We took our time this morning, did the laundry and hung it out on our large terrace. Our travel stamina is waning. We are having trouble trying to prioritize all this city has to offer and squaring it with our energy. But finally, we booked tickets online for Casa Balltó, another explosion of Gaudi’s art.

It was an easy half hour walk to get there and no waiting because the QR code was on my phone already. With the “Silver” ticket you also get a tablet which you aim at the walls and rooms and you get some virtual effects that really enhance the experience, by virtually filling the room with furniture, wall art, and the occasional sea creature themes that underpinned many of the designs throughout the house. With the tablets, the large headphones and our masks we looked pretty ridiculous. I found this experience every bit as mind blowing as Sagrada Familia. Here are my photos, but I must say it was difficult with the tablet etc. to access my phone and with the other people, hard to get a clean shot.

The visit ends with an intense, colorful video (pasted from the web site): The final surprise of the visit to Casa Batlló is an immersive installation created by the artist and director Refik Anadol using the largest digital library in the world on Gaudí. This pioneering work presents the world’s first real 360º experience in a 6-sided LED cube and invites you to discover a myth of architecture from the Catalan architect’s mind.

We visited the gift shop and bought a few little things for the grandgirls and walked home.

I love these white mosaic benches on the Passeig de Gràcia so I had little rest moment on one:

We were getting hungry (again!) and stopped at a place in Plaça Diamant, nearby. We at a nice salad with ham and cheese in it (this is manchego country) and bread with tomato, a little plate of Serrano ham and patatas bravas. The sauce on these potatoes was like a curry aioli–very good! We also each had a vermouth. Right across the square is a Portuguese bakery, so we grabbed some pasteis de nata (little custard tarts) to bring home.

After a good rest we went for a walk and stopped at Las Vermudas, a bar nearby. We wanted to get a “flight” to taste different vermouths but there was no such thing. The owner brought us 4 or five to try and finally we each got a glass. My favorite was an Italian vermouth which reminded me of Barolo Chinato–so many complex flavors in one glass.

Back at home, we finished the laundry, heated up some random stuff from the refrigerator, and that was that.