My last day in Barcelona started out different: overcast and cloudy (was I back in the NW?!). Before heading out for my last day in Barcelona, I left my "cave" and ventured toward Gaudi's Palau Guell (it was just down the street from my hotel).
Palau Guell was free, but one could only check out the 1st floor and the basement. There wasn't a whole lot to see from the outside. The brickwork in the basement was the memorable thing here. Other than that, just another Gaudi location to check off the list.
Now with today being my last day in Barcelona, I had to do some "organizing" and pick and choose what I'd do for the day. I had a few more Gaudi works to check out, more tapas (one could never have too few!), see a flamenco show, explore more of Las Ramblas, etc. So basically it was going to be a full day.Took care of my tapas fix by going to Tapas Gaudi (off of Las Ramblas and this was my second time going here). Ended up ordering an espresso, a Spanish omelette, and spicy sausages. After my tapas "brunch", I came out to a sunny Barcelona day.
I headed to the Liceau Metro stop and headed up to Diagonal Metro stop to hit both of Gaudi's dragon-like Casa Batlo, and the Star-Wars-inspiring roof of La Pedrara. I ended up being surprised to find out that Casa Batlo was CLOSED!!??! yeah, apparently the operating hours for this building is funky and it ended up closing at 2pm (it was 2:30pm). Oh well. I snapped some pictures of the building's streetside facade. It was smaller than I thought it would be, but it definitely stood out on its own.
So after checking out what I could of Casa Batlo, I made my way down the Passieg De Gracia a few blocks to La Pedrera. This was a fairly posh area with lots of the swanky stores & spiffily-dressed people. Once you happen upon La Pedrera one can easily tell you are looking at some Modernista Architecture.
La Pedrera was originally made as an apartment/business building. Here one pays to check out a remade-apartment on the 4th floor, the attic, and the roof. I'd have to say the attic and roof were my favorite. The attic was nice and cool with many exhibits about the building and Gaudi's architectural style. When you're in this dark attic, you feel like you're walking around the insides of a large snake---with brick frames serving as the "ribs" of the attic. When on the roof it feels like you could be walking around the scene from Star Wars (think Tatooine) with the sandstone-colored walls and chimneys.
After La Pedrera I headed back to Las Ramblas. I then looked into flamenco options. I ended up going to Tarantos which was a club/bar off of Placa Reial (this is a square which is off Las Ramblas and close to my hotel). The show was about 30min and consisted of a band (two guitarists, percussionist, singer, and "clapper") and dancer. I'm so glad I made it to the show. The music was top notch and the dancer was the best. It was cool to watch how the dancer and musicians worked with each other. All of the musicians were transfixed on the dancers feet and seemed to follow her as she danced. While watching the show I had my first tasting of Barcelona's cava (a wine from the Barcelona area); it was tasty and champagne-esque.
After the flamenco show, I hung around Placa Reial for a bit and did some people-watching. It was after 10pm and people were having dinner and getting ready for the night. I contemplated going out clubbing, but I ultimately bowed out. I had to be up at 4:30am for my flight to Amsterdam.
I loved Barcelona and all it offered over my short four day stint. I know that I only had a quick taste of the city, but it was enough to make me want to plan another trip here soon.Viva Catalonia!
Taxi Ride To Airport
(it's 5am, and people are still out on the town!)
(it's 5am, and people are still out on the town!)
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