We weren't sure how we were going to be feeling on our first full day, after the flight the day before. Amazingly, everyone was up and feeling fairly well rested and ready to go by about 8:30 in the morning.
I had a few ideas of what we could do in the morning. Most appealing to everyone was Casa Mila, as recommended by Kathy's sister. We needed to take the port bus to the Columbus monument, and then the metro to get close to the building. We had a little hiccup to start, when the port bus driver couldn't break our 50€ bill, and we had nothing smaller. We buddied up with a couple from Australia in the same situation so we had a party of 8, which he could make change for. We enjoyed talking to the couple; among other things, they mentioned that we should see the Barcelona Cathedral. She specifically commented on the ducks, saying that they were beautiful, but she had no idea why they were there. (More on this later in the day!)
We strolled partway up the Ramblas since Kathy and Tony hadn't seen it at all yesterday. It was pretty quiet in the morning, with the street performers only beginning to set up.
The Barcelona metro is super easy (more like the manageable DC metro and less like the overwhelming NYC metro!). We made our way to the stop closest to Casa Mila with no problems.
First views of the building:
This site can't get pretty crowded and is one of the attractions where tour books recommend advance purchase. We must have arrived early enough, because we walked right in with no wait. The official name is Casa Mila, but the building is commonly referred to as La Padrera (stone quarry) because of the resemblance of the building exterior. Designed by Gaudí in the early 1900s, this building is a fascinatingly different look at his style from his other iconic work, Sagrada Familia.
In the courtyard, looking up. Most of the floors are still residences.
Fresco in the foyer, and the "garage" door.
After the courtyard, you proceed straight to the rooftop. This is, by far, the best part of the building. The views are not bad, but the architecture on the roof is amazing. Each of the structures serves some functional purpose - chimney, air vent, etc. Sure looks better than chimneys at home!
Some of the cool things about Casa Mila is the roof is like a maze. -Rudy
The roof was cool because it was so non-geometric. The chimneys looked like snakes with helmets. -Brady
Looking over the skyline, with Sagrada Familia in the background
This was more interesting than I thought it would be. Very cool interior courtyard, awesome roof....All of the roof structures are functional - chimneys or exhaust vents. Some are covered in broken champagne bottles, some in ceramic. There are two arches through which you can see Sagrada Familia. -James
After the rooftop, you work your way down the top few flights of stairs that are preserved from the original period of completion. One floor included information about Gaudí and his background, education, and techniques. Having only ever associated Sagrada Familia and its "drip castle" appearance with Gaudí, it was fascinating to learn more about this architect, particularly when compared to what we learned about Frank Lloyd Wright in PA. Wright seemed to focus more on design and was rather haphazard in the actual structural integrity. Gaudí, meanwhile, had specific techniques to ensure the integrity of his buildings.
To scale model of the building:
Gaudí's unique approach to understanding load capacity of the structure. He would create an hang chains upside down. The subsequent natural caternary arch, when duplicated right side up, would thus support the weight of the building. When viewed upside down, or in a mirror, they showed him perfectly balanced catenary arches. He would then use this to build his model. On the left, you see the suspended chains; on the right is the mirror reflection.
Gaudí reflected nature throughout his designs. Even in the floor tiles of a child's bedroom:
Apartment interior. This wasn't nearly as interesting as the roof or the details of Gaudí's designs...
The balcony is rather imposing!
Back down in the courtyard. Our visit here took much longer than we expected it would, so we had to hustle out and back to the metro to get to our 12:15 entry time at Sagrada Familia!
One last view on the way out!
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