Barri Eixample, Barcelona

Favorite thing: This is the name (La Manzana de la Discordia) given to a block of houses in the Passeig de Gracia, where you can find the:
- Casa Lleo Morera,
- Casa Amatller and the
- Casa Batllo,
3 jewels of the BCN modernism.

So why "apple"? The word manzana has 2 meanings in spanish: apple and block of houses.
The first meaning is a block of houses that are all very important and the discord comes when it has to be decided which one is the best.
And here comes the other meaning (apple): according to a Greek Myth, an apple was the responsible of the Trojan Wars, as it was given as a prize to the most beautiful Goddes (out of 3), causing the revenge of the other 2.

So here are 3 buildings (as the 3 Goddess) and none wants to decide who is the winner... well, I have my favourite, but I won't tell, LOL!!

Fondest memory: Passeig de Gracia 35, 41 and 43.
Metro Pg. de Gracia

Favorite thing: The Modernista loved to work with iron as part of their new style: iron; glass, light, organic and curling shapes.
This picture is a nice detail of the gate outside palau Ramon de Montenar.

Fondest memory: This block of the neighborhood is really worth sightseeing.

Favorite thing: In the same area of the Casa Mila "La Pedrera" you will find this very nice example of Modernista : the Paulau Ramon de Montaner.

I hope that when my other pictures are finished and scanned I can add some nice details.

This Palau is situated at the cornere of carrer de Mallorca and carrer de Pau Claris

Favorite thing: There's a zone, in Barcelona, in the barri Eixample, and also a little part of ciutat Vella, where the gay people hav a lot of bars, discos, and another things to enjoy. A lot of this gay people get now their home here, and we can say it's a new neightbourghood, that i have heard people talking about as "Gaycelona". If a couple walk around, they can feel like the men look at the leggs of the man, the other way that normally. In the photo, the zone, more or less.

http://www.gaybarcelona.net/

Favorite thing: Between 1860 and 1920 Barcelona expanded into a grid of uniform streets parallel to the sea, an area known as l'Eixample (the Extension). Today this is a residential, commercial and business district, divided in half by the Diagonal, a grand avenue cutting through the grid at a 45-degree angle. It's an interesting example of innovative town planning, and contains Barcelona's finest Modernist buildings. Some of the best are in the Passeig de Gràcia; look for No. 43, Casa Batlló, with a mosaic facade and wavy roofline that represent St. George's dragon. The block at No. 92 is known as La Pedrera, Gaudí's last secular work. It's without a single straight line or sharp corner.

Favorite thing: the area of Barcelona called eixample is a quarter that was built after 1859, when they tore down the city walls. This second Barcelona was carefully planned and structured by Ildefons Cerda i Sunyer and laid out as a grid.

Fondest memory: It's where most of the wonderful modernist buildings are located: Gaudì's houses (la pedrera, casa batlò), the sagrada familia, parc guell, but also, by other architects, casa amatler, casa de les punxes and the hospital san pau.

Fondest memory: wandering the streets of the Eixample area and discovering its weird and wonderful and distinct architectural styles...just go when the lines aren't so massive and maybe you can go inside these buildings instead of just observing from across the street...

Favorite thing: Gran Teatre del Liceu (Opera House): Restored after a fire in 1994.
Gaudi’s Palau Guell.
The Plaça Reial it is a must among meeting points when the day comes to an end.
And Wax Museum which brings us closer to one of the most unusual café-bars in the city- El Bosc de les Fades, the decoration of which is reminiscent of a forest inhabited by fairies and elves.
Our walk ends at statue of Cristofor Colom ( Catalan or maybe Genovese who discovered America in 1492).

Near Via Laietana (It is a main street which receive the name from Laietans Iberic residents in Barcelona former to Greeks and Romans), you can find The Palau de la Música Catalana. It is the main work of Lluis Domenech i Muntaner. One of the most important concert halls in the city and a stunning example of Modernist architecture.
You are now in the quarter where there are a lot of wholesale and retail clothing business in the city (it is a must in Trafalgar and Ronda Sant Pere).