Barcelona via Bicycle

 From Madrid we ended at our last city Barcelona. WOW! This one will take a few posts so we'll start with us renting some high sitting city bikes to lazily weave around the city in while we took ourselves on a Gaudi Architecture Tour. Joshua was the excellent navigator and I was the itinerary maker.

First stop was Sagrada Familia, it's an unfinished cathedral that is still under construction with a completion date set for 2026. I won't go into it's whole story here but Gaudi's vision was very unique and a mixture of gothic and art nouvea. The exterior was a lot of scaffolding so not many photos but it was still so detailed, hand work evident everywhere, and ways of expressing story that are unparalleled. Once we both walked inside though we had no words. I barely have any still. The geometric stained glass lets in an ombre of cool color on one side and warm color on the other basking the structures in hues that make your insides feel lots of emotions.

The structure is uniquely Gaudi's and they are to emulate trees and branches. Columns reach toward the very tall ceiling starting sometimes as octagons to squares to circles. Shapes slide in and out of one another in ways you never could have imagined. We loved that this building's interior wasn't covered in religious statues or paintings but that made it more spiritual. The basilica was swarming with people but you barely noticed because you were to busy having your own emotional experience.

These are the doors to the Passion Façade which in and of themselves are amazing! Okay no more words on Sagrada Familia, only an experience I can't truly describe.

 After that we hopped back on the bicycles and pedaled up what I'm pretty sure is Barcelona's only hill, so hot, to Park Guell. Gaudi designed this park with organic forms, unique structural members that play with the landscape and down to unique tile layouts and ornate designs.

Last stop on our homemade bicycle tour was Casa Mila/La Pedrera which is an apartment complex that Gaudi designed. Ornate ironwork balconies and a whimsical rooftop terrace were our favorite parts. The rooftop terrace provided a great view back to Sagrada Familia too.

The sculpted shapes and holes that presented unique views of the city made this terrace a surreal playground. We went around touching surfaces and spires that whipped in unusual shapes while covered in mosaic tile.

This is another apartment building of his, Casa Battlo. We also went by during the day but love how delightfully creepy it was at night. In the day it's actually a really beautiful rainbow of tile and the courtyards are ombred in blue tile to emulate the dissipation of sunlight.

You love Gaudi now too don't you?!

It was a wonderful, whimsical, playful day that I did a terrible job describing!

Next the rest of Barcelona :)