5C's Que Pasa

Casa Mila is best described as a huge wave set in motion.

Casa Mila is widely known as la Pedrera because of its rough outer appearance that resembles a stone quarry.  The building is made up of two blocks of apartments interconnected by interior courtyards and a shared facade.  Gaudi designed the building when he was 54 and at the height of his powers.  The building was declared a Cultural World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1984.

Once inside, the tour starts on the roof.  Included in the price of our ticket was a regular headset with explanations of what we were looking at.

They are huge.

Are you thinking Star Wars?

We actually thought that the roof was the best part of the tour.

The dark and stormy clouds were approaching.  Shortly after this photo we went inside and the skies opened.  Sadly when it rains the roof is closed so all those who came behind us missed seeing this amazing roof.

This is Barcelona from the rooftop.  I love all the greenery in this city.  The blue on the horizon is the ocean.

The rest of the tour had us descending the levels.  Amazing architecture.

It took a few blocks to find a place that we could relax and enjoy a menu of the day.  We were rather late in the afternoon ( 4 PM ) and our choice of tuna was sold out so we settled for a fish dish ( ? cod ) with roasted veggies and potatoes and more veggies on the side.  I only recall that the wine was very good.

The day was far from over.  Back home to put our feet up and relax.  The pink thongs on the right have great arch support and feel like you are walking on air.  The other four pair are my walking shoes that I switched out day after day.  Some days I wore two pair.  Of those four pair I had to have the heels redone on three of them!  That is how much I walked over the last four weeks.

Nest stop of this very long day was to see the Magic Fountains located at the Museu Nacional D’art de Cataluny.  We would have loved to check this place out but we only had three full days and four nights in Barcelona.  I really hope that there will be a next time.  The entire area you see in this photo was shoulder to shoulder people.  There were dozens of tour buses dropping people off.  We were happy to have come early enough that we got a spot mid overpass along the edge.  However it was still unusually cool for that time of year.  I was tired of being cold not to mention tired of walking so much each day considering I was healing from my head wound and still was coughing non stop.

Wow, okay it was worth the effort to get here.

We took so very many photos.

But these few photos give you the idea of what we saw.  We did stay until the end.  I think I kept hoping for just a bit more.  We enjoyed the fountains but would not go back.  A great end to the day.

Needless to say that Colin took all these photos hand held without his professional equipment.  This is the main room or living room where the family would receive their guests.

You enter and walk up this curved staircase, note the handrails.  Perhaps like a serpent and then the skin effect on the wall.  Remember Gaudi got his ideas from nature.

An alcove where perhaps a young lady met a beau and enjoyed the fireplace.  Of course there was a chaperone seated across from them.  This was all designed by Gaudi as well as the furniture which he built himself.

The inside of the salon.  With the video guide we saw furniture in the room as well as how the windows opened ( very very clever ) and more.  I loved the view over the main street of Barcelona at the time and now.

Now that is a ceiling.

Note the swirls in the ceiling perhaps like a seashell and the light fixture like a flower.

The four glass panels on the right rotated for air circulation.

I signed the guest book ” Contessa & Colin Jewall /June 7, 2018 / Kelowna, BC Canada / Amazing home, beyond words !! “

Pure Gaudi genius, all about perspective.  I believe that this was at least five stories high ( here we only see two stories ) and yet depending on where you looked at it, from the bottom or middle, it all appeared to be the same.  At the bottom the windows were larger as were the tiles which were spaced further apart.  Part of the reason was to give more light on the different levels.  Gaudi had taken everything into consideration which was why the tiles at the top were a darker blue that those lower down.  I truly wish I could repeat all that I had learned that day but it is just not possible.

So much detail. The family had the main part of the house but there were a few apartments rented out. This is the door to one of them.  Each one was different with a letter used as the address.  Gaudi had even made a mold of his hand to make the door knobs perfectly fit a hand thus making the door easy to open.

A hallway in the servants area.

The roof above the servants area. These are some of the  chimneys for the house.  Everything had to be extraordinary in Gaudi’s world.

It looked like inlaid precious stones but it was smooth.

The spine of what some call the dragon along the front of the roof.

An example of how the video worked, there is no one on the screen even though the room was full of people in reality.

Do you think we enjoyed our time inside?

I love that flower effect on the building.  Those balconies look like skulls.

From Wikipedia…..”The roof is arched and was likened to the back of a dragon or dinosaur. A common theory about the building is that the rounded feature to the left of centre, terminating at the top in a turret and cross, represents the lance of Saint George (patron saint of Catalonia, Gaudí’s home), which has been plunged into the back of the dragon.”

The building to the left of Casa Battlo is referred at the Chocolate House.  A family who had owned a chocolate business resided there and there are tours of the home.  Alas we had no time but the house is very nice on the outside.

We started the tour in this plaza where we saw the first commissioned work that Barcelona hired Gaudi  to do after he graduated from architectural school.  The picture does not do the work justice. This lamp post holds so very much detail which Gaudi would become famous for.  The city was not impressed with his work.

Next stop was the Palau Güell one of Antoni Gaudí’s early works in Barcelona and one of the most magnificent buildings of the Modernism. It is located in the Raval district, just a few metres from the Rambla.  This mansion was designed for the industrial tycoon Eusebi Güell and built between 1886 and 1888.

Our very knowledgeable guide took us through the ups and down of the construction and how after one of the many wars the family lost their home.  It is now the property of Barcelona and open for tours for a price of course.  This is one of the chimneys on the roof.

Casa Batllo which we have tickets to tour tomorrow, June 7th.

Gaudi renovated the facade which looked like this to what it is today.  During this presentation it poured rain twice.  The umbrella sellers were doing well.  I was dressed as warmly as possible and I did have my umbrella with me.  At this point I was coughing a lot but nothing i could do but keep taking cough syrup and suck on lozenges.  We did enjoy the presentation about the exterior of the building.  The color and detail were amazing.

Just four blocks away we came to Casa Mila, often referred to as La Pedrera.  If you look to the middle left you can see some dark sky which became darker.  The winds picked up and the rain fell in torrents.  Our guide told us that between the two homes this was the best to get a ticket for so we went home much later and booked a ticket for the next day.

We then took the subway to continue the tour at the famous Sagrada Família  which is a large unfinished Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, designed by Antoni Gaudí.  This is what it will look like when it is finished.

Construction started in 1882 and it is still not finished!  Gaudi was involved on a daily basis but of course never saw the end of the project.  There has been much controversy over this project.  At the moment it is said that it will be complete in 2026 but even our tour guide does not believe that that is possible.  There are so very very many towers and details yet to be built.  In fact there is an entire block of apartment buildings that must be destroyed so that the main entrance can be built.  What will happen to those whose homes will be destroyed?  Who will pay for their new residences?  Why was that block allowed to be built upon in the first place?

Our tour guide walked us around the three sides that were under construction and explained the changes over the years and some differences here and there.  Too much detail to take in.  Here we just finished getting wet yet again.  No Colin did not have his jacket with him.  This is where our free tour ended.  The guide only makes money for her time and knowledge by her well deserved tips.  I can only hope that everyone tipped her well.

Once again the tour went well over two hours and we were more than hungry.  I asked her to recommend a local place to eat and here we were.  Nice and warm with a view of the Sagrada Familia and the rain that continued to fall.  We had a large piece of the best spinach quiche ever.  To warm up Colin had a coffee while I had a lovely glass of Spanish wine.  The entire meal came to 13.6euro/$21.60 CAD, a very good price we thought.

Once we warmed up and the rain stopped we took the metro back to La Rambla where we walked about.  Yes there are a lot of tourists there but I wonder if they saw what we saw.

You have to look up and all around to see things.  Interesting artwork.

Outdoor massage?

Down one side street Colin found a store that sold the same shoes he had purchased in Rome. They did not have much of a color choice here but he did buy a second pair in beige for much less money.  Well they were made in Spain.

Everyone kept telling us that the weather was most unusual and it should be blue skies with sunshine at this time of year and that this was winter weather.  Nothing we could do about the weather so we just enjoyed what we could.  Just loved the detail on this building.

Guess we missed the Erotic Museum.

Just some detail on a small church we passed.

Looks like I was really moving.  We walked the length of La Rambla right to the water just so we could see what the area was all about as well as the port.

On the way back towards the metro station we stopped for a sangria.  So many tourist restaurants along La Rambla but we wanted to sit and enjoy the location and rest my feet :). Gulp!  That drink was just a euro less than lunch at 12.65 E/ $19,73 CAD.   That price was just for the one drink which we shared and I did not enjoy it.  Barcelona was the only place that when we paid with a credit card that they asked if we wanted it to go through as Euros or Canadian currency.

Always something to see.  She looks like she should be riding a motorcycle.

So we headed home via this interesting metro station.  There are three platforms here, where I am standing taking the picture, thru the arch to the next platform and you can see yet another arch with the red above it and a third platform.  Very creative visually.

The photo is blurred but we ended up with a sushi salmon burger. The presentation was not what we expected, it came complete with wasabi and crisp fries.  Gourmet burger!  Then we had the long walk back.  I have no idea how I managed to walk so much in one day but now looking back I can see why my cold did not heal.  I never gave my body a chance.  Day after day I just kept pushing.  And the next day would be no different.  Stay tuned.

The area we were staying in was lovely.

So much green everywhere and little parks with places to sit on at every corner.

Our condo was well situated, marked with the dark ink scratched dot in the upper third left in the grey white area of the map.  We were within walking distance of most areas.  La Rambla is the street between the purple on the left and the red middle area which included the Gothic area.  Sometimes we walked and others we would walk 3 blocks to the subway and we were right there in the middle of La Rambla.  If you take a direct right from our apartment we were only eight blocks from Casa Batllo and then just another four blocks from there up to Casa Mila.

This is one of the four views from the deck.

The view from the kitchen window.  We loved our 6th floor very private apartment.

As we approached the Gothic Quarter we got caught up in the tiny winding streets.  We had time before the tour to grab a tuna sandwich which was so good that we wanted to go back after for another one or some tapas which were not ready at 3:15PM.  But we could not find that place later.

We had a few free moments for Colin to try on a pair of shoes that caught his eye in the window.  He did not buy these but another pair in another shop the next day.

The tour went close to three hours and the fellow was worth every penny of his large tip.  This was the Gothic Barcelona Cathedral.  The cathedral was constructed from the 13th to 15th centuries, with the principal work done in the 14th century.  We had planned to get back there to check out the inside but we ran out of time.

Barcelona is a hot bed of politics right now with a huge vote coming up again this fall regarding the Catalan situation.  There are yellow ribbons all over Barcelona stating ” Free Political Prisoners and Exiles”.

Did you know that Barcelona flew three flags.  Our guide was passionate about explaining the politics and the reasons for everything to us.  He was trying very hard to get everyone to understand.  Sadly I was not in top form as I was working on suppressing my coughing so as to not disturb the group.

Each flag represents who you do or do not support.  Many many balconies were expressing their voices.  Feel free to delve into the politics if you are interested.

We walked a long way and came to the Santa Maria Del Mar Cathedral built between 1329 and 1383 a great example of Gothic architecture. It was built by the people ( locals ) for the people.  The reason I took this photo was to show what has to be the only statue of Jesus with the biggest ears ever.  The tour ended shortly thereafter and we did stop in to see the inside of this interesting structure.

We took our time heading back towards La Rambla, which we used as our main navigation point.  These appear to be very popular in Europe.  But why would someone want to be wearing what looks like bedroom slippers to me as a fashion statement…

…when they could be wearing these instead?  Good prices I have to say.

Then there was this shoe shop that only sold ballet flats.  For certain you could get the exact color you wanted here.

These meringues caught my eye.  They were huge as you can tell by my finger.  We never did get to taste them, perhaps next time. We ended up settling for seafood paella for dinner.

It was good to get back to our apartment and go to bed as we had another full day coming. This was taken from the kitchen window.

This was taken form the outside deck.  A great end to a long and wonderful day.