Casa Batllo and Sagrada Familia

It was a day for Antoni Gaudi. We had intended to wake up quite early and go sightseeing, but most of us had an interrupted night and thus slept in. And it was raining -- not heavily, certainly nothing that we Oregonians couldn't handle, but not the best weather for a day when we were hoping for views from tall towers. So we had a leisurely breakfast and then walked to Casa Batllo.

What an absolutely amazing house. So beautiful, so cool to see the details of doors and railings and windows, obviously inspired by organic shapes and nature. Just a wonderful creation.

 

This dark stairway with metal hangings was not part of the original design -- it was added in the rebuilding, by a different artist. But it was cool. And then there was a multimedia black box with crazy colors before we left.

 

Lunch was back in the Gothic quarter -- dumplings! We were very amused to be sitting in a Spanish city, ordering in English, and eating handmade Chinese dumplings. (Our first meal in Germany last summer was tacos in Freiburg.)  And then we meandered home, with stops at the FC Barcelona official store and other stores, and mostly all enjoyed siestas.

The view from the balcony of our hotel room.

We had a 5:30 reservation at Sagrada Familia, the famous unfinished Gaudi cathedral. The stained glass was so vibrant and stunning; the same details from the natural world and attention to shape and detail were visible throughout. We went up the Nativity tower to enjoy the views and came down many tiny steps to get out.

The forest of pillars and the tiny details on the entrance doors, with carved insects.

After Sagrada we were all hungry. We ate some pastries to tide us over and made our way down to the Barcelona beach, to see the Mediterranean for the first time and find some seafood for dinner.