Week-end in Barcelona (2): An afternoon touring Casa Milà

After Park Güell, it was time for Hubby Dearest to choose a sight he wanted to see, so we headed back to Passeig de Gràcia to visit a building which is world famous as La Pedrera, also known as Casa Milà. It's situated on the most fashionable street in Barcelona, in the middle of some of my favourite boutiques, so of course I planned a little shopping tour following our cultural afternoon...

Like Park Güell, this is another of Gaudi's creations, and it looks truly magical from the street, inviting a long queue of tourists every day. When we got there just before lunchtime, the queue was going around the block... Ouch! But, here's one piece of good news for those of you travelling to Barcelona with children: Casa Milà has a priority system for families with buggies, and you can store your pushchair in the locker room before progressing upstairs for the visit.
As Little Monsieur was having his nap when we arrived, we decided to postpone our visit by a couple of hours and went for lunch nearby. There are loads of options around, and we found a lovely place in one of the little side streets where we enjoyed some typical Spanish fare: jamon iberico, pan con tomate, and some delicious grilled squid with ink rice. Yum!

With our appetites quelled, it was time to return to La Pedrera for our tour. We spent a lot of time on the terrace, which, in line with the rest of the building, is filled with curves and nature-inspired shapes. The chimneys are particularly impressive and Little Monsieur was quite taken with the tiling work and the fabulous shapes...

Inside we were given a tour of what an apartment would have looked like when the building was built, in 1912, and I found it incredibly modern in its layout, and could have easily moved in had I been given the chance. The architectural perfection of this building is literally in a whole different league compared with our London Victorian house!

If you're visiting Barcelona, be sure to schedule a couple of hours to visit Casa Milà, it's well worth it! Find out more here: http://www.lapedrera.com/en/home.