Barcelona: Gaudi

If you are an architecture fan, you might know of Antoni Gaudi's work. His influence infuses Barcelona, and we spent an entire 1/2 day stopping at different aspects of is work. These pictures are more art/scenery, less people. But I included them all so you can get a feel for the variety of his work.

Our first stop was an apartment building he built/designed in the L'Eixample district.





Gaudi put so much thought into every detail of his work. Most of his inspiration came from nature.





He loved natural lighting.







A lamp post on the street.



The apartment from the outside.



The open air rooftop allowed for one to see the entire city.



The pictures below are from the Temple de la Sagrada Familia. Gaudi was working on this church when he was run over by a tram in Barcelona. Because of his disheveled appearance when he was run over, passers by thought he was a passed out bum and he bled to death internally. Currently, the building is being carried out by those that claim they understood Gaudi's vision, but there are differences, and less detail.











Parq Guell - At one point, Gaudi was commissioned to develop a planned community of houses, for the wealthy of Barcelona. It's development was abandoned however, when the city refused to continue to pay him because the development looked so odd. The area has since been turned into a park heavily influenced by Gaudi and his work.

Madrid: Flamenco Dancing

Nightlife in Madrid was my favorite. Tucked away in this area of the city known as the Huertas barrio are tons of local live-music establishments. Most are famous for their jazz music and flamenco dancing, so we perched ourselves at Cardamomo for a show.

Madrid: Museo del Jamon

Marc and I watched Andrew Zimmerman describe the "must eats" of Spain before I left and I promised Marc I would seek out a Museo del Jamon (a Ham Museum-basically). They specialize in ham, ham, and more ham. So Arianne and I tried some.

Madrid: Around Town

We ate dinner with the locals, which ended up being between 11pm and 1am each night.



One of the first nights we ate, we decided to simply order randomly from the menu. This is what showed up on one of the plates!



And yes, we ate a little of it. Not bad, despite how it looked!





As you walk through Madrid, you will randomly come upon huge plazas. Each is lined with restaurants and vendors. Great for people-watching and relaxing.









This is the Kilometre Zero, a point of reference for measurement throughout the city.

Madrid: Exploring on Foot

We spent the first afternoon exploring Madrid on foot. We visited the Parque del Retiro and saw a number of monuments and Madrilenos enjoying and afternoon in the sun.



The Crystal Palace



Jenny and Arianne enjoying a back and foot rub...became the sight of interest for a bus of tourists. ;)

Plaza de Oriente - Royal Palace aspiring to be the Spanish Versailles at one point in time.

Our hotel in Madrid

Vacation Pictures

I posted a bunch of vacation pictures below...just learning how to organize the blog-thing...so hopefully this worked and they are in some sense of order. Hope everyone is having a fantastic 2008! M&M

Day Trip to St. John

Taxi Ride




Our "quick side trip" which turned into a 4 mile, uphill hike through the National Park to see the "petroglyphs."





Salt Pond



Red Hook Harbor where we caught the ferry.