In San Francisco (Barcelona)

Well, dear reader, we have made it. This is the 500th post on my travel blog. What a momentous occasion. Just to make it even more special, it is all about architect and favourite Barcelona son, Antoni Gaudi. And perhaps a surprise as well. I mean how much Gaudi can one absorb? Quite a lot, apparently.

Two of the three Gaudi houses are within walking distance of the hotel. Perhaps I should clarify that, for people who don't walk as far as we do. The houses are within a 10-15 minute walk of our hotel, straight up the flat of Passeig de Graçia. There are, of course, many levels of ticket entry to the houses, with the top levels gaining access to extra areas. 

Casa Batlló.

Our Concierge chose gold level for us with entry at 9:30am. Once again, we deferred breakfast for touristing and were lined up at the door in our correct line at 9:25am. The exterior of the Casa Batlló is immediately recognised as Gaudi's work if you are familiar with the Sagrada Familia. It's all curves and waves and colours.

Inside we were issued with our tablets and audio guides, just to make juggling the camera a little more difficult. Then we were whisked into some subterranean, darkened room with a rotating floor. Sorry, the only picture I snapped didn't work out. I'm still not sure what it was about but I think it was to transition from the outside to inside the Gaudi world of creative interpretation of nature.

The internal void looking up.

Then we were back into the light and mingling with the hoi polloi and the endless selfie crowd. To access the rooms of the 6 storey house, you needed to climb a staircase. Circular, but not as tight as a lighthouse. The bannister was curved timber, sculpted to fit your hand. It is modelled on the backbone of a whale. I think. There was a lot to take in.

The staircase.

The rooms of the house covered all floors, including the roof. As expected nature and its curves and waves played a significant part in the entire design. The tablet, when pointed about the rooms provided pictures of the rooms as they would have been - furnished without people taking selfies.

The view to Passeig de Garçia.

There was a central space/void from the ground floor to the roof that acted as conduit for light to the lower parts of the building as well as providing a method of cooling. The glass was frosted with mollusc shapes and the colours represented the blues of the Mediterranean, ranging from a pale pastel all the way through to a deep cobalt.

The shelter in the courtyard.

There was a courtyard with a curved, covered area to sit out of the blistering Barcelona sun while supervising the children. Two areas either side of the door had skylights to admit light to the lower floors. The building contained areas where the 'Gaudi' arches were visible. These are a recurring element in his designs.

The arches.

The rooftop chimneys sat at the end of a dragon's tail. Well, salamander, in this part of the world. With the usual cross dominating the skyline.

There were a couple of displays as well. One that featured an interpretation of the house taking it back to its natural heritage. They were video displays and quite fascinating. The other display purported to be a look into the mind of Gaudi. It was a 360° sight and sound immersion extravaganza.  (Have you ever tried acid, dear reader?) There are some still pictures below; sadly my video did not work, but at times it felt, at times, like you were flying.

Inside the architect's mind.

Neurons firing perhaps?

The entire house, as with all his work, is created in fragments from nature. In this case, as mentioned, it is the theme of the sea and its creatures and wave patterns. The waves extended to the ceilings of some of the rooms.

It was all quite fascinating and my summary really doesn't do justice to the creation or convey its history.

In between houses, we had a little time to kill and opted to have breakfast. If that is what you call an espresso and a substandard croissant. It was nice to sit for a while and watch the foot traffic move up and down the passeig, or walk if you don't read Catalan. Which reminds me ... all that talk around the 'Yes' referendum a while back ... you know, it's time to move on, just get over it, it's been 200 years etc etc. I'm here to tell you (again), Europe hasn't gotten over it and they may appear united, but are clearly not. Just ask Barcelona FC fans and Real Madrid supporters.

Barcelona is Catalan first and Spanish second. Catalan backed the Hapsburgs and lost, sometime around 1700. Have they forgotten? Not a chance. Maybe about the Hapsburgs but not the fact that were forced to become part of Spain. We found the same attitude in Germany in 2023 - Austrian versus Bavarian versus Aschaffenburger... get it wrong and you have deeply offended the locals.

Sorry, where was I? Oh yes, the second Gaudi house, Casa Milá. It's about two blocks further up on the other side of the street. It is, unmistakably Gaudi. Or is it gaudy? Unhappily the English word, gaudy, was in use for hundreds of years before Antoni Gaudi began creating his masterpieces. Moving on ...

We found the entrance; signage is not a strong point of the Spanish. Sadly we were caught with a bus group, the sort who like individual selfies in front of the same thing. We dutifully stood in line and then a man appeared to inform us we were waiting for the elevator and could take the stairs if we desired. Quickly I headed in his direction with Jayne behind me. Unfortunately I did not hear the phrase, "it is six floors". Jayne tells me it was repeated several times.

Casa Milá.

Into the stairwell and up and up and up, in what seemed like an endless climb. Given it is an 8 storey building and I had no idea where the rooms were that we visiting, the stairs went on forever. There were, if my memory is correct, four flights to every floor. It was most unGaudi, a geometric repetition. Waiting for the lift was probably a better option. Ah, well.

The ribs in the attic.

This house was based not so much on the sea, but on the nature of the land and air. Motifs and murals of flowers, a door based on the wing of a Monarch Butterfly. The attic with its ribbed structure and the rooftop with its Star Wars like guardians were standout features. Interestingly from the rooftop you could also see Sagrada Familia.

The butterfly door.

The storm troopers with Sagrada in the background.

In a landmark design there was also an underground carpark. Initially built as one dwelling it was then divided into a number of apartments.

The ground floor mural.

After being amazed by Gaudi's use of form and colour, we headed towards the old town of Barcelona. Nearby was the Palau de la Musica, an unassuming building from the outside and another suggestion from the Concierge.

We have visited many houses of opera, some stating they were based on Palais Garnier in Paris and most fail to live up to its exacting standards. While there are many levels of comparison and Paris still comes out in front, the Palau is magnificent. Really, I have no words. The pictures won't catch all the colour or the scope but it are better than any words I have.

Tuning the piano for tonight's performance.

The ceiling.

Pillars on the verandah.

After being stunned by the Palau and an impromptu performance from a Franciscan monk who sang (I Left my Heart) In San Francisco to the rousing applause of his all American tour group, we walked the short distance to the old town. 

Part of the old town.

Plaça del Rei

It's a familiar story here, the forces that dominated changed the look and use of buildings. There is little left of the old wall and the Barcelona Cathedral (yes, another one) dominates one part of the town. The €9 entry fee kept our feet moving.

The unentered Cathedral.

Back up towards our hotel we walked through the Plaça de Catalunya. They were setting up for a concert of some sort, staging and seats and so on. The two fountains at the top end of the plaça were functioning, but none of the others were. There were pigeons everywhere in numbers I've never seen before. Aside from that, it's the usual sort of place where the tourists and the scammers congregate. People pushing flowers, people in strange attire doing weird things to attract attention and ask for money. Not somewhere I'd be rushing to experience again.

Too many to count.

Then it was time to change for dinner and find some good tapas. No challenge in Barcelona. Before this we checked out where we would be catching the bus to our next destination, Sitges, because trackwork has closed the direct rail line. On the way back to dinner we came across a pro-Palestine demonstration.

After dinner we enjoyed our first gelato in Barcelona. 5 stars from us - we will be back.

Until next time.