Before he turned his full attention to his life's work, designing the La Sagrada Familia cathedral, Antoni Gaudi created a curvy apartment building that blows away the look-alike rectangle buildings on every other street corner.
Gaudi designed La Pedrera, or Casa Mila, with a curvy exterior and even a curvy roof. Everything has a purpose -- some of the intricate designs on the roof hide ventilation shafts and store water.
He also designed the building with two courtyards so that daylight could enter every room in every apartment. One of the apartment is open to the public and is filled with furniture from a century ago.
After La Pedrera, I toured the half of the Catalan art museum I didn't have time to see yesterday. It's a nice tribute to the region's terrific talents -- two of which (Picasso and Miro) have their own museums. Catalunya can be proud of its art heritage.
Finally, I rambled down La Rambla, a pedestrian-friendly walkway lined with shops and next to a marker, where I got olives and fruit for the faculty's final Barcelona dinner, a bring-tapas-to-share meal. Tomorrow we gather at 7 a.m. to head to the airport to fly to Athens. I'm going to miss Barcelona.
Gaudi designed La Pedrera, or Casa Mila, with a curvy exterior and even a curvy roof. Everything has a purpose -- some of the intricate designs on the roof hide ventilation shafts and store water.
He also designed the building with two courtyards so that daylight could enter every room in every apartment. One of the apartment is open to the public and is filled with furniture from a century ago.
After La Pedrera, I toured the half of the Catalan art museum I didn't have time to see yesterday. It's a nice tribute to the region's terrific talents -- two of which (Picasso and Miro) have their own museums. Catalunya can be proud of its art heritage.
Finally, I rambled down La Rambla, a pedestrian-friendly walkway lined with shops and next to a marker, where I got olives and fruit for the faculty's final Barcelona dinner, a bring-tapas-to-share meal. Tomorrow we gather at 7 a.m. to head to the airport to fly to Athens. I'm going to miss Barcelona.