Wednesday 14 October - Trip to Barcelona

[Photos: Full up!, Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, a random building, Casa Mila]

 

Up a bit slowly, the late nights on the book are taking their toll. Set the GPS for Figueres, as we were going to try to replace the one chipped saucer in the espresso set from there. Didn't take too long to get there, but for some reason the shop was shut, so we had to give it away. Given the time, we changed the GPS to allow toll roads, so we were able to blast our way south at a constant 120kmh on the cruise control. It is an incredibly efficient way of getting from place to place. Until we got near Barcelona, it was a cheap way too. Only 7€ to the outskirts of Barcelona, but another 2.50€ for the last few kilometres.

 

Found our way to the Catalonia Aragon Hotel where Sandy & Lynette were booked. Parking in Barcelona is around 20€/24 hours, and the hotel had it for 22, and the room wasn't too excessive, so for the sake of convenience we booked in too. By 2:30pm we were back outside in a small square near the hotel for lunchtime pastries. Prices in Spain are cheaper than France.

 

Karen & I had worked out that we needed to see Parc Guell today in order to have enough time for other Gaudi works on Thursday, so we all headed that way via Sagrada Familia to check opening times and queues. Quite a decent walk – over an hour and uphill. We do remember how far it was last time here, as we got lost and it seemed to take forever. Signposting of such places is a bit on the weak side, though the street names are well marked. The joy of having a map! Weather was mild without being hot, which meant the walk up to the park was not too bad.

 

A nice surprise, Parc Guell was free (gratuit) for once. We were not as thrilled with it as last time for some reason, maybe we had built it up in our minds. We remembered it remarkably well – the sloped stone columns at the top, the gatekeeper's lodge, the mosaics. Took a load of photos. Enjoyed the curved mosaic seats, the fan-palm gates and the entrance steps in particular. It was nice to get some better photos than the slides of 1982, which are a bit dull and becoming blotchy compared with modern digital versions. The big terrace with the curvy seats was packed with people quietly enjoying themselves and taking time out. I presume the locals enjoy the park as much as the tourists. We didn't go and see the Gaudi museum – really annoying as you can buy a (relatively) cheap double ticket for the Museum and Sagrada Familia, but only at Sagrada Familia.

 

From Parc Guell it was all downhill (literally) to Casa Mila (La Pedrera) in town – one of Gaudi's most famous buildings. We all loved the feel of Barcelona. The streets are so generous, as are the footpaths. All the intersections have the corner buildings chamfered, so the crossings are full of light, and there is room for footpath cafes. The buildings appear to have been built within a few decades as the styles are consistent. They are all heavily decorated, 6-7 stories high, have many balconies, which are protected with profuse and beautiful ironwork.

 

We had timed our arrival to Casa Mila perfectly – it was lit in evening sun and looked just splendid. We headed across the street to get a good look, and then back again to see about going through it. Last time, I don't remember it being open at all, except for the entry area. This time they had redone one of the apartments as it would have been when it was built, plus the roof was open, plus some of the attic space had been turned into a mini-museum. The price was fairly steep, so only I went through.

 

It was worth the price for me. The apartment was very good, the roof excellent and the attic area fascinating. I especially liked the incredible fine brick ribs that the Catalan craftsmen use, and the explanations of Gaudi's catenary curves worked out using string and lead shot weights, then turned upside-down for perfect load-bearing structures.

 

Finally back to our hotel, tired and footsore after a lot of walking. We weren't up to going out again for dinner, so justy had a bocadillo on the way back. Karen has some more revisions come in, so had to work until 2am again. Never write a non-fiction book. It is far too much work! The hotel had free internet – a real godsend, as I had some fixes for my work to sort out and send back. Absurd as it sounds, I can work on a computer in Motueka faster than on our silly little Aspire One netbook. However, it has done the job required of it perfectly – I'm sure we will take one away with us again.