We tossed up between Valencia and Barcelona but the desire to see Gaudi's creations made Barcelona the favourite. We hope to see Valencia on another visit to Spain.
La Pedrera is less fantastic than some of his other buildings but this undulating beast is another of his masterpieces built in 1905-10 as a combined apartment and office block. Formerly called Casa Mila, after the businessman who commissioned it, it is better known as La Pedrera (the Quarry) because of its uneven grey stone facade which ripples around the corner of Carrer de Provenca.
Further along the same boulevarde is the Casa Batilo, one of the strangest residential buildings in Europe. Gaudi at his hallucinatory best. The facade is sprinkled with bits of blue, mauve and green tiles and studded with wave-shaped window frames and balconies. The building rises up to an uneven blue-tiled roof with a solitary tower. Gaudi's work is often dreamlike and his creations have a surreal quality.
Fantastical, multicoloured tile figures as chimney pots look like anything from Alice in Wonderland.
It is one of three houses on the block, only one of which is a Gaudi but all three designed by leading architects, to show how eclectic a style Modernisme was.
We then went to see La Sagrada Familia. We were lucky to be here on a Monday when many museums, including sadly the Picasso Museum, are closed, because we were lucky to get tickets to see the inside La Sagrada. Many people who have not booked are turned away especially in the height of the tourist season.
The Modernista brainchild of Antoni Gaudi, the Sagrada is unfinished and it is still a work in progress. Construction started in 1882 and the work on it continues today more than 80 years after its creator's death. Gaudi's inpiration for the Segrada in the first instance was Gothic, but he also sought to emulate the harmony he observed in nature. In all his creations, he eschewed the straight line and favoured curvaceous forms. The Segrada's improbable angles are a departure from all architectural conventions.
This photo shows the difference in the colour between some of the original work and some of the new work.
The doves. The detail of all the decorative flourishes are amazing.
Some of the inside shots
The security at the entrance to the Segrada was more rigorous than at many airports. Andrew's backpack was very throughly searched and my precious purchase of some paella forks was temporarily confiscated and had to be picked up at the end of our visit.
These are my precious forks. I have been searching for such forks, designed especially for paella eating, ever since we had a wonderful paella in Cordoba about five years ago. Never succeeded until today. A precious memento of Barcelona for me to take home.
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