broken ceramics, broken bones

The intensity of our artistic marathon warranted some time for reflection and musing. The sky was the deepest cerulean, the sun was warm, it was a perfect day for a walk in a park. Spread out high upon the hills of Barcelona, is a green wonderland of cacti with waves of shattered ceramics, Gaudí's Parc Güell.

Conceived as a housing development by Eusebi Güell, the project never caught on. Gaudí bought one of the two houses nestled within the Parc, and set to work transforming the land into a municipal garden— a pocket of peace above the bustling city.

Hidden amongst the trees are curving stairways, fairytale buildings and an enormous terrace adorned with a long serpentine bench of colourful broken tiles. As I was midway through a sketch, the afternoon tranquillity was interrupted by the disturbing sound of fist hitting torso.


A territorial dispute between trinket vendors suddenly erupted into violence. As the blur of flying fists and kicking feet came crashing towards me, I threw my sketchbook into my bag and fled, just as an old man drove a wooden plank into another man's head.

I abhor violence. I ran off into the trees until I could no longer hear the shouting. Beneath limbs shaded green, I found the quiet again. Along a meandering path, I stumbled upon the most beautiful sight in the park. It was so marvellous, and dare I say perfect, that I wondered if it was crafted by some artist's hands.


Two knobby, rolling trees, sighing into each other, entwined like lovers.

stories in stone

Casa Milà, best known as La Pedrera— which is Catalan for 'the quarry', is one of Gaudí's best known buildings in Barcelona. The striated waves of stone were meant to house offices and apartments, but had trouble gaining tenants due to its unusual shape. I think I'd much prefer an oddly shaped room to a rectangle, but that's me. The iron vined balconies remind me of dripping lava— in fact there is something very lava-like about the whole building. I did a terrible sketch, and feeling slightly irritated, I was only able to last fifteen minutes in the line that stretched around the block to get inside La Pedrera before I left.



Just a few steps down Passeig de Gracia stands another Gaudí, Casa Battló. I much prefer this narrow apartment building to La Pedrera for its colour, curves and illustrative quality. Casa Battló is a story; the story of Catalonia's patron saint, Saint George, and his slaying of a dragon. The balconies are skulls of the dead, and the green tiled undulating roof is the back of the beast with the turret/sword piercing its body. What a marvellous place to live!

Next door to this visceral beauty is the stunning Casa Amatller, designed by Puig i Cadafalch for chocolatier Antoni Amatller.


It's a fitting house for a chocolatier— I just love the bear by the door! Both buildings look like something out of a fairy tale. I wish I had sketched them, but the amount of tourists hovering around like flies was enough to make me keep moving.

la sagrada familia

I was reminded of stalagmites rising from the floor of some deep cave.
The interior was cold and grey— I half-expected a bat or two to swoop out from behind a pillar. Everything about this church reminded me of a cave or a mine, except for the cacophony of cranes and drills, camera clicks and nasal American teenagers. It would have been beautiful if I could have turned out the sound. I rummaged through the recesses of my bag for my iPod, hoping I could at least plug into Chopin, but alas, I had left it in Lapin's living room.

breakfast and incompletion

There's nothing like a warm, delicious breakfast and an intense coffee to get you ready for a day of exploring. Lapin took me to one of his favourite cafés for tortillas, which I quickly learned had nothing to do with the flat Mexican tortillas I know and love— Spanish tortillas are the ultimate omelettes.


Thick and almost cake-like, tortillas can be filled with just about anything— here we have the typical potato tortilla, and an oh-so yummy vegetable version. I thrilled to get some more of that incredible tomato garlicky bread. After devouring every crumb on my plate, I set off for one of Barcelona's most visited sites.



I could not travel to Barcelona without sketching Gaudí's ever-unfinished La Sagrada Familia. This massive Roman Catholic church has been under construction since 1882, and isn't expected to be completed any time soon. When questioned on the length of time the enormous project was taking, Gaudí is reported to have quipped, "My client is not in a hurry."


Stylised figures, hidden details waiting to be discovered— even the contrast of the angular machinery and white jumpsuited construction workers against the delicate vaults is a delight to the eye. If only it weren't so noisy...