I am on the fourth floor of number 12, Paseo de Sant Gervasi, in Barcelona. Sitting at the desk, I observe the landscape before me. While I write, I occasionally look up. I see the Collserola mountain range, with Tibidabo in the middle. The color green rests the eye.
I have lived in this house for a year. But I have to leave her soon. I’ll move on to another one with an office without views. I take advantage, therefore, of the current one. I observe and I am open; I can not concentrate. Without views and in silence it is better to write. The theme is there and the sentences grow like branches. If not, they stumble.
The window is large and I can see a good part of the mountains. To the right, towards the end, is the Arnús tower, El Pinar, by architect Enric Sagnier. Illuminated at night, it looks like a haunted house in the forest. At his foot I see the windows of the Mirablau bar, and to the left the esplanade where the cars park. From here the funicular starts to Tibidabo. Now I can see the modernist roof of the station. At night the funicular goes up the mountain like a firefly. On this side, the La Florida hotel stands out on the crest of the mountain. In the midst of the darkness it takes on a ghostly air.
The landscape changes color depending on the season and time. At dawn and at dusk the sky turns a magical cobalt color. In winter everything is more contrasted. In summer, the landscape is enveloped in the coastal mist that dissolves distances. Floured, everything seems far away. But at any moment the wind changes everything. You see the same thing with different tones and relief, as in Monet’s famous paintings. The landscape is a state of the soul, but it depends on the wind.
To the left you can see the summit of Tibidabo, with the church and the front of the amusement park. On clear days, the temple appears to be made of white marble and the holy Christ takes on a reddish color. At night the great Ferris wheel is lit with lights that will disappear later. Disappointed, I don’t see the Tibidabo plane. On one side the Fabra observatory shines with its dome like a pearl. In the middle, standing out among the pines, the upper part of the Torre de las Aigües. And looking down, the mountain slope with all the proud greenery. It seems like a uniform slope, but when the sun sets you can see a dip. Further down, the Aigües highway crosses horizontally. Saturdays and Sundays it is full of cyclists and people running. Higher up, you can see a car passing by on the road that runs from Vallvidrera to the summit of Tibidabo. In the sun the vehicles shine like mirrors. At night, with the headlights on, it seems as if they are going on some secret mission.
We look towards the center of the panorama. On the way down the ridge, the Collserola Communications Tower emerges, like a giant cypress that challenges the sky with its fine white spire. Following the contour of the mountain you can see the northeast side of the imposing Buenos Aires house. From the foot of the communications tower downwards we see some thick ravines, to the right of which is the modern monastery of Sant Maties, dazzling white. Below, in steps, we can make out the Sant Gregori school, the Sant Gervasi funeral home and, further down, the charcoal-colored dome of the old cemetery. Joan Maragall is buried, in whose tomb the Almond Blossom festival is celebrated every February. There are also Carles Riba, Clementina Arderiu and J.V. Foix.
Further to the left, over the mountain range, we see some houses on the outskirts of Vallvidrera, from where a soft pine forest descends. As for the city, I see the top of the Bellesguard tower, built by Gaudí where there was Martín the Human’s castle. His secretary, Bernat Metge, a great Catalan humanist, was to stay here. Next to it appears the Redemptor convent, by the architect Bernardí Martorell, current headquarters of the Abat Oliba university. If you went out to the terrace you would see more things, like the Castanyer tower, with a pediment crowned with three statues. During the Civil War this was the last place in Spain where Antonio Machado and his mother lived. They spent about eight months, without heat and with little food. The poet wrote his articles for La Vanguardia here. Also, if I continue on the terrace, I see the rationalist building, with a reddish façade, where Josep Maria de Sagarra, a great writer, lived his last years. No plaque remembers it.
Next to this house is the garden of the aforementioned Castanyer tower, with a small pond presided over by the goddess Ceres, some palm trees, magnolia trees and a tall cedar. Bordering the garden is a long and historic wrought iron fence that was built after the stay here of Queen Maria Cristina and the child Alfonso XIII at the end of the 19th century. I never see people in this garden, but it is certain that Machado must have come to read and sunbathe. Years ago, Professor José Manuel Blecua lived on this walk. Eduardo Mendoza has a house nearby. The final action of The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, takes place in this area, on Tibidabo Avenue.
On the right hand side, next to the stately tower, stands the Jesús y María school, also with a handful of veteran trees: cedars, eucalyptus, pines and others. The building, in a neo-Gothic style and with a monumental air, is by Enric Sagnier, like the Tibidabo temple. It is made of exposed brick and has many windows, behind which I see the students every morning as they enter class. Highlights include its slender central pinnacle and a white dial clock that is seven minutes ahead today.
It’s been months since I’ve seen seagulls gliding over this stand. It seems strange to me. This morning I saw a sparrowhawk flying in circles along the lower part of the mountain. In the cedar of the Castanyer tower, the fluorescent green Argentine parakeets have built a few enormous nests. These birds do not stop carrying twigs with their beaks to reinforce these nests on branches moved by the wind.
This is my last afternoon in front of this landscape that attracts me as much as it distracts me from work. That’s why I often have the blinds half down. This month I change house.