If you want to see more about the first part of our day in Barcelona at the Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia, and Las Ramblas before reading on, click here!
We spent the afternoon and evening in Barcelona checking out even more Gaudi masterpieces and enjoying the gorgeous city. Our two big stops were the Casa Mila and the Casa Battlo, which are two apartment buildings just a few blocks away from each other. The architecture of both was absolutely stunning, and it was amazing to step inside the apartments Gaudi designed and imagine what life there must have been like (and what life there is still like- yes, people still live there!). Our first stop was Casa Mila.
The undulating curves of the building are iconic. So creative and inventive!
We had pre-booked a tour here, so we walked inside and were greeted with a courtyard with murals on the wall that made it seem like we were in an underwater cavern.
One of the main draws of the Casa Mila is the stunning rooftop. Gaudi made an area that is typically bare and industrial into a beautiful, creative space. He turned boring chimneys into cool sculptures and added such excitement and beauty to a typically forgetten, functional space.
It also bears noting how insanely, crazily hot it was at this point. It was the mid-afternoon, in a building with no air-conditioning, and we were wandering around on a roof with no shade. But it was so worth it to see this in person!!
After we walked around inside for a bit, we walked down the few blocks to the Casa Battlo (stopping at a little cafe on the way to grab a few tapas, of course!)
The outside of the building is so beautiful and colorful, it looks like a living coral reef. At the same time it also resembles a skull, with bones for the balconies. It’s such a perfect example of Gaudi’s desire to bring the natural world into his architecture.
Once we got inside, we were able to explore some really elegant and beautiful art nouveau rooms that made up the original apartments for the Battlo family.
Just like the Casa Mila it also had a beautiful, colorful courtyard!
The rooftop of the Casa Battlo was also incredible. The glazed tiles and mosaics all reminded me of the scales of a dragon. So amazing.
There was something about the colors and curves of the Casa Battlo that just totally took my breath away. Even though I had been more excited about seeing the Casa Mila, I actually much preferred the Casa Battlo. It was just stunning.
(Also, it was air-conditioned, which definitely was a major plus, ha!)
After we finished touring the Casa Battlo, we had a couple of hours until our dinner reservation which was at the gorgeous Skybar at out hotel, the Grand Central Hotel. It was probably around 5:00 or 6:00 at this point, and so we had been touring Barcelona for over 12 hours already, and we were exhausted. We went back to our rooms and just laid down for a bit before getting dressed and heading up to the rooftop for drinks before dinner. The rooftop was unbelievable….
An infinity pool sat right at the edge of the roof and looked out over the city. As the sun went down the pool would light up in different colors which were coordinated with the lights in the bar.
It was an absolutely perfect little rooftop garden oasis!
Dress: Shopbop (out of stock, similar here for $33.50!); Bracelet: Kendra Scott (same style, but different colors)
We had the absolute best time on our last night of our vacation just laughing and talking and telling stories while we enjoyed drinks and took in the views.
When it was time to sit down for dinner we had the most incredible tapas and the most perfect views. By this point in the trip I was so incredibly stuffed from over a week of pizza, gelato, sangria, crepes, and tapas, but I knew that there would be plenty of time for salads once I got back home! So I had one last delicious, decadent meal with a glass of rose to cap off the most amazing trip.
I can’t believe that with this I’m finally done with my trip recaps for a while! Making each of these posts was such a fun way to relive a trip that was so special and fun. I love exploring new places, and each of the places we went on this trip were places I had been dreaming about seeing forever. It was so great to truly get away from it all, get a break from work, and run around and have fun with my family. I’m already dreaming about where my next trip will be!
Check out the rest of the posts from my trip here:
Day 2: Portofino and Cinque Terre
Day 5: Nîmes and the Pont du Gard
[Day 7: At Sea]
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