This was part of A Taste of Iberia - Day 2 🇪🇸 🔗.
I joined the 2:00 PM Modernisme Free Tour by Play Tour Barcelona with Moises. We started from Plaça de Catalunya and headed towards the Illa de la Discòrdia. Moises told us about Modernista architecture and the four elements we should look for in every building: asymmetry, colors, the use of iron, and elements of nature. The Illa de la Discòrdia is a city block noted for having buildings by four of Barcelona’s most important Modernista architects. We saw the Casa Lleó Morera by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Casa Amatller by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, and then Casa Batlló by Antoni Gaudí.
There was a small coffee and bathroom break at Faborit Casa Amatller, where we also got to sample some of their chocolate.
Our next stop was Casa Milà, again by Antoni Gaudí. Ever wondered what the Stormtrooper helmets in Star Wars were inspired by?
We needed to take a subway ride from Diagonal to Sagrada Família for our last stop. Moises suggested that the group of German girls on the tour include me on their group ticket so I would pay less than I would have on my own. They were nice enough to agree, but I felt a bit silly handing over a couple of Euros in cash to someone I didn’t really know. As we got out of the subway station, Moises asked those of us who had not seen the church before to look at him as he walked us to a vantage point, before finally asking us to behold the sight in front of us. It was magnificent—quirky in its own way and, of course, still under construction. We walked around it while he told us about its history and the many details we should look for in the façade. Our tour ended there.
