europe home
Espanya spain was barcelona, my favorite european city, and madrid for one day while the other guys went to pamplona to try to run with the bulls. barcelona has a unique personality, as it embraces tourism yet still has a youthful independence and reluctance to let the tourists have all the fun. the architecture in barcelona is notably influenced by the late 19th - early 20th century architect anthony gaudi and i loved his work. there was a great museum for picasso that i got a chance to check out while here. on top of all that, there is a great beach and an amazing park - montjuic - with a fountain display some nights. in madrid i visited the two famous museums; prado for renassaince and reine sophia for modern art and impressionism. my favorite part was picasso's most famous masterpiece 'guernica' and a whole floor dedicated to his sketches and preperations for the monumental piece about suffering and war. also featured was an explanation about the spanish civil war and hitlers influence in the firebombing of the non-military spanish city guernica, leading to the death of thousands and injuries to many many more. |
||
 |
casa batllo | |
a gaudi work, this represents the fight between st. george and the dragon |
||
|
||
 |
casa batllo |
|
the dragons jaw |
||
|
||
 |
la pedrera |
|
an apartment complex and my favorite building in barcelona. inspired by the sea, the facade is slightly different at each level and when clouds change the shadows on the face it appears to be moving like the sand on the bottom of the ocean through ripples of water. |
||
|
||
 |
la pedrera |
|
inside the apartment |
||
|
||
 |
la pedrera |
|
mural in lobby |
||
|
||
 |
la pedrera |
|
attic |
||
|
||
 |
la pedrera |
|
the roof, this chimney is covered from broken wine bottles from the celebration at the apartments grand opening |
||
|
||
 |
la pedrera |
|
chimneys and vents line the rooftop. each one is unique |
||
|
||
 |
la pedrera |
|
vent shaft with 3D cross |
||
|
||
 |
la pedrera |
|
another vent |
||
|
||
 |
la pedrera |
|
chimneys. george lucas visited the building before he made starwars... and these inspired him to create storm troopers |
||
|
||
 |
la sagrada familia |
|
gaudi's masterpiece, the still unfinished sagrada familia. it is expected to be finished in 2026. the 4 spires standing right now are only 1/2 the size of the greatest spire that will stand over the dome. there are also going to be four spires at 3/5 the size of the great spire and one at 2/3 the height. this is the nativity facade. |
||
|
||
 |
la sagrada familia |
|
the passion facade at night. each spire is topped with a bowl of a unique fruit; apples in one, oranges in another etc. |
||
|
||
 |
la sagrada familia |
|
the passion facade tells the story of christ's demise and resurrection. this be the judas kiss |
||
|
||
 |
la sagrada familia |
|
just some sad disciples |
||
|
||
 |
la sagrada familia |
|
stained glass window |
||
|
||
 |
la sagrada familia |
|
a close up of some of the sculpture on the nativity facade, which is much different than the passion facade |
||
|
||
 |
la sagrada familia |
|
bronze door |
||
|
||
 |
la sagrada familia |
|
gaudi perfected a technique to model his buildings using string hung with weights. since the weights pull down in perfect tension, when viewed from below with a mirror this creates a model of perfect compression (as compression and tension are opposites). in this way, building materials are used completely for support of weight and no material is wasted (which allows him to create such tall spires) |
||
|
||
 |
la sagrada familia |
|
how it will look when completed... notice how small the 4 completed spires are compared to the expected ones. you almost cant see them unless you look at the bottom of the facade and follow the dark part up. |
||
|
||
 |
montjuic fountain |
|
on weekend nights there is a free fountain show at montjuic park. we happened to be there during a music festival as well |
||
|
||
 |
montjuic park |
|
amazing |
||
|
||
 |
montjuic park |
|
in front of the science museum |
||
|
||
 |
montjuic park |
|
barcelona in the distance, the gate towers, the fountain in the middle and hte music festival closest to the bottom |
||
|
||
 |
madrid |
|
|
||
 |
madrid |
|
prado, the renaissance museum |
||
|
||
 |
prado |
|
on my way to reine sophia, the modern art and impressionist museum with picasso's guernica |
||