Our Next Apartment

Kidding! But the sadness of the Setzers leaving was slightly mitigated by our move to a new BCN neighborhood, Eixample Dreta, and the modernist architecture nearby. We spent the first couple days settling in and joining the World Cup Final mania but we did manage to get a handle on our neighborhood, which is halfway between Sagrada Familia and Passeig de Gracia, where Barcelona's most famous moderniste architecture sits. The three houses called Illa de la Discordia--they're literally fighting for attention on the same block--are crowded with tourists trying to give the houses their due. Gaudi's Casa Batllo (1) is said to be an allegory of St George fighting the dragon (complete with shiny scales, a tail, etc.) and it definitely shimmers. Casa Amatller's (2 and 4 here) was fun for its details, especially because the stone gargoyle animals are doing some of the architect's favorite hobbies (photography, e.g.). The third house is Lleo-Morera which we learned nothing about other than it has a wedding cake top.

Somehow I thought Barcelona's modernist architecture was more drippy and over the top but it's really more fanciful and, especially in Gaudi's case, curvy. It's always good to get your misperceptions of a place sorted out but it sure makes you question what else you only sort of half-know.

We all loved the non-house/modern gallery (4) around the corner, Fundacio Antoni Tapies, which houses this living artist's great works (check out the barbed wire on the top of his building).

And ok, our actual apartment facade is the last image in this post. It's no Casa Batllo but we still thought it was great. Somehow a few of our images from the top of Las Ramblas, the long ever-present street fair, was sucked into this post. It's fitting, I suppose, as the facade of the umbrella shop-turned-bank suits my topic at least. We walked from the top of Las Ramblas so I suspect I'll post other photos of our boys interacting with all the wacky mimes later.

A final note: we thought we'd slipped away without going in to see Gaudi's Casa Batllo as the fee per person (20 Euros?) to enter was outrageous. And the exterior is so fantastic that perhaps that's enough, right? Nate in particular was aggrieved that we weren't going in so I said, well, at the end of our stay in Barcelona, if we really feel like we've missed something by not going in we'll come back. Fully expecting him to forget about the Gaudi house. (When will I ever learn that boy's temperament/interests?) The very last day of our stay in BCN we took suggestions on what to see and what did Nate shout out first? Casa Batllo! Hadn't mentioned it all week but he was ready when the time was right. We all kind of groaned but we're all so glad we went. Photos to come later but it was spectacular...