Barcelona Cathedral: the Gothic Cathedral and the cloister of the 13 geese as an appointment with the artist

What is Barcelona Cathedral and where does it come from?

Barcelona Cathedral — officially Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia — was built between 1298 and 1448. It is the seat of the archbishopric of Barcelona. The façade that you see today from the Pla de la Seu is relatively recent (19th century), but the interior, the cloister, the chapter house and the crypt are original. Saint Eulalia, a girl martyred by the Romans at age 13, is buried in the crypt — and according to popular legend, the 13 white geese in the cloister represent the 13 years she lived. The cloister has 26 chapels and a central garden with a century-old magnolia tree.

Why go — and what's the purpose of your appointment with the artist?

The cloister of the Cathedral is one of the few corners of the Barri Gòtic where the 21st century does not enter. The geese walk, the water from the fountain falls, the sun filtered through the arches draws patterns that have been the same for centuries. If your head needs to get out of the feed for an hour, this is the place.

How to take advantage of it (concrete practice)

Enter at 9:00 (free until 12:30 on weekdays). Walk through the central nave, observe the side chapels. Then go to the cloister. Sit on the stone bench next to the magnolia tree. Take out the notebook. Write what each question brings up for you. Then go up to the terrace of the cathedral — few know it, but you can go up, and the views of the rooftops of the Barri Gòtic are unforgettable.

Why this place connects with Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way

The practice of the appointment with the artist that Julia Cameron prescribes in The Artist's Path has a principle: creativity needs to be fed before I can produce. Cameron calls it 'filling the well.' The metaphor is exact: if it doesn't rain, the well runs dry. If you don't expose your brain to non-work stimuli once a week, your ability to generate new ideas quietly declines, week by week.

Barcelona Cathedral is an ideal place for a date with the artist because it meets the three conditions that Cameron asks for: It takes you out of your routine (a place other than your work and home), does not require production (you are going to receive, not create), and exposes you to curated stimuli (someone with judgment decided this was worth watching). Three conditions, an hour or two, once a week. It is probably the practice with the best mental ROI that you are going to add to your routine.

If you haven't taken the course yet, this is the place to start. Your Artist's Path is the free 12-week program that applies Julia Cameron's method to your life — including two hours a week blocked off on your calendar for appointments like this. More about the course at the end of the post.