World Spain Cataluña Barcelona

Gerry and Viv exploring Spain

Barcelona Sep 27, 2011

We are in Barcelona. Wow - so far we are quite impressed. It's a very busy, vibrant city with lots of tourists. 26C but feels very hot.

We arrived yesterday, did our usual trick of walking for hours getting to know the place.

Today we focused on some of the architecture of Gaudi, 1852 - 1926. As you can see from the photos his work was highly unusual. Not everyone liked it at the time but now millions come to see it. He used natural forms in his designs which are not always obvious but when you see the explanations you understand it. The Temple of the Sagrada Familia is a totally original and unique work. Gaudi spent 43 years on it and it still isn't finished though some work continues. The purists would like it to stay as is but there is a large following for finishing the work. It is a World Heritage Site.

The photos probably don't really do it justice, especially the outside which is surrounded by cranes working on the building.

We went from there to one of his apartment buildings, the Casa Mila. This is the building with the strange rooftop you can walk around. The chimneys look like robot faces. The attic is filled with information on the building design. There is also a lovely apartment from the 1920's to look around. The apartment goes all around a central courtyard area. There are 8 floors of apartments.

Gaudi's buildings are, for us, probably one of the main reasons for coming to Barcelona. We were definitely not disappointed. There is lots more to see yet.

Food so far has been quite good. I don't think of Spain as having great food but we have had Paella, Calamari and Cod dishes so far. Oh, and a few beers and wine!