Today is a free day, which means no guide, no magic limo, and figuring out ourselves where to eat. Mary got tickets for early entry into Casa Mila, otherwise known as La Pedrera ("the quarry"). The Mila family commissioned Gaudi in 1906, and it is the last residence he designed. It was completed in 1912. We can see the elaborate roof structures from the terrace of our hotel which is on the same block, on the opposite corner, so it was fun finally getting inside.
The design incorporated many "new" technologies, including underground parking, ensuite bathrooms, elevators, and architectural engineering allowing for moving interior walls, and lots of natural light. The whole second floor was the residence of the Mila family, and the other floors were divided into appartments for other wealthy families.
What is available for viewing is the Mila floor. While the floorplan is original, much of the furnishings are contemporary to the time period, but not original. Like the philosophy of Frank Lloyd Wright, all elements (hardware, decorations, furnishings) comply to a theme of nature, whether it be in color or shape.
Unlike country homes, rooms in these posh appartments are relatively small, and I didn't see a one that was rectangular. Socializing in larger numbers may have been done in common areas such as the courtyard.
The rooms of the appartment were interesting but my favorite space was the attic. I don't believe this had any use by the residents other than for storage or utilitarian laundry purpose, but it demonstrates both the size of the building and it's architecture. Models of the building are on display and help greatly to understand the complexity of the design. I highly recommend reading the Wikipedia site about this building (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Mil%C3%A0) as it offers so much insight to Gaudi's design and intentions for this remarkable structure.
Familiar to what we learned in design of the Sagrada Familia are the parabolic arches. The changing spacing of them and curving floorplan give a sense of infinity to the whole, large space. Note the construction is in brick.
The rooftop is a cross of Dr. Seuss and Disneyland.
Done with La Pedrera, we opt to walk to the harbor. On the way, we stop to "snap" another Gaudi building, Casa Batlló, loosely depicting the theme of St. George and the Dragon -- a common fable across all of Spain.
A closer look at the facade shows mosaic tiles provide color.
Our route takes us throuh the Gothic area which Mary and Peter missed the first night in Barcelona in favor of his trip to the hospital. Following one of Rick Steeves tours of Baecelona, we wandered through the old town. Mark and I were listening to the audio tour, occasionally imparting knowledge to Peter and Mary who opted not to listen to it. They faithfully and silently traipsed after us even though we spent considerable time correcting wrong turns and backtracking. Mark and I tried to keep our personal differences on orienteering to a minimum, but my preference for "North Up" and his for twisting his phone around is perfect fodder for marital dispute.
Points of interest along the route were a mix of historical and amusing. We missed seeing the condom shop (it was closed), but did catch the caganer store. I refuse to post or even take photos of these little figurines that my cohorts found so funny. They have even less cooth than I. Just Google "caganer". It's a thing.
We made it to the harbor, oogled some large yatchs and realized it was nearing Spanish lunchtime (2:00 pm) and we were hungry! Some quick web work found us an Indian restaurant with decent reviews. I think we were all ready for some non-regional nosh and we weren't disappointed. What looked like a huge amount of food as it was served surprising disappeared, including four pints of beer.
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| Yummy non-Spanish lunch |
No fools that we are, we've learned a thing or two from our guided tours and one of them is when you are tired, "why walk when you can be driven". Cabs are easy to hail and very reasonable. Within 15 minutes we were back in our flower scented rooms and ready for naps. Our rooms are next to eachother and I insisted on some balcony photos for the books.
All's well that ends well.
C
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