This is Gaudi's Palau Guell (I believe I have the name
wrong). It
was supposed to be a 60 unit housing
development for the well off but flopped.
We came up the back side. I had looked at maps and found the
nearest
metro stop and went from there. If you go in the front door it
costs
7E. This way is free. There were signs here pointing the way.
We walked/traveled up up up an enormous
hill. The climb was helped by several escalators. When we finally got to
the
tippy tip top of the area the view
was
fantastic though the final few steps were quite dangerous.
You
can see me hanging on.
We then hiked down to where his the
buildings
are. We found the courtyard which
is
surrounded by these seats covered with
ceramics. They are supposed to be
ergonomic but
sort of hit me in the back. They are
beautiful.
We then hiked down and around and found the area that was
designed to
be a market place. There are 100 columns
here,
each one different. The ones
on the edge were tilted. It was quite and
interesting experience walking through these.
Deb took pictures of some of the details. It looked to me that
Gaudi had copied some aspects of the Mezquita in Cordoba which
is later
in the story.
Even further down and around are the buildings
where you are supposed to enter. They were quite fantastic.
There are
several nice interesting sculptures
here. The trim on the buildings is also
very
nice. Extra pictures.
Gaudi quit building this around 1914. He lived here for 20
years.