Casa Batllo

Windows in the Noble Hall

Spines of the dragon's back roof

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Broken ceramic tile work is everywhere

Tortoise shell windows on the ground floor

I admit that I didn't do enough advance research to make the optimum use of my time in Barcelona. (Yet, when I look back on all my photos, I realize that I did do and see an awful lot!)  I knew of Sagrada Familia and a little about Gaudi, but it was the lucky meeting and recommendation of our fellow B & B boarder that I learned of Casa Batllo.

Family heirloom urns in the entryway

Undulating stair railing

We passed this Gaudi designed home on both the Red and Green hop on-hop off tours.  Whimsical isn't quite the right word--it's a little more serious than that.  By modern standards, it's huge, but in Barcelona of those days, it was probably not all that large.  It still is held by the Batllo family, and they have opened it to the public.  For a rather hefty fee, one can tour at one's leisure, taking as much time as needed to fully absorb all the details of this interesting house.

Bannister at the bottom of the stairs

Bannister detail at the top of the stairs

Mushroom fireplace--a cozy alcove for conversation

Cruved doorways

The light well illuminates the bottom of the house

A chandelier sort of out of character

There were lines, of course, and crowds milling about the entrance.  I showed our tickets to the young man controlling entry to the home and asked him where we should stand to wait, as we were a little early for our 12:45 appointed gathering time. (The tour  was scheduled to begin at 1:00)  The fact that they do control how many people are in the house at any given time helps with crowd size and I never felt pushed and shoved or even rushed to move along.  I could spend as much time as I needed in front of a particularly intriguing feature.  I liked that pace very much

Main hall window from outside

Same window from the other side

Main hall ceiling

Light fixture looks like a sea creature

I am not going to try to give a tour here on this page, nor am I going to give all the history of the house.  There are plenty of authoritative sources to be found by Googling Casa Batllo if you want more information.  I am simply going to post what I think are the best of my "snapshots" and an occasional photo of something I found particularly beautiful or interesting.  I will say that this house tour was worth every since centime of the ticket price and I am so glad to have done it.  I came away with a better sense of the times, of Gaudi's influence, and his importance in the crown of Barcelonan architectural gems.  This trip was a very important part in my education.

More traditional chandelier

I fell in love with these windows

A closer look

Closer still

The tour provides a mini-tablet and headphones describing the important features of the home.  I found myself wondering about the Batllo family--what were they like?  Did they have children?  What would have been like to live and grow up in that amazing house--did they ever get "comfortable" there?  Maybe I can't imagine wealth on such a scale.  I can't imagine servant quarters in my home, or servants, for that matter. 

Almost white tiles at the bottom of the light well

Darker tiles near the top

Like bringing the sky indoors

The back of the house from the terrace

Casa Batllo involves climbing steps, and lots of them.  There is a private elevator that the family used.  I would have liked to have seen a bedroom and above all, I would have liked to have seen the kitchen.  

I suppose the most striking feature of the home is the absence of straight lines....Gaudi loved curves and this is reflected in all features of the home--windows doorways, corners, ceilings, the staircase and the railings.  For someone like me, whose tastes run to Amish and Danish modern, this took some getting used to.  I liked some of the curves better than others.   

I was really fascinated by the light well in the house and Gaudi's use of graduated colors of blue--darker at the top of the building where the light is strongest to almost white at the bottom of the light well, where the light is weakest, to give almost uniform light dispersal throughout the floors of the home. 

Gaudi designed his own knobs and pulls to be comfortable

I also loved his use of stained glass, especially in the living room.  I liked almost everything about his windows, except maybe for the fact that the family's private life would have been on display to the street.  But perhaps that was the point.

Arches in the top floor, like gills of a fish

Here the servants did the laundry

I didn't get a great photo of the exterior facing the main street.  It's the most famous view and there are plenty of wonderful, professional shots of it to be found with a Google search.   The roof is made to resemble a dragon and there are particular tiles along the crest to resemble the ridges and scales of the dragon's back.  The balconies resemble bird faces, to me.  Other people see other images.  I like the floral design in the street-side ceramic work, but it does make the house look like something out of a fairy tale.  When Lorraine remarked that it looked like some of the sets in Lord of the Rings, it made me ask the question of who influenced whom?

The ridge of the dragon's back

Maybe it's my tacky side, but I would love to know the cost of this home, both then and in today's dollars.  Nowhere was it mentioned, and I just looked at Wikipedia and I could find no mention of costs, either.  Perhaps one simply does not ask such questions, but who wouldn't be curious?  AT 23.50 Euros a ticket and proceeds from the sale of merchandise in the gift shop, they are certainly guaranteed a certain income stream. I can only imagine what the maintenance costs must be to keep this building and all of its appointments in pristine condition.   I believe the Batllo family still owns the building, but I am not completely convinced of this. I would think this house is both a treasure and a burden.

I lost track of time during the tour, which certainly lasted well over an hour.  I took over 100 photographs, many of which turned out reasonably well, although the professionals certainly do it better than I.  Would I go and see this house again?  In a heartbeat.  I can't imagine all of the things i missed, enthralled as I was with the light fixtures and the subtle patterns of the walls.  I really doubt it possible to see all of the sights in this home is two or even three visits. 

Decorated chimney tops

After the tour, hunger drove us to a little side street cafe for paella--when in Barcelona.....and sangria, of course.  Fatigue and an on-coming cold (as it turned out) drove me to a 15 hour nap.  At least I would be rested for our final day in Barcelona.

Paella and sangria--ah Barcelona!