It was a brisk 1.2 mile slightly uphill walk this morning to Casa Batllo for our 9:30 fast pass entry. The briskness was necessitated by our not leaving enough time for a more leisurely stroll.
Click Read More below right.
Click Read More below right.
[Although nowhere as good as being there in person, there is a good virtual tour where you can navigate your way through a set of high resolution 360° PhotoSpheres of the rooms of the house: www.casabatllo.es/en/virtual-tour/]
In 1904 Josep Batllo i Casanovas commissioned Antonio Gaudi the Modernista architect to renovate an existing 1875 building. The results are truly amazing. There are virtual no right angles to be seen. The multi-media smart phone tour took us through the main floor of the building were the Batllo family lived, out onto their open-air patio.
Floors 2 through 4 contained rented apartments and are not open to the public, the 5th which housed the staff has striking catenary arch ceilings and the roof is a wonderland of helicoidal chimneys topped with conical caps that were then covered in glass and broken ceramics at the tippity-top of which are clear glass balls filled with different colors of sand. The fantastical façade undulates and glows with a virtual rainbow of color. Hopefully the photographs will do it justice.
We stopped for lunch at an outdoor café and rested our weary bones.Then we did some errands (which included gathering meat, cheese and wine for dinner) and getting SIM cards to make our unlocked phones operational.
Harry then headed back to the apartment while Ben and Marsha toured the 14th century Gothic Cathedral of Barcelona, which included an elevator ride to the roof to take in the view.
This evening we are off to the Palau de la Musica de Catalana for a performance of Flamenco Guitar and Dance. The Palau was completed in 1908 features an exceptional interior by Lluis Domenech I Montaner. The concert hall features a kaleidoscopic skylight around which a choir singing around the sun. Considering that we will be visiting another Gaudi sight tomorrow this will provide some architectural contrast.
In 1904 Josep Batllo i Casanovas commissioned Antonio Gaudi the Modernista architect to renovate an existing 1875 building. The results are truly amazing. There are virtual no right angles to be seen. The multi-media smart phone tour took us through the main floor of the building were the Batllo family lived, out onto their open-air patio.
Floors 2 through 4 contained rented apartments and are not open to the public, the 5th which housed the staff has striking catenary arch ceilings and the roof is a wonderland of helicoidal chimneys topped with conical caps that were then covered in glass and broken ceramics at the tippity-top of which are clear glass balls filled with different colors of sand. The fantastical façade undulates and glows with a virtual rainbow of color. Hopefully the photographs will do it justice.
We stopped for lunch at an outdoor café and rested our weary bones.Then we did some errands (which included gathering meat, cheese and wine for dinner) and getting SIM cards to make our unlocked phones operational.
Harry then headed back to the apartment while Ben and Marsha toured the 14th century Gothic Cathedral of Barcelona, which included an elevator ride to the roof to take in the view.
This evening we are off to the Palau de la Musica de Catalana for a performance of Flamenco Guitar and Dance. The Palau was completed in 1908 features an exceptional interior by Lluis Domenech I Montaner. The concert hall features a kaleidoscopic skylight around which a choir singing around the sun. Considering that we will be visiting another Gaudi sight tomorrow this will provide some architectural contrast.
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