… buildings. We started yesterday with an excursion to see “Gaudi’s Barcelona” – driving slowly by the Casa Battlo and stopping at La Pedrera, also known as Casa Mila. Casa Battlo is on the left, and La Pedrera on the right.
We next stopped at Gaudi’s masterpiece, Temple of the Sagrada Famillia (Sacred Family), the building he spent 43 years of his life working on, from 1883 until his death in 1926. The building is not yet finished, but Barcelonans hope to see the completion in another 20 years. It is spectacular inside and out.
We drove to Park Guell to see the magnificent buildings and decorations Gaudi designed for a planned community which never materialized. It’s hard to find the words to describe Gaudi’s work, unlike any other architecture in the world. We walked the entire park, and it was a lovely day.
After a brief rest, we headed out for an evening of tapas and flamenco in the Spanish Village, high atop Montjuic. What a view of the city! It was lovely at dusk, and the tapas tasty. I don’t have anything to compare to the flamenco we saw, which seemed very good, but incredibly loud and somewhat angry. I’m sure it would have been more meaningful if we spoke Spanish and could better understand the words to the songs that accompany the dancing. Not my favorite form of dance, but takes amazing energy, coordination, muscle control and skill.
Today we joined friends who wanted to see the inside of Gaudi's buildings. We started with La Pedrera – the size of a city block, built for a family who planned to rent shops on the ground floor, occupy most of the first floor, and rent apartments on the remaining three floors, with the attic for laundry and storage. The building has two large central patios that provide light and ventilation to the building. We checked out the ground floor, hiked up to the attic, and from there to the roof, then back down a few floors to an sample apartment. There are a few elderly residents living in this iconic building in the city’s best neighborhood and paying almost nothing because they originally signed leases which were good for a lifetime. The building is now owned by a bank, which is patiently waiting… The rooftop decorations, hiding chimneys and other necessary architectural details, were mind-blowing. Gaudi abhorred straight lines and loved open plans facilitated by supports such as the caternary arches used in the attic. Below, the lobby, the rooftop with its concealed chimneys and stairs, and caternary arches in the attic.
Our second stop was a restaurant for some tapas. We sat outside and enjoyed the lovely sun while we sampled several tapas and the local beer. The desserts were especially tasty. Then it was off to Casa Battlo, a house renovated by Gaudi for the Battlo family. Seeing this house convinced the Mira family to contract with Gaudi to build their new home. It is magnificent, currently owned by a private family. Once again, there were no straight lines, beautiful tile and woodwork, and a wonderful use of natural light. Below, stained glass in the living room, the interior courtyard tile work, chimneys on the roof, and a lovely door.
We finished the day with a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of the city, which almost got us back to the ship past time. We ran down from Montjuic to Placa Espana to catch a cab back to the ship, arriving with only 5 minutes to spare. Whew! Lovely city, far too much to absorb in two short days. It’s on our list for a longer visit!
That list for longer visits seems to grow at every port! Signs of a fantastic trip.
ReplyDelete