Before going to it, we saw Don and Jennifer off in a taxi, and did some clean-up in the apartment. (Editor's Note: Carol cleaned up, you blogged. Blogger's Note: In my defense, I was way behind.)
First we went to Zara Patatero for lunch. Not far from the apartment, it served a delicious menu of the day (starter, main, dessert, plus a drink) for a fixed price. That Menu of the Day is the old tradition in Catalan food, although its been overtaken by tapas. Then we took the Metro to Sant Pau/Dos de Maig, where we came out just two blocks from our objective, the Hospital de Sant Pau.
This masterpiece, the Hospital de Sant Pau, is actually NOT a Gaudi creation. Instead, this was done by the same architect who designed the Palace of Catalan Music, Lluis Domenech i Montaner. This was a working hospital until 2009, and has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1997.
Another Modernisme classic, the hospital is stunning. It is still in use, but now as a knowledge center, housing organizations such as part of the WHO and the UN-Habitat. It has to be inspiring to come to work each day at such a beautiful campus.
Started in 1902, it wasn't finished until 1930, by the architect's son. The first building is the administration building, and then behind it are various buildings that housed departments of the hospital.
There are 26 buildings overall, but only parts of four (including the brilliant administration building) are open to the public. All of the buildings are connected by underground passages, to make it easier to move patients at night or in bad weather.
We did not come here ten years ago, but you should definitely add this to your itinerary if you come to Barcelona. I apologize in advance for all of the photos, but I left many, many more out of this post that easily could have been included for their beauty, creativity, and color.
The front of the Administration
Building. While it looks neat
from the outside, the genius is
on the inside.
Okay, there's some genius
on the outside as well!
One of the many buildings
past the admin building.
Selfie time
As the hospital was originally designed.
Two of the angels.
Click on this photo and look closely at
the brilliance in all of the elements.
Not as cool as Gaudi's chimney toppers,
but still cooler than most!
Brilliant colors on the roof.
Dragons. . .
Dragons. . .
Dragon!
A ceiling in the admin building.
A brilliantly done skylight.
Upstairs at the Admin building.
The money shot of the main campus.
Sagrada Familia from the admin building.
Two more dragons, facing off.
On a side building, St. George
has killed his dragon.
He's ready for his close-up.
Murals on the admin building.
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