Monday, June 2, 2014

Barcelona, Day 4: Casa Batlló

The fourth day was all about Gaudi's casas and park. You may wonder if one would get Gaudi fatigue by the end of day?


In the morning, we walked from our hotel to Gaudi's Casa Batlló. It's a very pleasant 12 minute walk. Casa Batlló is on Passeig de Gràcia, the most expensive street in Spain. The street is very green with lots of trees. There are a lot of nice buildings with beautiful design on Passeig de Gràcia, most of them are traditional looking. Although expensive, Passeig de Gràcia is actually a quite feasible street full of inexpensive, mid-range and upscale restaurants. You can also find both luxury brands and more sensible global chains. There is something for everybody.

We arrived around 8:40am. Unlike Sagrada Familia, the line was pretty short in the morning and took us almost no time to get in after it was opened at 9am. However, April is not high season. I can't guarantee it's going to be this easy in summer.

Casa Batlló is known as Casa dells osseous (House of Bones) to the locals because skeletons and viscera are incorporated in the design. The style is Art Nouveau or Modernism. The building features the characteristics of nature which can been seen in Gaudi's other works. The roof looks like the back of a dragon. Pretty cool, huh!

The noble room is my favorite room. It's on the second floor and looking over hustle and bustle of Passeig de Gràcia. You feel like you are in the center of the action.

The ceiling lamp looks like a sunflower to me.
Is it just me or the window knob looks like an elephant's head?
Chill out room? I do like the ambience.
The backyard
The atrium
The atrium gives you the look and feel of the ocean. The use of natural light on the blue tiles is wicked. Gaudi's design makes the narrow atrium look very charming.

The rooftop
Neighbor's rooftop looks pretty neat, too.
The chimneys on the rooftop
The loft
The loft with six catenary arches embodies the ribcage of an animal. Some say it's a ribcage for the dragon's spine that is incorporated in the roof. How fascinating!

Hologram. Too much?
Gaudi's hologram waves you goodbye. It's a little over the top, if you ask me. I highly doubt Gaudi would like this. You know how dignified artists usually don't like to be pimped out too much. This is not a theme park, come on.

The furniture design
Looking down from the second floor
Looking down the entrance from the staircase
Casa Batlló was built more than 100 years ago. It still continues to capture our imagination, doesn't it? I wonder what Gaudi was on while he was working on his design.

Casa Batlló Visitor Information (prices, hours)

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