A Bit of Gaudi

Sometimes a great holiday can be tarnished by local rogues. We’d been fairly impressed with a seeming absence of people sleeping rough and a limited number of beggars on the street. But, and yes there is often a “but”, our appraisal of the City was to be changed when we descended into the Metro.

Having checked out the metro map we pondered on the instructions on the automated ticket dispenser before realising that the instructions could be selected in English and multiple single journey tickets purchased in “one go”. At the time of writing this a journey anywhere on the Metro costs a mere 1.25 Euro and I reckon it’s far easier to get around underground than it is to catch a bus.

The Metro was clean and bright and the six of us felt confident as we passed through the automated barrier to access the station. We chatted about the Gaudi apartments and our expectations of the Park and whilst the other five sat down I wandered the platform taking the odd photograph.

The train’s arrival is counted down on an overhead TV screen and due to my wanderings I boarded by a different entrance to the rest of my family. As I approached them my attention was drawn to the closing door that had trapped the heel of a youth. He, however, seemed un-phased by it and wriggled free before haring off down the platform. I thought this all a little strange especially when I heard that he’d got on the train in front of my family. Indeed just as the train stopped he had stepped in front of my wife and delayed them all getting into the carriage. Once on the train my daughter-in-law had stopped a young girl (about 15) from delving into her handbag.

When she’d been rumbled she had promptly left the train and at that point my eldest son noticed that a zipper on his rucksack had been opened. With some relief he checked that his Lomo camera was still there and was relieved that it was – perhaps due to the fact that it looks, on first glance, like a cheap disposable. He was livid that someone had tried to rob him but this turned to amusement when he realised that they’d stolen a pair of cheap sunglasses with scratched lens that pop out when touched.

It was on hearing of the events I recalled a friend’s experience in Barcelona. Exactly the same scenario – a group of tourists had been delayed getting onto a train, by the time they got on the ones at the back of the queue has had their bags rifled through and with a bit of natural jostling a further pick-pocketing was completed on the train before the gang turned back to exit the train just at the point that the train doors were closing. We were lucky as my friend’s group lost credit cards and cash.

Being aware of the above might protect you. Good luck!

The Guell Park is a real delight and I’d certainly recommend a visit. It’s easily accessible by metro and then a short well signposted stroll to the Park. It was conceived by Eusebi Guell who commissioned Gaudi to design and build a “garden city” alongside the Guell estate. The project itself failed and Gaudi continued to develop his concept of the people’s park. His aspiration was to blend architectural constructions into nature and develop an affinity with natural vegetation. The three kilometres of winding pathways take the casual stroller close to architectural designs of pure Gaudi fantasy and enable them to totally unwind from the pressures of busy city life.

The entrance to this magnificent park set the scene for the rest of our visit. It's like entering a modern day theme park and as this was a park built for the people it is still free to enter. There are downfalls because as it’s a major tourist attraction and there are very few places where you can escape the crowds. That I guess would please Gaudi! But take some walks off the beaten track and you’ll be able to get closer to Gaudi’s dream and find a little tranquillity.

At the entrance magnificent wrought iron gates are guarded by turreted houses with icing sugar roofs and lying directly in front of us was the famous mosaic lizard water feature. This was a mass of contrasting colours and is such a popular feature that we were only pleased to get close enough to inspect. Of course this wasn’t the last we saw of Guell’s mosaics and although I’d like to think that this was recycling at its best, I actually suspect that these tiles were purposely smashed for the designer.

At the top of the park was the superb seated arena with the gently flowing seating providing a place to sit and relax (although there were very few seats available!) with some magnificent views over the city. What a gift! We did manage to grab a vacated seat and appreciated the rest, the view and the live music being performed by a couple of local buskers (although they did get a wee bit repetive after a time).

On the way up to the “upper terrace we’d stopped off to admire The Sala Hipostila (also known as the Temple Doric). This elaborate “building” was originally built to house a weekly market and its magnificent 89 columns made us feel that we were in the centre of an ancient Roman building. Looking “heavenward the ceiling is dotted with the trade mark mosaics in bright and sunny designs. The acoustics were brilliant and as we were imagining the hubbub that would have been if the place was operating as a market a lone violinist opened up the first few bars of his impromptu recital.

How brilliant was that!

But the usefulness of the building does not stop there – the perimeter columns leaning into the centre act as buttresses and some have internal channel that carry the rain water from the square above to the centre’s water tank.

How cunning is that!

There is a labyrinth of gently sloping roads weaving around the park all supported by some of the craziest arches and support columns that you could ever imagine. This “Viaducte Baix” provides the support for pathways and offers an almost surreal experience for the visitor. Although manmade structures they almost appear to mimic the complete root structures of mighty trees and certainly blend well into the park’s landscape. Indeed looking though the arches to the wooded area outside we could almost believe that we were standing in the shade of a magnificent Oak Tree.

We settled down under some of these arches to enjoy the shade, take a few photos and just enjoy the fact that we’d stumbled upon a very quiet place in the park. Park Guell is a magnificent place that I believe is an essential place to visit on a trip to Barcelona.

Make sure you give it a go!

In the Park Guell make sure that you set some time aside to visit Gaudi’s house. As you would expect it’s a quirky place and the guide-book says that it has “maintained the structure” of when Gaudi lived there. It is absolutely crammed full of treasures - a veritable Aladdin’s cave!

There's an enforced intimacy about the museum as it's fairly small with narrow staircases and there's a constant jostling for position. There must be some controls for numbers entering but we didn't have to wait too long and used the double ticket that we'd bought at Casa Batloo (making admission much cheaper).

The house was Gaudi's home from 1906 (at the point of completion, so he was the first occupant) until his untimely death in 1926 and although there are loads of fascinating pieces in the house, just take a few moments out to gaze through the windows onto the views that Gaudi had given himself. The compact garden has a variety of the gratings that Gaudi designed (who would have ever thought back in the early 1900’s that grate covers could be anything other than utilitarian objects) being displayed comfortably alongside sculptures and of course the viewing of these works of art from the different levels of the house gives varying impressions of them. And like much of Gaudi’s work at Guell Park these strange and often perverse articles seem to fit so well with the natural vegetation that surrounds them.

Inside is a paradise for any one with a timber fetish (if such a thing exists!) as it's full of some of Gaudi's inspirational furniture. Each piece seems to have been built taking full account of the "flow of the wood" and the knots and "growth lines" are fully incorporated into the piece of art. Certainly these articles of furniture were built to be used but the eye of the artist was forever evident. Indeed some of the pieces seem almost too delicate to take the weight of a person and are certainly too highly decorated to be used just as seats! The mirrored finishes reflect (yes they are highly polished) the amount of tender care that must have been placed into the completion of every single piece.

It was a real tight squeeze getting up and down the staircases but it truly is worth checking out each of the floors. There are paintings, some original Gaudi sketches and I guess one of the most intriguing pieces was a large chunky chair (to be found on the top floor) with some real detailed carvings of a cat peeping out from behind the tassels of the Chair towards a rat. Surprisingly these chairs are known affectionately as the “cats and rats chairs”!

Carefully shown in a cabinet is a magnificent sculpture of a young girl relaxing in a Chair. This was sculpted by a guy called Venanci Vallmitjana (I’ve personally never heard of him before) and given as a present to Gaudi.

But don’t only pay attention to the furniture because the ceilings and the light fitments are also works of art in their own right. Beautiful chandeliers in a variety of styles hang from finely decorated ceilings (some seem almost like fine tapestry work) with the odd ceiling boss worthy of close scrutiny.

The museum is a right treat and I would have happily spent more time here. Unfortunately we were running out of time and the Park and the City help more treasure for us.

The roof spaces are never usually designed to inspire and often you’d only clamber to the top to explore the view, but here at Casa Mila you’ll get the best of both worlds. There’s almost a 360° panorama of the City’s skyscape, but more impressive is the Gaudi influence on the foreground. It’s almost weaved into the cityscape and although this will have changed considerably over the years it’s almost as if Gaudi took account of it when undertaking the work high up here on the roof of Casa Mila.

Of course like many rooftops there’s a plethora of chimney pots but these are somewhat different - there’s a myriad of colours on the curious shaped stacks and for Lewis Caroll fans you’d almost be excused thinking that you’d passed through Alice’s looking glass. The chimneys twist and turn with each curve lovingly covered in shiny mosaic tiling. Each stack is topped with a carefully crafted pyramid and a tiny sphere seems to hang timorously at the pinnacle. Each one is unique.

At one end of the roof is a curiously shaped building, which I suspect must have been a storage space at one time. People were queuing up enter, so of course we need to join the throng and check out the inside of the building. Some people come out looking slightly bemused whilst others seem highly animated and excited. We wait in line! We didn’t need to wait that long and we entered the “ginger bread house” into a dimly lit room with a water feature as a centrepiece. I didn’t really grasp the point of this and although it was “interesting” I think I left with that “slight bemused look” on my face.

To the side of this attic annex there were some “different views” across town as I peered through the facia of the building and glanced up to a stylish and ornate cross that sat stylishly on the top of the “ginger bread house”.

On the floor below the rooftop is a perfectly well preserved wash room area. I’m guessing that it must have been a bit of a drag having to lug everything up to the top floor but the detail that has gone into this attic space is no less than anywhere else in the house.

A Beautifully arched room shows glimpses of light from the small windows reflecting onto the chequered floor. The original small washroom spaces off a fascinatingly white arched arched corridor are still there to check out and although these are utilitarian spaces they’re still nicely kitted out. The large arched room has a simple message from Gaudi provided from a hologram installation on the wall. It’s kind of spooky but really brings home the impact that this man still has on the architecture of Barcelona.

There’s a beautifully crafted spiral staircase almost hidden from anything other than preying eyes and once again although it’s not in full view the craftsmanship and eye for detail is almost beyond belief. Certainly in many houses of its age this would have been a basic construction. But not in Casa Batllo.

An amazing part of the house which continues the "theme" of a fairy-time experience.

Before you even enter the Mila you’re with the strange and yet fascinating world of Gaudi – the building looks “off the wall” from the main street and I could feel the excitement building as I neared the front of the queue for the ticket booth. The mosaic walls are enhanced by the organic curves of the bow windows and the randomly shaped and positioned balconies. Delicately carved “twig like” columns serve more as decorative additions rather than structural support and the 20 plus windows over 5 floors almost seem to be smiling down at us. This place has character and really doesn’t seem to be an inanimate building – I know that sounds daft, but the house does seem to “live”.

Once inside two magnificent decorative vases catch our attention (you’d actually be hard-pressed to ignore this colourful twosome) standing proudly on tall tables on the highly polished wooden floor under an eye-like inset light and in the stairwell of a fantastic wooden staircase. The detail, even at this early point of our visit is incredible and I’m both amused and fascinated by the beautifully finished and unique wavy skirting board.

It’s impossible not to caress the stair rail as we ascend to the first floor and enter a womb like ante room. Throughout the building elaborate leaded windows abound and there’s an abundance of fascinating, dare I say fantastic (in the literal sense) chandeliers, and some truly amazing windows. The walls of the house are creatively sculptured confirming my belief that this dwelling almost “lives”. There’s a brilliant, almost amusing, log burning stove set back in a recessed accessed by a mushroom shaped open entrance. In this recess are a couple of bench seat, fully integrated with the tiled walls, where on a cold winter’s day the house’s occupants could snuggle down to keep warm.

The main room of the first floor is exquisite with its sensational partially stained glassed windows, their intriguing shape and those delicate pillars. A myriad of colours and shadows drench the room giving a surreal sensation on the senses. Although I felt things couldn’t get any better the house piles more of the Gaudi experience on to you.

Magnificent shaped and sculptured doors give a soft and delicate feel to the entrances and the amazing atrium, with a bizarre four-person lift is just amazing to behold. It’s tiled in beautifully contrasting blues that catches the light to perfection and numerous windows look down on to this open-air courtyard.

We headed next for the house’s courtyard and garden space. By now you won’t be surprised to read that once again this space is “littered with mosaics” and the view of the back of the house, with its fine wrought iron balconies is almost reminiscent of an ocean liner. The lines of the house undulate both horizontally and vertically given the house a unique appearance.

We’d walked up the stairs and I was determined to trey out the lift. However, it’s real small so I was guaranteed a wait. Not that it mattered because there were plenty of things to check out whilst waiting: the crazy doors that open onto the landing; the immaculate tiling; the carefully constructed lift space; the airiness of the atrium, beautifully constructed, staircases; shiny marbled steps. Just to highlight a few!
The journey down in the lift was steady and comfortable but you wouldn’t want to suffer from claustrophobia and having reached the bottom I couldn’t resist climbing the staircase once again to check out parts that I'd missed on my ascent.

What a great, fascinating experience - can't recommned it highly enough.