I
spent most of my Sunday hanging out in Costa, a coffee shop by campus, writing
essays and being moderately productive. We had off from school this past week
for “reading week”, and it’s finally living up to its name!
Tuesday
was our second day in Barcelona and Shiva, Hayley, and I spent the majority of
the day Gaudi site-hopping! We started the morning off with breakfast at Paul’s (a bakery near the hostel), where I got a delicious apple tart and a coffee for
just two Euros.
Our
first stop of the day was La Sagrada Familia, a huge Roman Catholic Church in the center
of the city. Construction began in 1882 and it’s still not done! The outside
was bizarrely intricate and absolutely covered in stone carvings.
The
inside of La Sagrada Familia was by far my favorite part of the church: there were huge white stone columns
everywhere, gorgeous, bright stained glass, and there was a beautiful symmetry to
the whole structure.
After
walking around the bottom we headed up to the top of one of the towers via a
small elevator. The views from the top were amazing! You could see the entire
city, with the beach and the mountains in the background. I definitely recommend
paying the extra three Euros to go to the top.
From
the church we walked to L’illa de Gracia, a vegetarian/vegan restaurant with a
lot of traditional Catalan foods. I ended up getting a delicious whole wheat crêpe
smothered in a local cheese sauce and mushrooms and a lemon mouse for dessert.
Yum!
Once
we finished lunch we left the restaurant to head down the Passeig de Gracia, a
major road in the city that also happens to house some of Gaudi’s famous Casas.
Our
first major sight was Casa Fuster, a swanky five star hotel/historic building tucked among the upscale shops on
the road.
Our
next stop was Casa Mila (also known
as La Pedrera), built by Gaudi. Wiki describes the façade as “undulating”, but
trippy might be a better descriptor. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to go
inside, but it was fun to see it from the outside!
Our
final stop on the Passeig de Gracia was Casa Batllo, also
designed by—you guessed it!—Gaudi. I think we should get bonus points, because
the building was right next to Casa Amateller, a pretty building covered in
mosaics. Casa Batllo is another of Gaudi’s famous, beautiful, and gaudy (Gaudi.
Gaudy. Get it? Get it?) works. For the price of two meals (14 Euros; Barcelona
needs to take a cue from London and start making art free) we got to go on a tour
of the house, complete with awkward audio set.
If
you thought the outside was weird, it pales in comparison to the interior of Casa
Batllo. Mushroom shaped fireplaces, twisted walls, and insane asylum style
white hallways made for an interesting hour and a half spent touring the building.
My favorite parts were the roof (full of weirdly curving mosaic structures) and
the light well, a sort of enclosed courtyard full of blue tiles and, shockingly
enough, light.
It
was getting dark by the time we left Casa Batllo so we headed off the main
street to find a grocery store for dinner and see a few more sites. We wandered
around a pretty church, got churros (I will forever regret only getting one; I
think I could live off those things), and saw Casa Comalat, also by Gaudi. If
you’re looking to drop a few million Euros, it’s currently for sale!
We
finished the day up by walking back to the hostel, loaded with dinner supplies
and tired feet. We got to see La Sagrada Familia at night, ooked dinner in our
hostel kitchen (whole wheat pasta with pesto, broccoli, and onions, and a baguette),
and promptly fell asleep.
