I was left wanting so much more after last time I visited Barcelona. This post from back then tells of a whirlwind trip jam-packed full with wonderful, and I wish I had read it again before now because I had forgotten about the mercury fountain, and I could have seen it this time, dammit!
So this trip I wanted to make sure I at least had a full day there.
The great place I had stayed in last time was full, and we made the mistake of booking an apartment in the old town. Not such a bad mistake if you don’t mind parking the car a few blocks away and walking with your kids and the combined six weeks worth of travel baggage through the streets and then up about five flights of stairs.
And not such a bad mistake if you don’t mind noise, and no tv, wifi (we needed to book our next two accommodation stops – the perils of having no itinerary), or even power (we had a blackout the first night – not the fault of the apartment, but still).
Our apartment was big, breezy, and clean, but it looked out to a light well, and honestly I would have preferred street noise to the window-side conversation and hair-dryer of the resident just over there…
I feel like a whinger but I had my hopes set so high for Barcelona that I became quickly disgruntled with the city after our first night there. I had a feeling of claustrophobia in the old part of town. Kind of trapped. I don’t know why, perhaps because I was exhausted after working seven days a week for almost a year and then going on this crazy driving holiday, but it was an awful feeling.
Shame, because it was a lovely old building.
We spent a lengthy part of the morning in a cafe with computers open, searching for our next bed and then finally walked the long, crowded streets to the beautiful Casa Batllo.
It was then that I realised the trip was well worth it.
I am insanely in love with Gaudi. His imagination. His vision.
Every corner of that house bought a smile to my face. How lucky that family was to live in such an incredible home!
My head filled with fantasies of what early 1900’s life must have been like there. It took me on my own little sub-holiday.
The best part for me was that you could touch everything.
I am a toucher. I love to touch and feel things and the smoother, the more it moulds to my finger or hand, the better. Casa Batllo is a total sensory experience and Gaudi has considered people like me in every curve. This door frame, for example, fit so well in my fingers. Sublime.
This light well in the centre of the building is a great example of Gaudi’s brilliance and mastery of holistic architecture.
Over the many levels, the windows and tiles change from light blue and large windows at the bottom to dark blue and smaller windows at the top, optimising the light well to provide an even distribution of … light.
It’s a simple idea, but genius nonetheless.
Sated (well, I was at least) we walked back
for a late afternnon stroll through Parc Guell.
Unlike last time (when my kids were sooo cute) we didn’t go in the paid entrance, just wandered around the public area.
It was beautiful, but we were getting pretty exhausted.
That night, grubby and tired, I was stoked that we could find the fantastic cava/tapas bar we went to last time, Sagardi. But there were no free tables and we needed to sit, so we went to the a la carte restaurant attached to the bar thinking the fare would be the same.
It was one of those too late moments. We’d been given water, napkins on laps, and we read the menu to find a more offal-based choice that was really expensive.
It just goes to show that as much as you think you can repeat a fabulous experience, it’s so very rare. Each fabulous experience needs to be enjoyed like you would never have it again.
Sagrada Familia with a vapour trail is pretty fantastic though!
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