barcelona, day 2

casa batllo
casa mila


today we set our sites on seeing some of gaudi’s famous buildings. yesterday we should have seen one of his houses that is right off of la rambla, but it was all covered with scaffolding, and was being remodelled, to be opened by 2007 as another gaudi museum. that was a bit disappointing (as have been all of the architectural pieces that we (i) wanted to see on this trip, but were covered with scaffolding).

so we started by going down towards the marina so that we might be able to see as many different things we can by walking up the city. we saw a couple of churches, includidng the cathedral for the city of barcelona. we could see the spires and bell towers fine from far, but up close the facade was covered by scaffolding. i got a bit discouraged, but figured it had to be done anyway. we went inside, and it looked neat enough. one interesting thing was that there is a small garden inside, in between buildings or chapels of the church that was very refreshing. it had palm trees and swans walking around.

from there we walked up to the music hall, which follows the same sort of modernist style of gaudi (but isnt by gaudi). it was in the middle of a block that had narrow streets, though, so we couldnt get very good fotos of it, seeing as how we couldnt back up far enough. we decided not to do the tour within the music hall since they wouldnt allow us to take pictures anyway.

we then walked up to casa batllo, our first gaudi building. it was quite a site when we first saw it. it definitely stood out from the rest of the buildings, even the amatlier, which is right next door, and is also a great modernist work (but when sitting next door to the battle, it looks very subdued). the roof looks like fish scales, and the gates around the balconies look like skulls. everything on the building looked as though it were alive; indeed, one important feature of gaudi’s work is that he borrows structures, shapes, and ideas from nature. i was surprised, but they let us go inside and tour the building (for a fee, of course). we decided to take the tour, and were that much more impressed. it seemed that his main theme from nature for this building was underwater. there were ideas borrowed from whales bones, fish scales, wavy patterns (there is hardley a straight line in the whole building). he uses a lot of mosaic tiling to cover different things in the building. that was definitely a high point for us in barcelona.

we then went to see gaudi’s most famous building, casa mila. again, no straight lines, and each apartment in the building is different from the rest. this building lacked the color of the battlo, though, and instead used a very earthy tan or brown for most of the facade and the structures on the roof. another important feature of this (and the last) building that shows gaudi’s architectural thematic concerns (like natural shapes and forms) is the issue of light. in the mila, as well as the batllo, he keeps the center of the building empty, shaping the building like a tall donut (not really, but it gets the idea across that the center is hollow) so that light can come down to even the lowest floors.one apartment in the mila that was open for viewing showed that each room had natural lightcoming in. however, after seeing the batllo, this one seemed a bit toned down, and more boring (though anything would compared to the battlo, and compared with most other buildings, the mila would be much more adventurous with its curved facade, and wavy lines). the attic of the building has been transformed into a small gaudi museum, which shows and discusses most of his works. the drab lighting, however, and dark brown bricks gave the feeling that we were in a dungeon, and we didnt enjoy all that it had to offer (not to mention all the people in a relatively small space). i was just about done with this building anyway when my camera battery died, and i couldnt take anymore pictures. this is a good thing, since i really dont know my own physical limits (during this whole trip i have been pushing and pushing, not letting down, to try to get in as much per day as possible), so it was a good que to quit for the day, and start relaxing.

before going back to the hotel, however, there was another gaudi building nearby (basically around the block) and i wanted to see what i could there. it is called casa punxta, and has been pretty much overtaken by shops and offices. they were all closed, and just as well since i am sure we would not have had access to the interior of the building like we did at the last two places. the facade of this building was more in line with the batllo, in that it was very ornamental and had neat designs around doors and windows. i was sorry that my camera didnt work (the position of the building didnt make it good to photograph at this time anyway since the sun was in the late afternoon sky), and i was sure that i would come back later to get pictures.

this was a fun day, seeing neat and interesting architecture. i was pleased even more because paola really enjoyed it, and basically i was the reason that we came to barcelona (mainly to see gaudi’s buildings). paola admited that she would have never given gaudi a second thought (beyond what little she learned in an intro to art history class, perhaps), and she was pleased that she got to see this neat art.