Another European adventure. This time with our good friends & neighbors, the Coopers. We were privileged to join the Coopers on their last big European adventure before they PCS to the states this summer. The four of us flew to Barcelona, checked into our hotel, freshened up & ventured out into the city in search of topas and beautiful architecture. Check & double check.
This being my first time in Spain, I was eager to take in all of the sights. Our hotel was in a quiet residential neighborhood, easily assessable my metro (our main mode of transportation all weekend). Our hotel was next to this beautiful hospital (pictured above). These pictures were taken from our hotel room balcony. Above is the hospital and below, if you look past the tall cylinder looking thing, you can see the water.
Casa Batlló. Built by Antonio Gaudi. Our good friend, Rick Steves informed us that like many of Gaudi's masterpieces, Casa Batlló was servilely criticized by the city & its residents because of its radical design that broke all of the bylaws of the city. It has since then been identified as one of the best buildings in Barcelona.
For our first night in Barcelona, we booked advanced tickets for Gaudi's La Pedrera Night Tour. Highly recommend the experience. La Pedrera is one of Gaudi's most celebrated achievements. Our tour guide informed us that because La Pedrera was constructed later in Gaudi's life, it is believed to be one of his most comprehensive works - drawing together all of the techniques & passions he had acquired through his lifetime. Magical doesn't begin to describe it.
Our tour didn't begin until 10:00 PM.
Looking up from inside the main entrance to the house from within the courtyard.
What do you see when you look at the oversized metal doors guarding the entrance. . . Turle shell? Butterfly? Spider Web? . . .
Heading upstairs before venturing to the roof for the audio, visual performance.
All of Gaudi's architecture is intentional. At first glance, much of his work can seem messy or chaotic. Upon further observation and study, one quickly comes to realized that every inch is inspired. Inspired by nature. Trees, the movement of water, corn husks, animal backbones, objects falling through space, the human body etc. Inspiration. From the door handles that fit perfectly into the human hand to the curvature of the hallways and stairways leading to the one of a kind roof top.
View of the city from La Pedrera's (Casa Milla's) rooftop.
Another beautiful ceiling as we walked towards the exit.
After a full day of traveling & walking the city, it was time to bead back to our hotel and SLEEP.
Stay posted for Barcelona Day II . . .
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