Barcelona 1

For our last weekend trip, we headed to Barcelona, Spain. We got there pretty late, so we only had time to get some tapas for dinner.

A lot of the building in Barcelona are designed by a man named Antoni Gaudi. These have been some of the most interesting buildings we have ever seen. Some are beautiful and some are, well, pretty ugly.

This is the Casa Mila. He designed it for the Mila family in 1910.

We loved the the colors in the atrium.

The second floor had a modern art museum.

The ceiling was designed to look like milk.

Looking up the atrium.

Every detail in this house was interesting. I loved the boarders around the doors. Each door had a different design.

The attic had a museum showing how Gaudi came up with some of his designs. He took details from nature, like ears of corn or the ribs of a snake.

This is a mirror showing some chains hanging. Upside down, they show the frame of one of his buildings.

The attic was designed like the ribs of a snake.

The roof top was the most interesting part of the building. These were designed to look like Roman Soldiers.

Looking down the atrium.

One of the balconies.

A view of the Sagrada Familia.

The stairway. I loved the railing.

People parked their scooters along each side of the intersection.

The Casa Batllo. I loved the hip bone railings.

There were several streets that are pedestrian shopping areas with a bunch of cafes and street vendors. This area was the La Rambla.

The Palacio de la Musica Catalana, which is the concert hall. We didn't get there in time to tour it, which was really disappointing. We heard that it's absolutely beautiful inside.

Outside the Barcelona Cathedral, there was a Christmas market, selling trees and ornaments and these weird little statues of famous people pulling down their pants and pooping. I guess everyone poops, right?

The Barcelona Cathedral.

There is a family of geese that have lived in the cloisters for at least 5 centuries.

I loved the organ in the Cathedral. It was so big and impressive.

The crypt containing the grave of Santa Eulalia, who was a patroness of the Cathedral and was burned at the stake by the Romans because of her beliefs.
We went up to the roof, which had some beautiful views of the city.

The Arc de Triomf. It was built for the 1888 World Exhibition.

The Zoological Museum or "The Three Lizards".

In the park, there was a guy making giant bubbles for children.

The park had a beautiful fountain.

In the Gothic Quarter (referring to the Gothic architecture), it was mostly pedestrian. Every now and then, the alley ways would open up to a square. Gavin wanted a picture of himself sitting at the cafe, reading the menu.

The Columbus Monument. It marks the spot where Columbus returned from his first visit to the Americas. The statue of Columbus is pointing east to his home town town of Genoa.
We went up to the top of the Columbus Monument.

The Barcelona port.

Walking up La Rambla, there were dozens of people dressed as various things so you could take your picture with them. This one was the most interesting. We still aren't quite sure how he is holding himself up.

You can see the line of street performers.

We really loved all of the buildings in Barcelona.

Some street art.

This is the La Boqueia, which is an outdoor food market, which has been there since 1836. This market was huge.

The entrance to La Boqueia.

For dinner, Gavin got some seafood paella.

The Plaza de Cataluna.

The Casa Batllo at night. This was my favorite at night. All of the colors on the outside really lit up and looked beautiful.

Every building on the street corners were decorated for Christmas.

A bench by the Casa Milo.

The Casa Milo.

The next morning, we went to the Sagrada Familia, which is probably the most famous buildings in Barcelona. It has been under constant contruction because it is entirely funded by donations. They build when they have money. This is one of the Gaudi buildings I don't like. The exterior is a bit much. for me. Really kind of ugly.

I did like how the spires looked like ears of corn.

The back of the church.

We decided to go up the spires of the church. It didn't give great views of the city because a lot of it was blocked, but it was really interesting to see some of the details of the building up close.

Looking up the spire.

The stairway walking down the spire.

I did not enjoy these stairs. I freaked out a little bit. You can see me frantically trying to get down.

While in Europe, Gavin and I have toured a lot of cathedrals, but this one literally stopped us in our tracks. We stood there, shocked for a minute. Based on the outside of the building, we were not expecting this. It is one of the most incredibly buildings I have ever seen (I still don't like the outside :) )

I loved all of the soft colors with the white walls and the natural light.

The ceiling.

I'm not sure why Christ and the crucifix are hanging from an umbrella.

LOVED the silver organ with the colors from the stained glass reflecting on it.

The door leading to the back of the church.

See that bridge inbetween the spires in the middle? That's where we were when we went to the top.

One of the cathedral buildings.

The front of the cathedral.

One of the craziest buildings we have ever seen.