The Gaudi Houses and our Last Supper

On our final day in Barcelona I toured two of the famous residential buildings designed by Gaudi while Linda and Denise shopped and shopped and shopped.

My first stop was at the Batllo House, a multi-floor, single family building that was designed by Gaudi in 1905 for the Batllo family.  The house has virtually no straight lines and much of the house combines design touches by Gaudi that were both artistic and functional.

For example, the ceiling light in the picture has a spiral design emanating outward from the light fixture and the chimneys on the roof look more like sculptures with their tile mosaics than chimneys.  Also, one of the large rooms on the top floor uses a catenary arch – a favorite structural technique by Gaudi – that is both attractive and structurally very strong.

The next stop was at the La Pedrera building, a multi-story, multi-unit building that is owned and was restored by the Caxia Catalunya banking entity that now operates the tour of the building.  The large attic space uses Gaudi’s favorite catenary structure design.  This space is now used as a museum, not only about the La Pedrera, but also about other notable structures designed by Gaudi. 

The rooftop has artistically designed chimneys and water tanks that look more like sculptures then they do as perfectly functional components of the buildings.  I visited one of the apartment rooms that was furnished with furniture from the early 1900s, complete with a Gaudi inspired chair that was quite comfortable.

We ended the day with a delicious last supper in Barcelona that marked the end of our wonderful adventure.  It was a great trip filled with making new friends, packed with an exciting film festival, kibitzing about the meaning of the films over delicious food and wine, tapas bar hopping, and plenty of new and interesting places to visit and experience.  Now we are back home and acclimatizing again to the 9 hour time difference and catching up on all the things we set aside for two weeks.