I've forgotten to introduce the two little 'pets' that we had with us. Mona has a cute little teddy that she brings along on her travels- he is called Eskild. (This is a Danish name, and the 'd' is silent, when you say it).
Polpo is Spanish and means 'octopus' and that's what he is. I made him for little Isabella (who would be going to the wedding as well), because the first octopus she got was stuffed with cotton wool, which meant you couldn't wash him. So I made her a new one with washable stuffing. Yay!
Anyway, here they are in our hostel, looking forward to their Spanish adventure:
On Friday morning, after the sangria the night before, did we drag ourselves out of bed as planned, or did we stay in bed? We got up and were ready at the entrance of Casa Batlló at five past nine. Not bad, huh! Well....it was just around the corner....
I am glad we saved this for last. It was chockfull of whimsical details and breathtaking beauty. Gaudí can make wood and stone flow like water, it's really amazing. I'm not sure how I would feel if I actually lived in Casa Batlló, but I will recommend it to anyone who goes to Barcelona as an absolute must-see. There are simply no straight lines anywhere - check out this picture from the living room:
I have no words......
It's relatively expensive to go and see this (16.50 euro, I think), but it's worth every cent if you ask me. The following pictures are from the roof, which are full of colourful mosaic chimneys. Also, the front top of the roof is shaped like a great dragon, which of course is right up my street, and the tower with the white cross on top is just lovely.
Eskild and Polpo were not the least bit afraid of the dragon, and had the audacity to sit in its eye:
I guess it helped that they had already made friends with a big turtle at La Sagrada Familia. Some of the pillars of the Nativity Facade (I saw two, but am not sure if there are any more) rest on the backs of turtles (well, one turtle and one tortoise, to be absolutely exact). This refers to an old legend that the universe is actually carried around on the back of a turtle.
For those of you that know Terry Pratchett and the Discworld - that's where he got the idea (not La Sagrada Familia, but the old legend). He just modified it a bit, in that the Discworld rests on the back of four elephants, but the elephants are carried on the back of a great Turtle.
So here are Eskild and Polpo and the turtle at La Sagrada Familia:
Stay tuned for Part V, in which we say goodbye to Mona, who has to go back to Denmark, but hello to Yolanda and the merry revels in the mountains in Montseny.....
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