Post by Ella Some random photos.
Day: November 18, 2024
Casa Vicens
After the overwhelming experience of Gaudí’s La Familia Sagrada, we thought we’d come back to earth by visiting Casa Vicens, the house he built in the 1880s. It had a nice mixture of oriental modernist design. I loved the tiled turrets rising above the top floor veranda. It just proved there were places for sublime…
Peaking at La Sagrada Familia
I was ready to visit Gaudí’s famous chapel on our last day in Barcelona. I figured a modern Gothic landmark would be a nice capstone to our trip. But I’ve always been influenced by photos of the exterior and the design seemed too busy in an ornamental way. And when we approached the building, the dull brown terra…
Sagrada Familia
Post by Ella Perhaps Gaudi’s finest. A giant of a basilica. Construction begun in the late 1800s and is ongoing today with a target completion of 2026. The largest unfinished Catholic Church in the world. On the outside, the most distinctive and creative interpretation of Gothic architecture ever, anywhere. Every curve, every line flows. Sculptural…
Catamaran ride
Once we had taken in the large warships in the Marine Museum (the size of the oars, the image of being in the galley rowing—yikes), it seemed like we should cruise the bay in a catamaran. Get refreshed by the sea breeze, gaze at the splendor of the city sweeping by. Looking down from the upper…
Atop Las Arenas de Barcelona
Post by Ella On our way to the Museo Nacional d’Art Catalunya the other day, I noticed an elevator going up to the rooftop of the distinctive Las Arenas de Barcelona. Now shopping complex, it was once a bullfighting arena but was reconstructed in 2011 for less violent activities. Who doesn’t love a glass elevator…
Pests in the park
Ella and I were outside the gate of Park Güell waiting for our guide to show up when we were distracted by the loud screech-chattering of birds up in the drooping leaves of the short palm trees. We aimed our cellphones and caught two green parakeets working on their nest. What a beautiful bird, we thought,…
Walking Gaudi’s park
Post by Ella It seems one can’t walk more than a block in Barcelona without seeing reference to the famous Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi (1852 – 1926). Known as a Catalan modernist, his style is distinctive. Yesterday we headed to the hills to explore Park Güell, a park designed by Gaudi in 1900. We opted out…