Barcelona - Palau Guell

While the other Gaudi houses we have seen have been on wide avenues and Sagrada Familia and Park Guell are large spacious places, this house is on quite a narrow street, just off La Rambla.

This is one of the 2 parabolic arches (Gaudi's signature arch) that constitute
the "front door". They are big enough to drive horses and carriages through
as that is how the family entered their home.

Between the 2 arches. Lots of quite complex wrought iron at this house. This house was Gaudi's first
commission for Guell and he worked with a team of specialist craftsmen.

The entrance fee includes an audio guide so we followed instructions and started the tour right inside the entrance which was the carriage house, after the family alighted from the carriage and went up the large main stairway the carriages were stored here and the horses taken into the basement, next stop, the stables.

Carriage house doors.

The pillars had to support a 4 story structure. He also ensured there was natural light, systems for
cleaning and food storage, drainage and

Gaudi also designed the cross-tie rings. Unicorns inside and

dogs outside in the little courtyard.

Up, through the carriage house area and to the 2nd floor which was the living and entertaining area. Aimee and I both commented how stiff, formal and cold the place felt. Even the pictures from when it was inhabited did not look like a place you would want to relax. Beautiful yes, extravagant yes, but certainly not homey, and they raised 10 children in that house. Though they also had a country home perhaps that was more comfy.

Stained glass at the top of the stairs made to resemble the Catalan flag.

More stained glass with Guell's initials. The use of wrought iron as blinds and stained
glass provided the family with privacy while letting in light and beauty but it tends to
make the house dark.

In all of Gaudi's work you can see the techniques, themes and experiments that culminated in Sagrada Familia. The darkness of this house compared to the bright, light and airy feel in the church is an example of how much he had learned.

Mantle support in the dining room. Every room has a fireplace. Some, designed by Gaudi,
simple curving marble and stone, others wood and elaborately carved. 

The huge bay window has a leather backed bench all around and metal shutterwork
outside that could be adjusted to let in different amounts of sun.

Ceilings in the whole house were either wood and wrought iron or tile and
wrought iron and often more ornate than the floors (where there were also
combinations of materials in artful designs). Many of the walls did not go
all the way to the ceiling, allowing air circulation.

Arches in front of a bay window that hangs over the street. I learned from an e-mail from Heather
that these are called oriel style windows.

The central room is 2 stories high. The bedrooms upstairs have windows on to it. There is a small
chapel off it and an small room with the pipe organ in it. It is provided with light from above. The
family could check out visitors from above, attend chapel without coming downstairs and the music
from the organ would fill the house. One of Guell's daughters was an accomplished organist.

The original organ was repaired a number of times over the years but
was replaced by a new one in 2011.

Ornate iron work over an arch in Mrs Guell's bedroom.

Sections of glass roof and stained glass, in the attic, keep light directed into the central room.
The attic was the service area and servants quarters.

My main reason for wanting to go into the Palau (which means palace) was further up. I checked we could get onto the roof before buying my ticket.

This spire sits over the central rooms and allows hot air to escape and light to enter.
The top is also a lightning rod.

Each room has a fireplace. Each fireplace has a chimney and each chimney is different.
This is what I wanted to get a look at.

I got a little obsessed with chimney pictures. You can see elements here that he later used in Parc Guell and Sagrada Familia.

Even his brick chimneys are all different. Aimee believes he had a sense of humor.

Enough chimneys already!

Barcelona - St Marie de Mar

The only thing on our agenda today was to sign up for a Segway tour but our first challenge was to find the office that we had seen on one of our walks through the Barri Gottic.

Now this is a great invention, a croissant covered with white or dark chocolate.

We are now pretty comfortable making our way through the neighbourhood directly behind our place and into the more touristy El Born or Barri Gottic neighbourhoods.

Its a working class neighbourhood, with kids playing and people walking their dogs.

Stores are small. Like this butchers shop.

Definitely not a tourist bar.

A surprising number of small grocery stores with a full array of wine, liquor, dairy, dry
goods and produce even though there are produce stores and the market nearby.

We found the Segway office and booked for tomorrow at 10am, both of us a little unsure but also excited about it. We stumbled on the church St Marie de Mar a little further on.

The church closest to the port and for sailors and their families.

Walking around there was no mistaking we were walking on tombs.

One model of a galleon in front of the statue of Mary and Jesus. I heard a guide say
that it was customary for sailing families to make a replica of their ship and place it near
the statue for protection. The altar area was then covered with little wooden boats.

Aimee saw a museum she was interested in visiting so she went there and I waited outside of the Cathedral.

Sketching, sitting in the sun and people would start up conversations. One little Italian
girl wanted to know what happened if I made a mistake. A young Italian couple started
up a conversation about the complexity of the Cathedrals façade. Four children of a Dutch
family clustered around glancing back and forth between the church and my sketch.
 

It was the first time I had sketched in such a public place and I sketched for about an hour and 45 minutes with small breaks for conversations with passers by. I was pleased to find I could block out the hubbub and focus on the sketch. It was also very pleasant to have the accompaniment of a pianist and guitarist. Yep they wheeled a piano into the square to play for the tourists.
When Aimee returned, full of the sculptures and other collections she had seen, we decided it was time for lunch. We crossed Las Ramblas and looked for a less touristy area to eat.

You may notice that the Sangria pitchers are getting larger. The first day we had a glass each
and then realized it made more sense to get a pitcher. Today the waiter asked if we wanted a litre
and we thought that's what we had last time. Until it came to the table and we realized we must have had
a half litre last time. Needless to say, lunch took more than 2 hours, and we needed to walk it off.

The restaurant served half tapas, tapas and raciones which refers to the size
of the serving. I had 3 half tapas (mushrooms in garlic, Russian salad and fish
and potato fritters), Aimee had eggs ,bacon and fries (missing her breakfasts)

We decided to try and find Palau Guell, the house built by Gaudi for Guell, just to walk by it but when we got there there was no line up and very few people around so we decided to go in. That will be my next post as I am too tired now and I have tons of pictures of that house to choose from.

Barcelona - Good Friday, Hop on, hop off bus.

We weren't sure what would be open today so thought it would be a good day to do the city tour bus. We picked up a crème croissant to eat on the way and found that the market was closed (so no coffee). There was a craft market being set up in the square though. We bought our tickets (Euro 28) and were on the bus by about 9:30.

We were early enough that we got the front seat on the top deck. This
put us at about the second floor of the buildings and some great views.

It got much more crowded later on. We had walked so much yesterday we thought
we would take it easier today and see parts of the city we couldn't walk too.

There are a number of companies that do the tourist buses, this is the one we chose. It
has 3 routes and you can travel on all of them and hop on and off. They gave us each
our own earphones and we could listen to a guide if we wanted. We took the red route first.

Another chance to take pictures of Gaudi's work.

Into areas of modern buildings

What used to be the bullring is now a shopping mall with a walkway
on top to view the city.

Sites from the Olympics and views from the mountain.

Christopher Columbus monument. He's supposed to be pointing towards the New World
but it turns out, that's the wrong direction.

At the waterfront we got off the bus and walked along by the beaches before
getting on the green route along the waterfront. The volleyball players were in bathing suits but
nobody was in the water.
 

Back on to the bus, blue route now, up past Sagrada Familia. The views from
the bus wont be nearly as good when the trees are in full leaf.

More Gaudi

We got off the bus at Park Guell. Designed by Gaudi for his patron, businessman, Guell,
to be a residential development but only 2 houses were ever built and Gaudi lived in
one for a while. It is now a city park.

At the park Gaudi played with structures, pathways and balconies, that were even
closer to nature. Walking there is a constantly changing experience of rough rock
pillars, sometimes topped by rock planters, views from rock balconies, over the city
as well as the usual city park experience of trees, shade, flowers and people watching.

There were musicians entertaining in various locations but I have to stay they were well spaced. We could listen to Spanish guitar then walk with a period of quiet before listening to a full horn section. Most just played and hoped you'd put money in the hat but one group made the asking for money part of the entertainment, with mime and song. In one glade a man was making huge bubbles with two sticks and loops of string between.

I never know, taking these kinds of pictures, whether the shot is going to work, until
I put it on the computer in the evening and I was happily surprised.

The kids were really enjoying the bubbles and the parents too. I hope they put a lot
of money in his hat.

Aimee is using her phone to take pictures that automatically load up  on to
the icloud and then to her ipad. Many of them are as good or better than mine.
Less washed out by the sun and brighter when it is a grey day, however her bubble
pictures didn't turn out. At least my point and shoot is better for one thing.

When George and I where here 3 years ago the only part of the park that you had to pay to see was Gaudi's house but now you also have to pay to see any of the area were his mosaics are. We got there at about 3 and the next times tickets were available for was 7 so we decided not to.

Spire and roof of Gaudi's house with the city view behind. His house looks like it has been
iced like a cake with swirly designs around the eaves, windows and doors and swirly
carving.

One of the chimneys on Gaudi's house.

A mass of Wisteria that smelled lovely.

View of Sagrada Familia from Park Guell

Part of the area we couldn't go in to. When you are walking above you just think its a terrace
or a patio but when you get below you realize the whole thing is held up with pillars, and its
huge. The edge undulates with a bench covered in broken tile mosaics. Classic Gaudi.

As are the roofs of the gatehouses which remind me of twist soft ice cream cones and
Aimee of gingerbread houses.

We got back on the bus and finished the blue route, going past a monastery, another Gaudi
designed house and the place where the Barcelona Football Club plays.

By the time we got off the bus at Placa Catalunya it was 6pm. We had done all three routes and seen what a diverse city Barcelona is. Old and new, cultural and athletic, hills and beaches, parks and ports. We had planned on going back out as the bus runs till after dark and we though that it would be interesting to see the city at night but after we got home and made dinner we opted for getting into our jammies.