We had a great day visiting Casa Batllo (one of the houses designed by Antoni Gaudi), Sagrada Familia (gigantic church designed by Antoni Gaudi), and the Picasso Museum (and incidentally the Barcelo Sants hotel).
First stop was Casa Batllo. This house is nothing like you've seen before. Central stairwell, elevator, beautifully polished wood, iron and glass that creates the most amazing feeling that you are underwater. In fact I felt like I was inside a tortoise shell. The central stairwell is paved with grey, light blue, dark blue and cobalt tiles that start dark at the top of the four storey house and become lighter as you go down. Tis is because the light doesn't reach the bottom as well so the lighter tiles help to reflect the light. The windows also become bigger as you get lower to the ground floor to let more light in. He even created wooden panels that open and close to let air in as needed. What's even more amazing is that there are no straight lines in the house, except for where the hyperbola arches align with each other.
Have a look at the amazing pictures below yourself.
The first staircase
The feature at the top of staircase banister
The dining room
The view of the roof from the garden
Flower pots in the garden
A bathroom - has a very modern look
One of the lounge windows
Some of the many hyperbola throughout the house
The chandelier in the lounge
Sitting beside the fireplace
One of the many gorgeous doors
The water tower room on the roof, complete with water sound effects
The chimneys on the rooftop
Just chillin' on the roof
Looking down the stairwell
Casa Batllo from the outside
The next stop was the Sagrada Familia, or Sacred House of the Family. This was designed by Antoni Gaudi, but unlike other works of art he designed, this was never completed while he was alive. In fact it still isn't complete now. Some say it might take another 25 years to complete, but looking at the model of what has been completed and what is still to be done, I'm not sure I'll see this completed in my lifetime. But, who knows... The inside is amazing, it's like you're in a forest. Gigantic pillars that branch out at the top support the structure. Seating for a choir of 1000 is 15m up. Below you can see the crypt where Antoni Gaudi is buried, underneath the ground level alter. Detailed stained glass windows depict scenes from the bible, whilst the roof boasts amazing detail and gives a feeling of being closer than it really is.
The outside tells another whole story. One face shows the birth of Jesus, with many different smaller scenes to tell a small part. The casts for these statues we're done on real people, even babies. They do indeed look lifelike. Another face tells of the death of Jesus. The style that these statues are done is much different. These are more square and fierce looking. There are no soft features on the faces, but hard lines instead. The tower only has a fraction of the towers complete, there will be 12 in total; one for each disciple. The highest towers currently stand at 100m high, but when the final towers are completed, they will stand 170m high. This is only a few meters shorter than the highest mountain in Barcelona, as Gaudi believed that architecture should never be greater than nature.
Enjoy the photos here.
These are on the floor of other side you enter.
Tall, tree-like columns
The alter at the front
High up. In the centre area
A view from the back
If you look carefully at the second level, you can see where the choir sits.
Look Abi-Rose - I found you a harp player.
The school building, built for children of the workers.
Inside the school.
A sculpture of Gaudi
Gaudi's coffin underneath the Sagrada Familia
On the way back to the hotel were were serenaded by a lovely oldish man singing 'achy Breaky Heart' in Spanish on ther subway.
I've noticed a few things while being here, and come to a few conclusions...
1) I really miss my city, as new as it may be compared to somewhere like Barcelona, but I'm sad that I won't see it again, not in the way it was when I grew up.
2) People here wear their pants unfashionably short or rolled up in just as undesirable manner - but why... Well I worked that out on the walking tour - dogs. Yes, dogs. Dogs wee everywhere! So it doesnt pay to have your pants dragging around on the ground like I usually do in Chch.
3) Supermarkets are under- rated in NZ!
Until tomorrow...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Barcelona, Spain
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