29 - Bon Nadal / Feliz Navidad - Barcelona & Zaragoza

 Monday, 25 December 2023 

Barcelona

Merry Christmas, joyeux noel, feliz navidad, and bon nadal!  

My morning was a burst of activity to checkout before my 9AM ticket to see Casa Battlo, another Gaudi design.  It's a little surprising that Casa Battlo didn't miss a beat for the holiday; but I suppose the tourism industry operates at full power whenever there's demand.  This place was a real tourist factory with huge lines, audio guides, multiple tiers of tickets (basic, silver, & gold), 2 boutiques, a café on the roof, and a light show at the end.  But still, I think the building was impressive enough to recommend it to others.  Casa Battlo was a renovation of an existing apartment building and it includes many elements that harken from nature; naturally all were handmade and unique.  

Living here would be like living in an Nautilus themed amusement park

I don't normally think of mushrooms when I think of heat or fire, but maybe Gaudi burnt his tongue on a cooked one as a child

A swirling ceiling in the Battlo family's living room; the ceilings in the building were done with stucco

Lot's of twisty-turny glass here.  There's a pulley system to be able to raise the windows.

Simply incredible detail in the wood working in the Battlo family's doors, I found slightly less work in the apartments above but maybe that's related to restoration work than chosen design.

The venitlation system using air from the central shafts/stairwells

In the attic with arches for support and slats for ventilation

Casa Battlo

After some more thought, I think it's interesting that we give so much credit to the genius of Antoni Gaudi (I was getting Steve Jobs vibes).  Yes, of course, he was a brilliant architect who masterminded some truly spectacular designs but part of me wonders at how far he'd have gotten without what must have been a nearly inexhaustible supply of skilled craftsmen.  Much of the uniqueness that his designs have come from nearly every facet of construction being custom made and tailored to an exact fit.  It's possible he could have been a master of carpentry, masonry, ceramics, and ironwork but at most he would have given exact instructions on how every element was to be constructed and assembled; there's just too much work for one mastermind to do everything on any sort of reasonable timetable.  

Not to mention that the maintenance of all those custom made pieces is so absurd it could only have been approved by somebody with bottomless pockets; the audio guide mentioned that a team of 100 people is continuously working to restore Casa Battlo.  For a work of art, I suppose it makes sense; for an active living space with a longterm perspective, I'm not so sure Gaudi hit the mark on this one.  Still, I'm looking at this with the context of nearly an extra 100 years since Gaudi's death and I know basically nothing about architecture nor structure design so I'll leave it at respect for his vision and appreciation for his works.

After Casa Battlo, it was time to bid adieu to Barcelona.  Truly a delightful, international city.  I want to liken it to LA and NYC, but it's just too unique for such a comparison.  It was about a 3 hour drive from Barcelona to my next stop, Zaragoza.  Right off the bat, the drive hit me with a stunning view of Mount Serrat!  What an interesting profile just outside the city.  

Zaragoza

I wasn't sure what to expect upon arrival in Zaragoza.  It's the capitol of the Aragon province but I don't know anything about Aragon other than that Henry snubbed Catherine all those years ago.  Driving into town, towers of some building grew taller and taller as I approached.  The city was fairly quiet when I arrived near 5 PM, I was able to pull up next to the hotel to bring mi maleta up to the room.  Afterwards, I went to park the car in one of the municipal underground lots.

It was a huge shock to discover that the garage exit put me right into the middle of a huge plaza and a massive Mercado Navidad!  The Christmas Market was so alive, it was a genuine delight to simply walk through.  It was crowded but still felt very open and despite being a capitol it had a small town feel.  

A slide for kids right outside the parking garage exit!

Sweets made from crushed almonds, tejas de almendras

Long long maaaaaaaaaaaaan

I've no idea what they are but I ate a quarter of one on the left; still have no idea what was inside 😅

They went all out for this nativity scene in front of the basilica

Some serious minigolf energy in this production value

The three wise men are off camera to the right, to the left of the scene is the wiseguy

Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar

I swear that tower has to be leaning

A bit of old Roman walls

Froggy was looking a little thirsty for some vino caliente

A nice wide street for the main drag and the buildings all have a pretty modern style.

Not quite an impromptu gathering of carolers but this choir was good

I'm told Zaragoza takes its name from Caesar Augusta and they had a statue of the Roman along with some old walls and some churches and a basilica.  There's also a museum for many of Goya's paintings (per a Wikipedia search, Goya grew up in Zaragoza).  Overall, it was a nice casco viejo (I'm not sure I got that one quite right); not nearly the same kind of character as Barcelona and much more current buildings and facades but still a delight to have visited.