Travel Three blocks north is Casa Milà, another private residence designed by Gaudí that is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Casa Milà’s undulating curved limestone design includes interior and exterior balconies constructed from scrap iron, an unusual material for a luxury apartment in 1910. Barcelona residents made fun of Casa Milà and gave it the derogatory nickname La Pedrera (the stone quarry), a name that survives today. Gaudí lost interest in the work and let others finish it. Instead, he devoted his energy to his greatest legacy, the Basilica of the Holy Family. Locally known as Sagrada Familia, the UNESCO World Heritage Site combines medieval and modernist art styles with art nouveau and Gothic architecture. Gaudí worked on it for 43 years, from 1883 to 1926, when a tram accidently ran over him. The basilica has three façades with stone sculptures that tell the stories of Christianity like a mammoth stone bible. When it’s finished (target date: 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudí’s death), Sagrada Familia will have 18 towers that will soar to a height of 174 metres, making the basilica the world’s tallest church. We then strolled along La Rambla, a treelined pedestrian boulevard known for its shops, restaurants, tapas bars, outdoor cafés and La Boquería food market. Vendors sell fish, meat, cheese, eggs, olives, wine, dried fruit, nuts, fruits, vegetables and spices here. Especially popular are the stands selling hams made from black Iberian pigs that eat only acorns. It’s hard to find a bar stool around the seafood and tapas counters, where you can enjoy meals with glasses of local wine. Much more enticing than North American fast-food meals are the take-out paper cones filled with freshly cooked shrimp, calamari and chorizo sausages. Decorated with lettuce, cherry tomatoes and pepper slices, they are pretty as well as tasty. Decadent pastries, tarts, cookies and candy tempted us in the bakeries. After walking all day, we enjoyed the treats guilt-free. Far left: Antoni Gaudí's curved limestone Casa Milà with scrap iron balconies Left: Antoni Gaudí's Sagrada Familia under construction Below: Iberian hams, take-out paper cones filled with seafood, meat and vegetables and chocolate treats at La Boquería food market 22 | www.snowbirds.org
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