The other day, while out on one of my long walks again, I stopped in to visit La Pedrera, one of Gaudi's finest works. It is an apartment building that Gaudi designed for the Mila Family between 1906 and 1912, which had one main apartment on the main floor, while the rest of the building was built into smaller apartments which the couple could rent out. It is said that Gaudi wanted to top anything done in L'Eixample, and it was actually one of the first buildings to actually have a parking lot for the family's car - apparently they were on of the first families in town who actually owned a vehicle! Originally called Casa Mila, Gaudi had wanted to put a statue of the Virgin Mary on the top of the building. When the couple nixed the idea, Gaudi walked away in disgust. Now of course, the building is owned by Caixa Cataluna, one of the larger financial institutions. There still are some residential apartments, but the rest of the building has been divided up for businesses and offices, and of course the museum of La Pedrera. It was really cool! Some pics here:
La Pedrera: located at Calle de Provenca and Passeig de Gracia, Barcelona, Espana. Very wavy!
The Foyer - undulating curves and archways, with iron balconies. Typical Gaudi style!
The Atico - the top floor apartment and attic have been opened up to the public. The archways in the attic are said to have been designed to create constant ventilation to the building with windows that can be opened in the summer to cool the building. 
The roof is the most extraordinary part of the building I think. Something like 17 chimneys designed in a medieval fashion. They say that the imperial soldiers in the movie "Star Wars" were inspired by them. Go figure!
The eastern view from the roof - you can see the Sagrada Familia off in the distance, the part of town I live in.
Imagine living in one of these apartments and being able to look at La Pedrera every day off your own balcony. jeeee!After visiting La Pedrera, I ambled down through the Barri Gotico (Gothic neighbourhood). Almost everything was closed on Sunday which I thought was totally cool. It meant there were barely any tourists out. Now, when I say "barely any tourists", I mean that there were still tons, but it was easier to walk at a slow pace and I didn't have to constantly maneuvre around people. Dang tourists, eh? :)
This little square, called Placa de Sant Felip Neri, is hidden away behind La Catedral and Avenida de la Catedral, and is difficult to find. You'd have to mistakenly stumble upon it if you didn't know it existed. The only reason I knew it was here was because my Spanish instructor, Alejandra, told me about it during one of our conversations in Spanish class. In the Spanish Civil War of 1936, this square was actually used for public executions. They've left all the bullet holes on the walls as a memorial of the time. It's kind of gross, if you ask a civilized Canadian though...The weather has been so fine! I think even the Spaniards are unaccustomed to it being so warm at this time of year. Yesterday it was 23 degrees, and it was supposedly even warmer than that in Valencia. Needless to say, I spent the entire afternoon walking around without the need for a jacket. I wanted to go and visit my friend, the Artist Vincent Miro. I knew I'd find him at his usual weekend spot down by the Marina and Maremagnum. I took several pictures of him, deeply entranced in his work. He is a magical person, and maybe even a little nuts. I love him to bits!
After a long, wonderful day of walking meditation, I found myself back in the Barri Gotico, hungy, and looking for a nice restaurant to have dinner at. Well dinner happens fairly late around here, so most of the restaurants were still not quite ready to invite me in at dusk. As I was contemplating what to to next, the happy voices of very ticklish Dutch men jolted me out of my quiet state, and I turned to my right to see two very jovial, super smiley, fair skinned Dutch gentlemen attempting to ask me in broken Spanish for the directions to Placa de Pie. They were all grins and giggles, and I was instantly warmed by their enthusiasm and obvious enjoyment of life. Of course I had no idea where Placa de Pie was, but I was pretty sure what direction it was in. They thanked me and off they went. I watched them walk away, laughing and playing with just about everyone and anyone, and I laughed at their fine spirits. Then I also started walking in the same direction, still looking for a cozy restaurant to rest my tired feet. They turned around and saw me there, and teased me that I was following them, couldn't get enough of them, blah blah blah...then they invited me to join them! I loved how spontaneous they were, and it was obvious that they were slightly tipsy. But it was also obvious that they were great guys, stand-up types, and I felt spontaneous too so I accepted their invitation and off we went, arms linked together, on a quest to find a tapas bar in Placa de Pie. We did eventually find the one they were looking for, and here we are. Meet Ries and Hans from Rotterdam!
These guys were absolutely elemental-like and total gentlemen too, and you know I adore that combination! They were loud but definitely not obnoxious, friendly and interactive with just about everyone in the restaurant. They made people smile, and I giggled the entire time I was with them. We ended up hanging out for the rest of the evening, them drinking bottles of Cava (a Spanish sparkling wine), and me sticking with my Clara (lemonade and beer). We went to yet another tapas place which was full of tourists and very fun! They of course made it a point to talk with everyone in the place! They made me laugh the entire night, and I even called home joyfully to have them speak with my roommate, Pam, who is also from the Netherlands. It was a very twinkly evening! They suggested I come to Rotterdam one day to visit. Well, you just never know, right? :)
Now here I sit in my little room in this old apartment building on the corner of Calle de Corcega and Calle de Xifre, in L'Eixample Derecha, in beautiful Barcelona, with my balcony door open and the sound of mopeds zooming by. This morning I went out to do a bit of grocery shopping, and to get my daily cafe solo. My roommate Lucas is in the living room facebooking and will be leaving for work shortly. Pam is in the shower preparing for another day at school, and Sammy the cat is wandering aimlessly from living room to kitchen to bedroom, talking and meowing loudly. So this is my life in Barcelona. Tomorrow I have another Spanish class and I always look forward to having them. I will head out to the gym in a little bit, right after I've posted this blog. I've started packing my bags for my trip to Valencia. I will be keeping some of my things here in my room in Barcelona though. Once again my life is being divided up, it's being shaved down to the bare essentials, making me ask myself "what do I need, and what do I want". Last night during my Skype call with Manu, the magical Pisces from Valencia, he said that our things don't define who we are. This is totally true. But I don't know, I kindof like having "things". While there is definitely something to living simply and lightly, it's also nice to have around you the "things" that make you feel comfortable, that help to shape and form you, that give you more depth and add to your enjoyment of life, whatever that may be. And I think its okay to have those types of desires. Maybe you could call me materialistic? But preparing to head out to Valencia with only two suitcases, while the rest of my belongings are, for the most part, divided between a little bedroom in Barcelona and a storage locker in Vancouver, makes me think about my own needs and comforts. I don't think I'm extremely materialistic, but I am at a point in my life where having some pieces of substance does matter to me. Trying to fit them into only two suitcases is the problem! giggle!
The only other way I could be more free right now, would be if I could fly.
Charleen xo
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