty and not all that salty. You anchovy lovers will appreciate what I mean.

In Barcelona we were introduced to the new currency, the Euro. You can change dollars into Euros and go from Germany to France without changing money or showing a passport.

What a relief! On to Nice!