Barcelona, Spain Day Four-"Bus Tour"~

On our fourth day in Barcelona, Spain we decided

to tour on a private on/off bus to see what other sights

we might have missed.  There were a few sights we

would have enjoyed spending some time visiting, 

which was helpful to know about.  However, the 

bus tour was not our favorite way to tour Barcelona.

There were too many stops and they were too long.

 Cody and Jim on the top level of the tour bus,

it had not yet started to rain...

 The tour drove us by another of 

Antoni Gaudi's works called the

"La Pedrera" or "Casa Mila."

 It was built in 1906 to 1910 for the

Mila Family.  It is now owned by

a bank and used mainly for art

exhibitions and concerts.

 These are Barcelona's twin towers

located on the main square of the city.

 The towers are below Barcelona's 

National Art Museum.

 As we toured along the route we came to the cities

harbor and you could literally hear everyones awe

of the huge cruise ship in the harbor.  It dwarfs

the reasonably sized cruise ship next to it.

It was like a skyscraper hotel on water!

 Partway through our tour we became hungry so we

hopped off the bus to eat an early dinner.  I had been

craving a spinach/chickpea dish I had seen earlier in

the week.  So I was sure to order that Tapa dish!

 Of course we ordered the popular "Tomato Bread."

 During our meal stop we saw the "Santa Caterina Market"

where fresh fish, other skinned animals, fruits and 

vegetables are sold.  It was closed for the holiday weekend.

The roof design blends in well with many of Barcelona's

architectural themes.  The roof design is a blend of old and

new techniques done by hand and machine, with Seville tiles

as part of the decor showcasing the awkward curves.

I always enjoy seeing the locals busy with their 

simple and friendly local games of entertainment.

Here is a chess game happening with interested onlookers.

Barcelona, Spain Day Three-"Sagrada Familia"~

~Basilica De La Sagrada Familia~

Created by

Antoni Gaudi

 I am so disheartened with our photo

of this magnificent Cathedral.

I would recommend googling the

structure and there you will see 

amazing photos of this beautiful church.

However, even the professional pictures

do not come near doing justice to what

it looks like in person.  It really is a 

sight to behold!  I thought the outside

was astounding, but once inside I was 

even more stunned by the incredible
talent of Antoni Gaudi in this structure!

 The original idea and foundation of the 

structure was first conceived by architect

Francisco de Paula del Villar.

The work began in 1882 by this architect, but one 

and a half years later the project was taken over 

by Antoni Gaudi, he was 31 years old at the time.

Antoni completely altered the project and 

worked on it for the next 43 years of his life,

making changes as it progressed.
When asked what was taking so long
to finish the work Gaudi replied,
"My client is not in a hurry."

 This is the west side of the church,

a close up view of the "Passion Facade."

 This model shows the west view of 

the finished design.  The tallest tower,

558 ft tall, is dedicated to Christ.

A side view of the church.

When it is finished there will be 18 towers.

Four towers, each 394 feet tall, on each of the 

three facades will represent the twelve apostles.  

Another four towers represent the evangelists 

surrounding the tallest tower.  There will be a final

tower, built over the apse, dedicated to Virgin Mary.

There will be a total of eighteen towers.

This is one of the most amazing church's

to walk inside of and be so surprised.

Cody has to rest his head on the back

of his shoulders to look straight up at 

the gorgeous view of the church's ceiling.

The alter of the cathedral.

A view of the ceiling.

Guadi began to appreciate the beauty

of a nature as a child while he healed

from his sicknesses.  He incorporated

concepts of nature in all his works.  

The very high ceiling represented a canopy of

trees to shade people from rain and sun.

The columns represent the 

tall trees we walk under.

Another view of the ceiling.

Gothic style of Rose shaped glass window.

You get some perception of the size

of the indoor columns with Cody

"hugging" one of them.

This is the Nativity Facade on the East

side of the cathedral.  It is in baroque form

with detail work of animals and plants.

A closeup of the Nativity Facade.

On the left is the virgin Mary riding

a donkey being lead by Joseph.

On the right is a Roman soldier executing

a baby boy at King Herod's command.

Doors serving as the west main 

entrance of the "Passion Facade."

The doors are printed with biblical

words on them in various languages.

The word Jesus and other select words

are painted so as to stand out.

West entrance:  "Passion Facade."

More contstruction on the south side of the cathedral.

The hope is to have this cathedral finished 100 years

later from the birth of it's conception in 1882.

After visiting Sagrada Familia
Cody was hungry....again.

Barcelona, Spain Day Three-"Casa Batllo"-Gaudi~

Nicknames "House of Bones" and

"House of Yawns" are many titles

given this structure by Antoni Gaudi.

A wealthy aristocrat, Josep Batllo, had

Antoni Gaudi redesign this upper market

home in Barcelona.

When creating any of his designs Gaudi

would avoid any straght lines if possible.

 "Casa Amatller" is the building next

door to Gaudi's "Casa Batllo," 

designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch.

Years of construction were 1898-1900.

 For me the balconies of " Casa Batllo"

 appeared like masks you would wear 

for a masquerade ball...

 Batllo's family lived on the first two levels

 while renting out the upper apartments.

For the facade of the building Gaudi

was a recycler and reused imperfect 

and rejected tiles from his other projects.

"Casa Batllo" was built in 1877

then remodelled between 1904-1906.

 "Casa Amatller's" was a unique modernistic 

design, for the times, created for the 

chocolatier Antoni Amatller.

Years of construction were 1898-1900.

Having seen photos of "Casa Batllo" 

lit up at night Jim drove us back

to see it in person.

It really is a captivating sight!

Barcelona, Spain Day Three-"Tapa Night"~

The Catalana is one of the best Tapa restaraunts 

in the city of Barcelona.

Cody was so hungry and ready for a good meal

after his quick dunk in the Sea!

We had come here earlier in the week and

would have had to wait an hour to be seated.

 We decided to come back the next day at a much 

earlier hour and were seated right away.

When ordering Tapas the idea is to order 

several options that come in small portions and 

let everyone sample a small serving of each.

Shown above is a flavored potato croquet

and some fried and salted peppers.

This is a VERY SMALL type of hamburger,

it was not so easy to divide and share...

A chicken marinated salad is above and also

shown is a chicken vegetable kabob as well

as a fetta cheese tomato salad with tomato bread.

The salad was my favorite of the night.

My other favorite was this delicious 

plate of sauteed mushrooms.  

No one wanted to share with me!

Cody was worried that he was not going to get filled

up, so we ordered this plate of cold, sliced meats.

With more tomato bread and meat 

sandwiches we had a very nice meal!

Another fun adventure in Barcelona!

Barcelona, Spain Day Three-"Making A Splash"~

While the sun was shining Cody decided we 

needed to revisit the seaside and see if he 

could go for it and take a plunge in the icy water.

 The wind was blowing which created some great

waves but dampened the desire a bit to get wet.

 After 5 minutes of comtemplation Cody went for it!!

Dad had a great laugh at Cody's enthusiasm!

 Shaking off the cold after a couple of dunks.

 Going back for more!

 Jim still had not "manned up" as Cody says, and

jumped in.  But he was quick to point out a big

wave coming towards Cody and then turn and

run away himself-Cody took it all in stride.

Despite the freezing water that exhausted his

strength, Cody's glad he took the plunge despite

his Dad's lack of enthusiasm to join him. :-)