Pont du Gard

Pont du Gard

Friday, April 16, 2010

Barcelona

Yesterday evening we returned from Barcelona, Spain, what a great adventure! Not just because we did not get robbed (Barcelona is reputed to be a great place to lose your money)but because we really enjoyed the City. As usual, we walked about 20 miles from one end to the other and took in the sights. Barcelona is a wonderful, Old World City, full of history dating back thousands of years. Everything from the Romans to Ferdinand & Isabella, Columbus, The Spanish Inquisition, Spanish Civil War, the explosion of art and Moderneisme. In my life, I have seen many structures, great engineering feats such as the Empire State Building, Golden Gate Bridge, the Roman Coliseum, the baths at Caracala, Pompeii, Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China, wonderful works of art such as the Mona Lisa, David's Napoleon, the Birth of Venus, by Botticelli, and so forth. But I must say, and it is hard to find words adequate to describe the genius of Antoni Gaudi, truly one of the great geniuses of the 19th century! While Gaudi is best known for his masterpiece, Sagrada Familia, which after 140 years is still under construction, to look at his early works such as la Pederera, or Casa Batillo is to look into a mind so unique, so brilliant, that words fail to properly describe his accomplishments. I have seen many photos of his work, and have felt the results to be cluttered, over designed, complicated and somehow not relevant to art, architecture, or engineering. But after seeing these monuments in person, I can only say the photos are a shabby representation of the real thing. I have posted a couple of photos of La Pederera that Barb took, , considering this was built in the 1800's it is so modern and refreshing. Normal designers use a round stove pipe for a chimney flue, Gaudi designed a chimney pot so unusual that I suspect Darth Vader's helmet is taken from this design. Rather than blather on about his accomplishments, I have attached a link to Wikipedia, but just for fun I suggest you take some time and explore this man's work, if you ever have a chance to visit Barcelona, don't miss his accomplishments.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD

1 comment:

  1. Beautiful pictures. Architecture is so pretty. Glad you are having a wonderful time. Miss you! Love both, see you soon! Mom

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