Gaudi, the Architect of Dreams

Building decorated by Picasso himself

In Spain, people sleep during the day and eat/dance/love during the night. You see families with small children enjoying a casual dinner at midnight, and if you show up to a bar before 2 a.m., chances are the doors aren't even open. We arrived via bus around 6 p.m. and went straight to the Gothic Quarter with it's fabulous mix of old and new buildings. There are ancient cathedrals nestled right in with buildings that have Picasso's figures sketched in the cement. Barcelona (or Barthelona as the locals pronounce it) is famous for it's tapas, or "small plates." We focused the remainder of our evening on consuming as many varieties of these small little tapas plates as possible and challenging the locals to a little game of "who can stay out later."

The look-out area with a view of Barcelona 

The tapas restaurant we ate at was set up like a buffet, you picked up a plate at one end then made your way down the row, picking up any  little dish that caught your eye. There was everything from paella rice dishes to bruschetta, chicken on a stick and slimy eel delicacies. Each tapas had a little toothpick stuck inside and the waiter tallied your total by adding up the number of toothpicks you had accumulated. Barcelona is also well known for it's sangria so we made sure to order a few pitches of that as well. We ate our tapas with a view of a building decorated by Picasso himself and we congratulated ourselves in making it this far. According to our tour guide, at this point in the trip someone had usually been arrested, deported, or hospitalized. We were so far 0 for 3.

La Sagrada Familia

The next day was one of the best architectural feasts for my eyes that I had experienced up to this point. We started the day off by driving to a look-out site with a view of the entire city, including the bay that mom and Grandma Aften's cruise ship will depart from in just a few weeks! We took pictures from above then piled back in the bus to get up close and personal with the city so many people adore. We first visited the Sagrada Familia, a massive cathedral designed by Antoni Gaudi.The Cathedral has been under construction for over 130 years and they expect it will be at least another 50 before it's complete. The massive cathedral combines Gothic architecture with art nouveau details and towers that look like melting wax. Every square inch is covered with elaborate sculptures and scenes, it's easy to see how such a project might take a few hundred years.

The Hall of 100 Columns

We then headed over to the next Gaudi creation, park Guell. The park was a failed attempt at an upscale housing complex which resulted in a dream-like city park, complete with elaborate tunnels, mosaic benches, and a perfect view of the city. An iconic mosaic dragon, whose picture is seen everywhere around the city, greets visitors at the entrance of the park. After ascending a small flight of stairs you enter the Hall of 100 columns. Randomly placed and all white, the columns provide any child's ideal hide-and-seek fort. While the children run and duck behind the never-ending rows of identical columns the adults crank their heads and marvel at the beautiful round mosaics that cover the ceiling.

The Hall of 100 Columns actually supports the terrace of a large park designed specifically to enjoy the view of Barcelona. Benched rows sneak their way, in an uneven oval, around the outline of the park and are smothered in techni-colored mosaics. Parrots sing from nearby palm trees and the city of Barcelona sleeps, waiting to rouse itself for the night.

Casa Battlo

Living room of the Casa Battlo

My third and final Gaudi visit of the day was to the Casa Battlo, a private residence that Gaudi restored between 1904 and 1906. Gaudi avoided using straight lines completely, so all doorways,windows, cabinets and stairs are curved and spiraled. He plastered the outside of the house with sunbursts of brightly colored tile. The house itself is supposed to represent a dragon, with the stairway being his spine and the chimneys his snout. The interior of the house makes you feel as though you're inside a  giant seashell with softly curving walls and oceanic colors. For those of you who are familiar with Gardner, KS, it seemed similar to the store The Dolphin Song, but a much larger and more elaborate scale. I also think that Michael Reynolds, the man who designs earthships, probably found inspiration in Gaudi's style.

Icebarcelona

My remaining day in Barcelona consisted of soaking up the sun on the beach and adding a layer of Spanish sunburn to my french tan. That night we visited "Icebarcelona" an ice bar located right on the beach. The temperature was below freezing inside so they immediately equipped us with parkas and gloves. Ice statues stood in every corner and even our cups were made of ice, forcing us to drink quickly before the heat of our hands caused the cups to melt away, spilling our drinks all over the floor. We cheersed our icy beverages to a time well spent and prepared to depart the next morning for our final city, Madrid.