Gaudi and Grandparents

We had a great time this past week with my mom and step-dad in town.  The first couple of days were pretty low-key as they adjusted to the time change.  We visited Montjuic, including the castle at the peak and took in the fabulous views.  We also went to the Chocolate Museum, and everyone enjoyed eating their "tickets" for dessert that evening.  We had to abandon our plans to go to the Picasso Museum when we realized that "free first Sunday" equals line lasting for many blocks.  We finished that day, Easter Sunday, with a Catelonian tradition, La Mona--a cake traditionally given to a god-child by his or her god-father on Easter  All agreed that la mona looked much tastier than it was.

Tom and Poppy proudly display La Mona that they hunted down after a vigorous search.







After that, it was a veritable Gaudi-fest!  For those of you unfamiliar with this icon of Catelonian architecture, Gaudi was the prolific leader of the Modernism movement in Barcelona.  His most famous and recognizable work is La Sagrada Familia, which consumed Gaudi in the final years of his life and remains unfinished to this day, over 100 years after it was begun.  You may have seen photos of it and heard it referred to as the "drip castle," which seems apropos from the outside.

Once inside, we were captivated by the posts and ceiling, mimicking a forest of palm trees, and the colorful and geometric stained glass windows.  Even more fascinating than the cathedral itself (which will be a sight to behold when it is finished in 30 years, and I plan to see it in person), was the exhibit on Gaudi's philosophy of how architecture must relate to the natural world in all its elements.  His work is certainly crazy to look at, but he clearly was a genius in his understanding and application of science, nature and math to his projects.


We continued to marvel at Gaudi creations over the next few days, including La Pedrera, an enormous wavy structure originally built as an apartment and office building, and Palau Guell and Park Guell, both of which were commissioned and funded by Gaudi's primary benefactor, Eusebi Guell.

While we loved La Pedrera, especially its undulating roofline covered with human looking towers, Park Guell was our favorite spot of all, with meandering paths, aqueduct-style ramps replete with cozy sitting spots, the large open gathering space upheld by a forest of palm-like columns, and the gingerbread-looking castles and mosaic dragon at the entry.

Our wonderful time together this week flew by much too fast and we are now suffering grandparent withdrawal!  The coming week will be light on blog posts (unless I add some more pictures from last week), as Sierra and I will be spending 5 hours each day in Spanish classes!  Ack!  It's been many years since I've been in school and estoy un poquito nerviosa!

One of the amazing views from Park Guell