Day 2 - Casa Batlló
After Sagrada Familia, Romina walked us over to the Metro station. We coukd have done the walk, but then we wouldn't have had as much time at the site. It was also nice to have her show us how to use the Metro.
Pro tip - the T10 cards can be shared between people. I didn't realize this during my research, so I thought we'd need to buy 4 cards. In fact, we could all share AND DD gets to ride for free. I'm not sure what the exact age cutoff is, but our guide said school aged. Just make sure you keep your small person close as you walk through the gate.
It was only 2 stops between Sagrada Familia and our stop. DD loves riding the Metro whenever we get a chance so she was very happy.
When we got off the train, we were by Casa Milá. We didn't go in, but we got to see it from the outside. Locals were not happy when this building was made as they felt it was not attractive. In fact, they called it the rock quarry.
If you're ever in this area, be sure you look at the sidewalks. Gaudi even made the sidewalk attractive!
Pro tip - As we got off the train, our guide gave us some invaluable advice about navigating Barcelona. When you're looking at the map, always figure out where the sea is. Everywhere you are in the city, they will be a slope. The sea is always downhill. So that will let you orient yourself on your map.
We then walked to Casa Battló. We had skip the line tickets but DD was getting hungry. Romina knew we could still get in after a snack, so we went to the chocolate ship next door. Chocolate Amatller is over 200 years old and famous in Barcelona. Even though it's in a touristy area, it's really good, reasonably priced, and authentic to the area.
Hot chocolate and bread. Yum!
They're coffee bar had a cute drawing. Each coffee was served with a little dark chocolate leaf.
We then walked next door to casa Battló. This house was inspired by one of the patron Saints of Barcelona: Saint George. He's the one who slayed the dragon.
Once in the house, Romina got an iPad to use with our tour. Gaudi was inspired by nature in all of his designs. Well, this iPad not only showed us what the student areas looked like when people lived in this house, it also showed the nature connections to the design. It was really cool!
These two pictures are the center of the house. The tiles are light at the bottom and dark at the top so that natural light is maximized. There are also window to the cereal opening so that all rooms have natural light. Considering my office doesn't have widows, this is very appealing to me.
The storage cubboards have butterfly wings for doors.
The back of the building had an amazing terrace and even the back is filled and beautiful. Clearly not everyone decorates the back of the buildings!
We went all the way to the roof. In the front hump, there's a party room that DD loved. You can also see how the roof looks like dragon scales. I am so glad we stopped here.
At this point, we said goodbye to Romina and walked back to the condo.
I want to mention that, in preparing for this trip, we taught DD a bit about Gaudi. This book was amazing for that and it was great for her to see things she read about come to life! If you're taking a younger kid, I highly recommend this book.
https://www.amazon.com/Building-Nature-Life-Antoni-Gaudi/dp/0805087451
Next up - Afternoon and evening #2 in Barcelona