Barcelona Day Three

Today we started by heading to Casa Batlló, a multi-level home designed by Gaudí. We were fortunate to skip the ticket queue with pass we purchased previously. The home has incredible shapes everywhere, from doors and windows to the ceilings and walls, there are no square corners or straight edges and everything flows beautifully. There is a central staircase and each side is an internal well that lets light in from the top down through windows on all levels. The exterior is adorned with tiles, including the outdoors area and roof which are open and give a good view of the surrounding area. Absolutely beautiful, thoughtful architectural design.

Next we headed towards the Gothic Quarter. We traveled by underground so arrived at La Rambla, where we had started on our first day in Barcelona. We returned to the markets, this time we had some cash on us, so treated ourselves to some fresh fruit juices. Helen had mango and pineapple and I had mango and coconut. At 1€ each, very refreshing! The same vendor had dragon fruit juice so I tried that also. It was different, not horrible at all, but it would not be my first choice either.

The markets were very busy and while there is plenty of food on offer, there is nowhere to sit and eat apart from select bars and restaurants which were all full. We found a spare table at a Tapas bar so decided to indulge in some local delicacies here including fried whitebait (10cm long fish, crunchy and quite edible), rosemary potatoes (with whole garlic cloves, yum!), Jamon Iberico (similiar to Italian prosciutto) and cheese toasted sandwich, and tomatoes on toasted bread (a bit like Italian bruschetta). I also had a lemon flavoured beer, very refreshing!

After lunch we wandered around the Gothic Quarter, whose narrow streets lead into many squares, most relatively quiet and peaceful. One square we found, which I don't know its name but am sure it is significant, was full of rowdy Manchester United fans, clearly in town for a football game that day. They were all drinking up large, singing and chanting, and although inside the square all seemed well just on the outside were police with riot vans and armed semi-automatic weapons on standby. Just as we left, an ambulance went in there lights blazing. It was only a matter of time!

We retreated to our hotel room for a siesta (the local tradition) before heading out again to visit Casa Milà, also known as La Pedrera. This is another building designed by Gaudí as a set of apartments. Impressive from the outside, the roof in particular is incredible and also has a commanding view of the surrounds.

This building is occupied with tenants so only two floors are museum. It didn't seem as impressive indoors as Casa Batlló, although I preferred the roof area which was most impressive.

Some rooms indoors were filled with furniture of the time. Including a real "suit case" a big bigger than the suitcases we use today.

After that we returned to the same Italian restaurant as before, why risk lesser quality food once we've found something so great?