Gaudi's Barcelona

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Off to an early start again to once more beat the crowds to Casa Batllo one of Gaudi's most famous moderniste houses. It is a wonder that he was permitted to build such a place in the early 1900's with everything else being so stayed. I won't deliver a treatise on Gaudi and the moderniste movement, suffice it so say that the craftmanship was excellent, a lot of the features very inventive with the whole thing feeling almost like it cocoons you.

After a couple of hours at Casa Batllo we ventured out to Parc Guell where Gaudi lived for a time creating an otherwordly park that he envisioned as forming part of a housing estate. The park is well worth a visit for the views over Barcelona alone. The crazy architecture lifts it to another level.

After walking our legs off for the better part of 6 hours we retreated to a bar on the Placa del Sol for vino, tapas and people watching and finished the day at a restaurant across the lane from the hotel where pretty much the only thing on the menu I recognised was paella. What a hardship.

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