Today was the day that I absolutely fell in love with the work of Antoni Gaudi, and secured the fact that we are definitely going to have to come back to this incredible city!
We started the day with a delicious and indulgent breakfast at a lovely local cafe (the restaurant in the hotel would have been extortionate). The croissants, coffee and freshly squeezed orange were delicious, and just what we needed to fuel another day with lots more sight-seeing! Having said that, we began with a bus ride!
We’d passed L’Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau while on the bus tour yesterday and were wowed by its beauty, so decided to pop by today to have a closer (and slower!) look, and to take some photos. We were not disappointed, and particularly enjoyed listening to and watching the wild cockatiels, who were noisily inhabiting the trees around the entrance! I think we’ll plan this place in for our next visit here.
From there, we pottered the 10 minute walk down the Avinguda de Gaudi, which leads directly from the repurposed hospital to the Sagrada Familia, and is lined with restaurants and gift shops (in one of which we purchased the obligatory magnet, and traditional Christmas Tree bauble).
We had had a brief view of Gaudi’s cathedral while on the bus tour, but looking up at it from pavement height (and having the time to drink it all in) gave me a new found respect for this incredible building project. It’s unsurprising that they are still building it (despite starting in 1882), as its complexities and sheer size were never going to be an overnight job! The current plan is for it to be finished by 2026, in time for the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death. Tom had visited in 2015, and was amazed by the progress in the four years since then! However, the actual front of it has not even been begun, but what-will-be the two sides have magnificent and facades of very different styles – one depicting the Nativity and the other the death of Jesus.
The Nativity Facade is gentle and very based in nature. The facade on the other side is angular and angry in its style. I’ll add more photos of this later.
We had prebooked both an entrance time for the cathedral, and also a guided tour (it was only 1 Euro more than the audio tour, and is always more pleasant and informative). The entrance involved airport-like security, where they scanned our bags. This should not have been a problem, except that Tom had packed two drone batteries in his rucksack (for charging our phones), which have wires sticking out of them, and therefore looked incredibly dodgy!! This took a little explaining, but the security guards seemed very laid back and quickly and happily sent us on our way!
We had 10 minutes or so perusing the outside, before beginning to tour. The guide was friendly and engaging and we thoroughly enjoyed hearing the history (and future) of the Sagrada Familiar and having fascinating details pointed out.
This model shows what the finished cathedral should look like. The bits in grey are what’s completed so far. 
After an explanation of the Nativity Facade, we entered the cathedral itself, through doors decorated with lovely bronze leaves. I was so gobsmacked that I think I probably missed the next 10 minutes or so of the tour, because I was so busy gawping at the absolutely incredible interior. Gaudi designed it to be all about light. On the eastern side, the stunningly beautiful (but simple) stained glass windows are all done in shades of blues and greens. On the western side, they are reds and yellows and oranges. And there are just so many of them! This lights up the enourmous space with great patches of rainbow-like light (which change constantly throughout the day) and it is gobsmackingly magnificent. Combined with the tree-like columns that hold up the ridiculously high roof and the towers above, and the abundance of natural curves everywhere you look, I really think this makes it my favourite building that I have ever visited. I really could have spent all day sitting in there. I was really torn whether to post these photos, as the surprise when you walk in is immense. However, I decided that if I’d known what it was like inside, I’d have come to Barcelona years ago, so hopefully it will encourage some of you to make the trip!
Unfortunately, the tour, of course, had to move on, so we stepped back out into the sunshine to examine the western facade. As I mentioned earlier, the statues and general design of this side is full of angry, serious angles, which were used deliberately in order to create a completely different mood to the other side of the building. The stages of the cross are depicted chronologically, following an S shape from bottom to top (as S was the inital of the artist who designed and created it). At this side, there is also a simple and modest building, which Gaudi built with his own money as a school for the children of the construction workers. Behind it and underneath the church is a small museum, where the tour concluded.
We stayed in here to watch a short film about the building (and for Tom to examine some of the tools used in the construction) , and to visit the shop, before popping in to the “school” and then going back into the cathedral itself to sit and absorb the details for a little longer.
Satisfied (for now!) and photo-ed out, we headed out towards our next Gaudi experience of the day, picking up some Toblerone ice creams on our way (which we were very excited to find and were delicious, if rather expensive and small!).
A 25 minute walk from the Sagrada Familia is Casa Battlo, another incredible Gaudi masterpiece, redesigned for the wealthy Battlo family in 1906. It is classic Gaudi style – with curves and colourful mosaic decorations in every corner!
The tickets included an audioguide, which was an iPhone with augmented reality in some of the rooms, giving a mix of images of what the house would have looked like when it was lived in, but also some random moments where parts of the decor became turtles or fish that would swim away! I’ll post a video on Facebook when I share this later.
I loved the cases on the audio-tour devices! 
The house is built around a lift shaft that ascends the middle of the building, with two light wells, one on either side. This helps the house to have a very light and airy feel to it. The dining room leads out onto a beautifully tiled terrace, which would be perfect for a bbq party! After this main living floor, the tour ascends to the top floor, winding through the curvacious eves of the house, before popping you out onto the roof of the house, affording lovely views across the roofs of Barcelona, but also colourfully decorated itself.
Back down a few floors, we had a peruse of the shop, with me fighting my instincts to buy multiple items! Tom bought a postcard for his mum before we headed back to the hotel making use of the local buses again (via a small cafe for some cold drinks and to pick up a small pizza for tea for me). We thoroughly enjoyed our Gaudi experiences and can’t wait to return to this wonderful city to explore more!
After a quick dip in the hotel pool, we chilled on our balcony with another hotel picnic, I began writing this blog, then we finished with a fiercely fought game of Uno!
Your excitement bought back terrific memories of the two buildings
Did you see the clothes drying ares in the Casa?