What I love about Barcelona: Gaudi

Though I am not a fancy architect like Dianne, it does not take much training to be in awe of the Gaudi architecture sprinkled around Barcelona. We had the pleasure of hitting the highlights below:

Sagrada Família

My jaw literally dropped when I laid eyes on this magnificent church. I can only pray that it will be done sometime in my lifetime, and before I am too old to hobble out there and see it, but I'm sure that is what people thought in the 1880s when they started building it. There is so much history in every nook and cranny, and the details are absolutely amazing. 

Park Güell

It's almost heartbreaking to enjoy the park so much and think that it was considered a failure during Gaudi's lifetime. Originally built to be a housing development, only two houses were built, and Gaudi bought one! We loved the wall designed to look like a surfing wave and the sculptures everywhere, though I had to explain to Patrick that the dragon spitting out water was not, in fact, a public water fountain. If you have time, this is a relaxing break from the city - Gaudi even designed the benches to be exceptionally comfortable. I can only imagine what the houses would cost if they redeveloped it today... 

Casa Batlló

Along with purchasing a big house in Park Güell, I would love to go back in time and be the middle class family for whom Gaudi designed this house! I can't decide if I liked the mosaics covering the front or the skull balconies better. Either way, this is worth gazing at for a good while! 

La Pedrera

At the advice of our friend Caitlin, we actually paid the steep entrance fee to see the inside of La Perera (also known as Casa Milà). The apartment furnished in early 1900s style showed just how painfully meticulous Gaudi was. He even designed the door handles to fit your hand as you opened the door or window. The attic houses a small museum of Gaudi's works. The real gem; however, was at the top. Not only were the rooftop views fabulous, but the architecture of the roof showed, yet again, how Gaudi thought his projects all the way through. The chimneys were even beautiful and looked like women looking over the city in a cluster. In the picture above, Patrick and I are standing next to one such chimney that was decorated in a broken wine bottle mosaic. The rooftop alone was definitely worth the entrance fee! 

What I love about Barcelona: Culture

I fell in love during our recent trip to Barcelona - and not with a beautiful Catalan dancer, but with the amazing city! We saw so much during our four day weekend in the warm, gorgeous city that I had a hard time dissecting the best pieces. First and foremost: the culture.

The pride of Barcelona runs deep. As a Texan, I thought I would understand that, but I feel as though Texas has met its European match, and I'm pretty sure the Catalan people have us beat. Yes, some Texan mustered up enough signatures for an official petition to gain independence from the USA, but our Governor quickly shot it down. Catalonia, on the other-hand, is dead serious. Just a couple days ago, their regional president actually had the people of Catalonia vote on whether or not they want to seek independence (though it did not pass). They have their own Catalan language and even their own Catalan sign language. Their soccer team, FC Barcelona, is even perhaps more loved than our new favorite FC Bayern Munich.

Their culture has some interesting history as well. When Francisco Franco took over Spain in 1939, he was threatened by the Catalan pride. He tried to destroy parts of their culture to secure his position of power, which included banning the language and their traditional dance, the Sardana. Though he was in power for over 30 years, the Catalan culture prevailed.

All of this leads to my hands-down favorite part of our Barcelona trip. On Saturday nights and Sunday mornings in front of the amazing Catedral de Barcelona, a band sets up and hundreds of people, teenagers to deep-80s, gather in circles to dance the traditional Catalan folk dance, the Sardana. This video does not do it justice. This is a must-see in Barcelona, and an amazing demonstration of what makes Barcelona so fabulous!