we attempted to get up early on day four of our trip in order to avoid the crazy lines at gaudi's casa mila. it ended up not being so early, but we got some strong coffee to go and drank it as fast as we could while we stood in the relatively short line.
the atrium of casa mila was an exciting taste of what was to come on our tour of casa mila {nicknamed la pedrera - the quarry}. gaudi was inspired by nature in everything he did. the inside of the building is stunning with its parabolic archways and its complete lack of pointed corners, but the rooftop is the star of the show - disney-esque undulating walkways, fairytale windows, and 30 chimneys that look like menacing knights and white mosaic ice cream sundaes.
after our rooftop adventures and a quick snack break, we began the hike to parc guell. it's ten times the fantasy wonderland that la pedrera is. an entire park to play in, with gingerbread houses, a multicolored mosaic dragon fountain, a magnificent hall of columns, ergonomically designed serpentine benches, dozens of amazing little worlds to explore. we hid in one of gaudi's bird's nest alcoves and ate some ice cream while listening to a band play some sort of magical catalan dixieland.
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after a failed attempt at siesta we took the metro out towards the water. we watched the sun set from the beach as we drank our grocery store cava and cerveza. we took our shoes off, drew a heart in the sand, and sank our feet into the mediterranean sea. then we ate tapas at an open-air restaurant on the beach - classic catalan paella and pa amb tomaquet. it was dark as we walked back to the metro station, past the gypsies building intricate sand castle creations.
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