November 16th – Barcelona OMG

Oh My, Gaudi today our trip visit was centered on the architecture of Antoni Gaudi.  We left our hotel around 9:00am and walked over to the market for breakfast, at a place called Pinotxo Bar where Juan holds court in the morning.   It’s just a counter with about 20 stools and you wait around until a couple stools open up to sit down.   I ordered a café con leche and tea for Deb, to eat I had a chucho ( a sort of fruit filled pastry) and Deb had a Tortell (tortilla in Spanish – a pancake with divine potatoes and egg) while everyone hovered over us waiting for a stool.   After that we took a leisurely stroll up towards the ‘Block of discord’ which holds three buildings by the foremost architects in Spain at Gaudi’s time; Gaudi, Cadafalch, and Muntaner. 
  

All three buildings showcase the differing styles that were popular in Barcelona at the time.   It scandalized the populace hence the name Block of Discord, each one of them is beautiful in its own right.   The Gaudi just knocked me out; the entire façade just flows and it is covered with a colorful mosaic of broken ceramic pieces.   Included here is a before and after model of just how the building looked before and now.    After spending time looking at all three buildings we walked a few blocks more to see La Padrera (the rock) or the other name Casa Mila.  The building is basically poured concrete on the exterior but quite lyrical, Deb will give a full description in her entry.  Following lunch at a wonderful little restaurant called La Rita we headed east and over to Sagrada Familia, the cathedral Gaudi was working on at the time of his death.  The west face is the one most famous in pictures but other than conceptual drawings none of the work is Gaudi’s it’s all the work of later architects interpreting his ideas.  The east façade, Nativity, is truly a work of Gaudi art it has organic forms everywhere and is so overwhelming in concept that it looks like spun sugar come to life.  Interestingly it is really deteriorating due primarily to pollution and salt air.  Mary’s nose has fallen off in one of the tableaus and a soldiers sword (iron) is partially rusted away in another.  Very interesting and a visual feast.  All of the spire tops are shrouded in netting right now and it makes seeing things up there pretty hard, but I came prepared and brought my binoculars so that I could look at detail.  For instance many of the little spires topping chapels and flying buttresses have what look to be baskets of colorful fruit on them which are composed of broken ceramic tile mosaic, reds, greens, blues, yellows, etc.   Just amazing to see his attention to detail.