Friday, September 30, 2005
Day 127: Barcelona
September 30: Woke mid morning, and decided to walk up Passe de Gracia (street) to Casa Batllo. A house designed by Gaudi which has interesting architecture, both inside and out including the roof!
Not one single part of this house is straight. The floors curve, windows are smooth and rounded; and the styles of architecture Gaudi uses are so diverse it´s amazing. He also focuses a lot on nature, water needs, the use of light and ventilation. The walls all have grates to monitor ventilation and the light either comes in front windows, a tiled courtyard with a sunroof or other means.
Above the five-storey house is a stunning roof full of ventilation chimneys and other scultpures. Hard to describe but a worthwhile visit.
So too, La Pedrera (also known as Casa Mila), an apartment building Gaudi designed which is a short walk up the road from Casa Batllo. This building is identified greatly by its iron ´railing´ balconies and series of interestingly designed chimneys on the roof. From the top, you also get great views of Barcelona city - and being a nice sunny day today, it was great.
Inside, you learn about Gaudi´s mathematical-based architectural designs for many of his buildings round Barcelona, including La Pedrera, Casa Batllo and Segrada Familia, and see how an apartment from the early 20th century looked - furniture and all. (Note: Gaudi designed interior of buildings including walls, windows and ceilings; furniture; exteriors of buildings, rooftops and everything in between. Quite extraordinary!)
I feel a little Gaudi´d out but it has definitely been worthwhile visit his sites.
Met up with a person from the hostel for lunch... before heading down to Placa de Catalunya and La Rambla to see what they´re like in the daytime.
La Rambla was full of street performers (people in costume and spray paint, posing for people to have photos with them), flower stalls, pet stalls (including the sale of budgies, pigeons and other birds, iguanas, turtles and more), massage, tarot cards, massage, souvenir stalls, charicatures, and chinese name writing ... some of which remains there at night. Further down the street, there was also a market selling mostly jewellery and handbags, similar to suburban markets back home.
Headed up the lift at Mirador de Colon (Columbus monument) to get a view of the city and port, before taking a really nice cruise on the water, including the Mediterranean Sea! (Got it for free as part of my ¨Barcelona discount card¨.)
We went around the port, Montjuic park, industrial areas, World Trade Centre building, various cruise liners in dock, Olympic Port, the Forum, and some of Barcelona´s beaches too.
More magnificent were the Spanish roulettes (I think)... maybe the air force even... who for about half an hour were practising spectacular stunts above us. Getting photos of it was hard, but watching was amazing!
Decided to see what a Spanish syngagogue service was like (especially with New Year next week), so headed to one of the very few shules in town for the Shabbat service.
Headed back to the hostel for an early night, after having a meal at a cafe nearby.
Still enjoying Barcelona but will be ready to leave once I cover the Gothic quarter and Picasso museum tomorrow...
Not one single part of this house is straight. The floors curve, windows are smooth and rounded; and the styles of architecture Gaudi uses are so diverse it´s amazing. He also focuses a lot on nature, water needs, the use of light and ventilation. The walls all have grates to monitor ventilation and the light either comes in front windows, a tiled courtyard with a sunroof or other means.
Above the five-storey house is a stunning roof full of ventilation chimneys and other scultpures. Hard to describe but a worthwhile visit.
So too, La Pedrera (also known as Casa Mila), an apartment building Gaudi designed which is a short walk up the road from Casa Batllo. This building is identified greatly by its iron ´railing´ balconies and series of interestingly designed chimneys on the roof. From the top, you also get great views of Barcelona city - and being a nice sunny day today, it was great.
Inside, you learn about Gaudi´s mathematical-based architectural designs for many of his buildings round Barcelona, including La Pedrera, Casa Batllo and Segrada Familia, and see how an apartment from the early 20th century looked - furniture and all. (Note: Gaudi designed interior of buildings including walls, windows and ceilings; furniture; exteriors of buildings, rooftops and everything in between. Quite extraordinary!)
I feel a little Gaudi´d out but it has definitely been worthwhile visit his sites.
Met up with a person from the hostel for lunch... before heading down to Placa de Catalunya and La Rambla to see what they´re like in the daytime.
La Rambla was full of street performers (people in costume and spray paint, posing for people to have photos with them), flower stalls, pet stalls (including the sale of budgies, pigeons and other birds, iguanas, turtles and more), massage, tarot cards, massage, souvenir stalls, charicatures, and chinese name writing ... some of which remains there at night. Further down the street, there was also a market selling mostly jewellery and handbags, similar to suburban markets back home.
Headed up the lift at Mirador de Colon (Columbus monument) to get a view of the city and port, before taking a really nice cruise on the water, including the Mediterranean Sea! (Got it for free as part of my ¨Barcelona discount card¨.)
We went around the port, Montjuic park, industrial areas, World Trade Centre building, various cruise liners in dock, Olympic Port, the Forum, and some of Barcelona´s beaches too.
More magnificent were the Spanish roulettes (I think)... maybe the air force even... who for about half an hour were practising spectacular stunts above us. Getting photos of it was hard, but watching was amazing!
Decided to see what a Spanish syngagogue service was like (especially with New Year next week), so headed to one of the very few shules in town for the Shabbat service.
Headed back to the hostel for an early night, after having a meal at a cafe nearby.
Still enjoying Barcelona but will be ready to leave once I cover the Gothic quarter and Picasso museum tomorrow...
# posted by mishij @ 12:17 PM 
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