We woke up at 9:30 am today and got ready for a day of exploring Barcelona's famous architect Antoni Gaudi's buildings.
We skipped breakfast and headed straight for our first stop - Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece La Sagrada Familia (literally meaning "The Sacred Family" since this church is dedicated to the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph). It is unlike any other church we've seen and its construction started in 1882 and is still going on, even after Gaudi died in 1926. To say that it's a complicated building design is to understate the scale of this monumental project. The finished church will contain 18 spires: in order of increasing height, they are
On the two facades that we saw (Nativity and Passion), there are a dozen plus mini-scenes portrayed by statues that narrate the series of events of that scene. The detail of the statues is amazing and then there is the signature style of Gaudi: inspiration from nature. His other trademarks include special attention to light distribution, ventilation and acoustics of the building. All his buildings and designs are inspired by patterns found in nature. From the inside, the church seems bigger than it seems from the outside. The towering columns that hold the structure are like trees and branch out at the top with trunk-like wider bases at the bottom. The shortest column is 60 meters and the tallest is 75 meters long. Once inside, it feels like you're in a gigantic and spacious forest. The stained glasses on the sides have different colored themes like water, fire, life and corresponding colors. Gaudi's designs emphasize on light and air regulation of his buildings to make best use of nature's elements. It is estimated that the remaining construction might take at least two more decades. Even so, it is an exceptional work of art and unlike any other building one can come across. We can only imagine how magnificent it will be upon completion.
Then we had lunch at a nearby Turkish restaurant that had excellent kababs. We strolled in the parks around Sagrada Familia to get different views of the two completed outer facades.
After that, we came back to our hotel to freshen up since our next two stops were close to our hotel. Both of them are Gaudi's buildings that he finished during his lifetime. We took audio guides at both of them (and had gotten one earlier at Sagrada Familia too). On our way to our hotel, we stopped at the French chain Paul to have cappuccino and dessert.
Next up was Casa Mila that was an apartment building constructed on the behest of a prominent Barcelona family. First up, we got a chance to see the roof where the chimneys and water tank are made into modern and interesting structures and the floor is of varying heights. Then we saw the attic that has catenary arches (an architectural invention of Gaudi) of varying heights upon which the roof is laid giving the roof its unconventional floor. The attic houses a tour of Gaudi's life, his innovative techniques, his inspiration from nature's designs and models of his most famous buildings - Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, Park Guell and others. The last floor that we saw was an example of an apartment of the building. Very unique design with excellent use of sunlight and fresh air in addition to use of spacious areas that are extremely functional as well.
After that, we walked to Casa Batllo. This was the residence of the Batllo family and Gaudi was commissioned to remodel the house after it had been standing for 25 years. Gaudi completely changed the look of the residence and the resulting product is again a work of genius - an interplay of art and engineering, of design and functionally and of creativity and science - signature Gaudi.
Then we walked to the restaurant where we had made a dinner reservation a night earlier. It's name is La Dama and it is a Michelin starred restaurant. Michelin rates restaurants and only the best of the best are able to get on the list. This was our first time dining at a restaurant from this list and in short, the most grand meal of our lives! It was a 10-course meal where none of the courses were too heavy and everything was cooked to perfection. Chicken croquet, Melon with mint, Tuna and sashimi, brûlée with cream, scallop, sea bass, morals, lemon sorbet, roasted goat with vegetables and finally dessert. The service was excellent and the decor and timing impeccable. Pricey but an experience of a lifetime and totally worth it.
After this royal dinner, we walked back to our hotel and are going to bed now.
We hope everyone is enjoying the updates! :)
Take care and good night!
We skipped breakfast and headed straight for our first stop - Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece La Sagrada Familia (literally meaning "The Sacred Family" since this church is dedicated to the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph). It is unlike any other church we've seen and its construction started in 1882 and is still going on, even after Gaudi died in 1926. To say that it's a complicated building design is to understate the scale of this monumental project. The finished church will contain 18 spires: in order of increasing height, they are
- the Twelve Apostles (4 apostles each on the three sides of the building excluding the entrance)
- the four Evangelists
- Mary and
- the tallest of them all for Jesus.
On the two facades that we saw (Nativity and Passion), there are a dozen plus mini-scenes portrayed by statues that narrate the series of events of that scene. The detail of the statues is amazing and then there is the signature style of Gaudi: inspiration from nature. His other trademarks include special attention to light distribution, ventilation and acoustics of the building. All his buildings and designs are inspired by patterns found in nature. From the inside, the church seems bigger than it seems from the outside. The towering columns that hold the structure are like trees and branch out at the top with trunk-like wider bases at the bottom. The shortest column is 60 meters and the tallest is 75 meters long. Once inside, it feels like you're in a gigantic and spacious forest. The stained glasses on the sides have different colored themes like water, fire, life and corresponding colors. Gaudi's designs emphasize on light and air regulation of his buildings to make best use of nature's elements. It is estimated that the remaining construction might take at least two more decades. Even so, it is an exceptional work of art and unlike any other building one can come across. We can only imagine how magnificent it will be upon completion.
Then we had lunch at a nearby Turkish restaurant that had excellent kababs. We strolled in the parks around Sagrada Familia to get different views of the two completed outer facades.
After that, we came back to our hotel to freshen up since our next two stops were close to our hotel. Both of them are Gaudi's buildings that he finished during his lifetime. We took audio guides at both of them (and had gotten one earlier at Sagrada Familia too). On our way to our hotel, we stopped at the French chain Paul to have cappuccino and dessert.
Next up was Casa Mila that was an apartment building constructed on the behest of a prominent Barcelona family. First up, we got a chance to see the roof where the chimneys and water tank are made into modern and interesting structures and the floor is of varying heights. Then we saw the attic that has catenary arches (an architectural invention of Gaudi) of varying heights upon which the roof is laid giving the roof its unconventional floor. The attic houses a tour of Gaudi's life, his innovative techniques, his inspiration from nature's designs and models of his most famous buildings - Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, Park Guell and others. The last floor that we saw was an example of an apartment of the building. Very unique design with excellent use of sunlight and fresh air in addition to use of spacious areas that are extremely functional as well.
After that, we walked to Casa Batllo. This was the residence of the Batllo family and Gaudi was commissioned to remodel the house after it had been standing for 25 years. Gaudi completely changed the look of the residence and the resulting product is again a work of genius - an interplay of art and engineering, of design and functionally and of creativity and science - signature Gaudi.
Then we walked to the restaurant where we had made a dinner reservation a night earlier. It's name is La Dama and it is a Michelin starred restaurant. Michelin rates restaurants and only the best of the best are able to get on the list. This was our first time dining at a restaurant from this list and in short, the most grand meal of our lives! It was a 10-course meal where none of the courses were too heavy and everything was cooked to perfection. Chicken croquet, Melon with mint, Tuna and sashimi, brûlée with cream, scallop, sea bass, morals, lemon sorbet, roasted goat with vegetables and finally dessert. The service was excellent and the decor and timing impeccable. Pricey but an experience of a lifetime and totally worth it.
After this royal dinner, we walked back to our hotel and are going to bed now.
We hope everyone is enjoying the updates! :)
Take care and good night!
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