Gaudi's Barcelona

Stan

We took a few days off last week and went to Barcelona. We walked miles, sampling the tapas along the way.

To keep it simple I am posting some of Antoni Gaudi's work. There is too much to see for one post.

Gaudi is NUTS. I got this impression every time I saw some of his work. The obvious example is the Casa Batllo with its famous frontage. Most of the building is open to the public. You take MP3 player and listen to the commentary as you walk round. This goes some way to explain his thought process.

Casa Batllo



The centre of the building has a stair well with a skylight on either side to allow light and ventilation to the lower rooms. the blue tiles become darker as you go up to decrease the lights intensity.



On the roof are Chimneys, covered with mosiac tiling


The Sagrada Familia is the temple he began building, which is still being built today After the first stone was laid in 1882

The Passion Facade




The Nativity Facade


The Nativity Facade


Park Guell is on a hill, overlooking Barcelona.


There are 3 kilometres of paths on the hill, with paths supported by pillars with more strange detailing




The site was originally designed as a housing estate but only 2 houses were built



I hope you enjoyed my brief tour

Stan

wxwax

Yes, I did. Thanks!

First time I saw Gaudi's work, I felt like I was on another planet. Bizarre and captivating. I fully intend to see it in person someday.

Tee Why

muy interesante.

ChrisJ

Was there an event going on at the catedral? It doesn't look like you were allowed in... I may have to pull up my pictures from 1996 to see how it's progressed!

Very cool. We didn't get to many of the other Gaudi sites. Thanks for the tour!

ShepsMom

I love the very first shot! Excellent

Stan

wxwax wrote:

Yes, I did. Thanks!

First time I saw Gaudi's work, I felt like I was on another planet. Bizarre and captivating. I fully intend to see it in person someday.

Thanks Sid, I hope you make it. I have always enjoyed his work and it was great to be able to run away for a while to see some of his work for real.

Tee Why wrote:

muy interesante.

Thanks Tee

ChrisJ wrote:

Was there an event going on at the catedral? It doesn't look like you were allowed in... I may have to pull up my pictures from 1996 to see how it's progressed!

Very cool. We didn't get to many of the other Gaudi sites. Thanks for the tour!

No, sorry, me and sleep don't go well, so I get up early, leave the wife asleep, ask at reception to wake the wife at a sensible hour and come back full of coffee when she is ready for breakfast. The Sagrada Familia doesn't open until 9 o'clock, I wasn't going to wait that long Crowds were a real problem, especially on Saturday. But we were done by then and spent most of the time eating tapas and waiting to fly home...

This was taken in the catedral at 08.07 am

The cleaners are cleaning the altar

This one was taken at 10.41 am

After 1 o'clock you have to join the queue and pay to go in.


Cheers
Stan

wxwax

Holy cow, quite a difference. The early bird gets the cathedral, eh?

Stan

wxwax wrote:

Holy cow, quite a difference. The early bird gets the cathedral, eh?

And the bat gets to play with Dgrin it's 00.50 here

wxwax

Stan wrote:

And the bat gets to play with Dgrin it's 00.50 here

Just take a jaunt over to Biggleswade for a drink with Algy.

Stan

That's about 15 minutes away, my sister in law lives there. Who is Algy?

Stan

wxwax

Stan wrote:

That's about 15 minutes away, my sister in law lives there. Who is Algy?

Stan

You don't know Biggles?

Stan

wxwax wrote:

You don't know Biggles?

That's the Shuttleworth collection. I haven't been there since I was my sons age (8)

That would be great. My son loves planes. I'll see what I can do.

Great Idea

Stan

Richard

Nice stuff, Stan. Gaudi was one tripped out dude. You can tell he spent many hours just staring at burning candle wicks. I don't know if they'll ever finish the Sagrada Familia. The Vatican has never been too happy about it, partly because it will be bigger than St. Peter's in Rome but mostly because much of the ornamentation is distinctly pagan. Even if they do complete it, it will not measure up to his vision. You can see the difference between the facade that he completed (astounding) and the more recent one (ho hum). That's because he worked with a known group of craftsmen and improvised much of the decoration ("I think we need a gigantic turtle right there...").

Post some more.

Cheers,

Stan

Thanks Richard.
Like a lizard climbing down the wall...


The difference between the two facads is huge, the Nativity Facade is so finely detailed compared to the "blockishness" (word?) of the Passion facade


The rest of Barcelona can be found here.

Cheers
Stan

DucCat

Stan,

the images are lovely,I was in spain in 2004 for a few weeks when I was on a trip and I am wondering when the Sagrada is destined to be finished? Did you you by chance go to the sunflower house? It is my favorite:D

jthomas

My only visit to Barcelona was in 1963. I have a picture of the Sagrada Familia from that trip. I'm disappointed to hear that it's still not finished!

Nice series; thanks for posting.

HarlanBear

DucCat wrote:

Stan,

the images are lovely,I was in spain in 2004 for a few weeks when I was on a trip and I am wondering when the Sagrada is destined to be finished? Did you you by chance go to the sunflower house? It is my favorite:D

Scheduled to be completed around 2026, but .... not sure what time.