Today Val and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary by taking a walking tour around the city of Barcelona. We then followed it up with a bottle of Cava (Spanish champagne) and a few shots of tequila back in our hotel room. Yes, it was a grand day!

We began by using a walking tour suggested in our Lonely Planet guide book as a starting point, but we wandered off of it on many occasions as we came across other interesting sights along the way. Barcelona is an amazing city with architecture that is mind boggling to say the least. After more than 10 months, it was surprising to me that so much of what I do for a living has begun to come back into my mind again. It's kind of scary since it means I'm starting to think about the travels ending:(

We had planned to walk the tour and then come back to visit some of the Gaudi buildings on another day. However, when we arrived at the La Pedrera apartment building, we decided to pay the 7 Euros each and take the tour. Several hours later we came out shaking our heads in amazement! I have seen hundreds of pictures of his work, but to tour inside inside one of his masterpieces was an experience that every Architect should have to do. There is 'genius at work' in so many places that it's hard to describe. The free form design is what he is known for by most people, but his understanding of engineering and building materials was so far advanced for his time that it is hard to imagine the builders being able to work with him to complete these projects. The tour includes a visit to a museum that has been installed in the 'attic' of the building which is massive and was originally used as part of the building ventilation system. We also toured the roof which is another whole experience unto itself. One of the apartments has been furnished with period furnishings and we were able to visit this. Every room has access to daylight except for a single room which was the servant's quarters. The quality of light was spectacular! The plan of the building includes two large open courts that act as light shafts and allow every room to have windows or at least borrow light from other rooms using transom windows over the doors. The building is purported to not have a single straight line in it and it's easy to believe when you see it.

We eventually left La Pedrera and continued on our tour. We saw other buildings which had influence from Gaudi's work as well as other buildings which had historical significance for other innovations. Along the way, we paused for beer and food at a temporary tent set up for a local festival that was taking place in the neighborhood. This occurs all year in Barcelona. There is some small festival going on almost every day in one neighborhood or another. Spaniards like to party, and any excuse is a good one:)

I took almost a full 512 meg cards worth of photos, but have only posted a few of the better ones. I hope you enjoy them.

Tomorrow we will be getting packed and ready to head south for some time along the Costa Dorada. We are hoping to explore some of the wine region south of here, as well as spending some time on the beaches since this will be our last chance before we head north and expect to be faced with cold weather for the first time since New Zealand.

We are planning to return to Barcelona in early September for a few more days of exploring. The city has just too much to see in a few days!

That's it for now.

Eric & Val