gaudi up the yin yang!

after scoring an umbrella at the beach, i figure it was a win on dual counts: sunburn avoidance and the bonus that my lily white chest didn´t prompt a coronary from any of the locals. purrrfect day for a swim, felt soooo good!

ambled over to the landmark statue of christopher columbus at the foot of la rambla, likely one of the city´s most vibrant streets. on its centre promenade, barcelonians and tourists can walk all the way down from plaza catalunya to the sea, surrounded by interesting markets and some of barcie´s most outstanding architecture. the place is literally bursting at the seams with life, bars, kiosks and street performers.

in plaza reial just off la rambla are lamp posts designed by master gaudi himself and in the central promenade of la rambla is a mosaic created by joan miro. el mercat st. josep - affectionately known as ¨la boqueria¨- occupies some prime real estate for the local foodies among us. of course no walking tour would be complete without its fair share of ancient palacios and ornate churches.

directly north of la rambla and plaza catalunya lies one of barcelona´s main avenues: passeig gracia. in 1906 the architect pere falqués i urpí designed its now famous ornate benches and street-lights in typical modernist fashion. by that time, the avenue had become barcie’s most fashionable street, with buildings designed by modernista/art nouveau architects of gaudí fame and others.

i paid hommage to master gaudi once again today with a visit to casa batlló. this theatrical whimsey was borne of a pre-existing home whose owner commissioned gaudi for a serious make-over. the facade is decorated in organic forms evoking bones, masks and precious stones while the roof conjures images of scaly dragons. i also notice that our master architect was a huge fan of fruit as many of his designs incorporate foliage and carmen miranda style cornucopias willy-nilly. simply fantastic!

also visited la casa calvet where gaudi took up the challenge of designing a building in the style typical of the industrial L´Eixample neighbourhood. regardless of some of the baroque touches and the grey stone of nearby montjuic, gaudi´s signature is everywhere.

continued my gaudi tour at la pedrera with its undulating trademark balconies. if i hadn´t known better, i would have thought i was suffering from heat stroke and my vision was wavering! on its roof is a veritable forest of chimneys adding fully to the effect of freakishness. the building is currently used for apartments. imagine living there!

finished off my homage by walking up gaudi avenue from the temple of sagrada familia. i cannot even fathom that level of genius...