We had been quite early to bed but unfortunately slept badly - a heavy cover on the bed that isn't what we are used to. Hence, we stayed in bed for a bit in the morning. There is no point getting up early anyway because nothing opens nor do the streets start to come alive until 10am. We found a little place to have a coffee and small omelette for breakfast, the omelette appearing rather surprisingly inside a bread roll.
We made our way north to Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's stunning cathedral, which was started in 1882 (141 years ago) and will hopefully be finished in just another 10 years' time. We have been inside several times - in 1982 and again in 2009. It must be time for another inside visit, but this time we contented ourselves with looping around it. What a sight! It is so enormously complex that it is very hard to make sense of it all. When completed it will have 18 spires, the tallest and largest of which is being built now and will become the tallest church spire in the world. We took plenty of time doing our circuit, gazing up at the incredible artistry and vision that has gone into it. There had been huge progress since we last walked round it, not that long ago. The executive architect happens to be a New Zealander!
From Sagrada Familia we headed towards Palau Guell, another of architect Antoni Gaudi's most famous edifices. It was closed for much of a decade from 2004 for structural repairs, and we only realised today that it was open for visits. Eusebio Guell was a rich industrialist who had been Gaudi's main sponsor and client, and the Palau was built for him and his family in 1882-3. Once again, another amazing place of enormous complexity. It must have been the equivalent of a 10-million-dollar mansion when built. The sheer amount of hand-crafted wood and ironwork was astounding, many many man-years of effort.
 |
| Street frontage, with enormous doors suitable for horses and carriages, which head via a ramp to underground stables.  |
 |
| Performance hall, orchestra mezzanine top left |
 |
| A random detail of column decoration |
 |
| Roof with standard Gaudi chimneys |
It was far more than a house for a couple and their two children. Most of it was designed for entertaining, with many beautiful halls and rooms, a magnificent pipe organ, a balcony for an orchestra and even a chapel. While we were going around it the organ burst into song, quite a moving experience.
It's been an amazing year for us for architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright's Tokyo Hotel kicked it off, followed by Le Corbusier's studio and home in Paris, Victor Horta's home in Brussels, Gaudi's Palau Guell. Mies van der Rohe's Tugendhat House is to come in 2 day's time. They've been a highlight of our travels.
We managed to start lunch at the very Spanish hour of 2:30pm, at a little 8-table restaurant near our room. We had to wait for a table, as it was very popular. A last plate of chipirones, some bacalao and we were set.
Back for a siesta, then out again for a small snack and then final repacking for Ryanair to Vienna and bus to Brno tomorrow.
