Up Close in Casa Batllo

Going thru this amazing house was an inspiration to our creativity. Shirley did such an excellent story blog post earlier this week... if you haven't seen it yet just click on this link.

In this blog I want to build on the foundation of Shirley's blog post with a few more close up photos of things we found interesting.

Stained glass above living room window... cool colours.

This pattern on a column was used in different colours throughout the house.

You can see the subtle pattern on the ceiling... as well as the wall below.

How did Gaudi do this boob detail?  I have no idea.  Maybe he had a giant ice-cream scoop to put the stucco onto the ceiling.

Wall light.

Ceiling lights.

 Different designs were used in different places and all were different.

And what is this?  Would you believe it's a hallway near the top floor... and one of the lights must be burned out making one of the ribs dark.  I like the feeling of it.

Sometimes photos and paintings are more interesting when you don't see the whole thing and the viewer has to use their imagination to complete the story.

Glass mixed with ceramic in this mosaic.

Mosaic wall designed with plant niches... currently not used for plants.

Ceramic tile pattern on large garden patio.

This patio with skylights in the floor... obviously there's a room below. Likely a mechanical room.

Handrail on part of rooftop patio...

Thru this hole in the handrail we see mostly the neighbours patios'... however in the bottom thru the grille you can see the arched mosaic planter wall already shown three photos back.

Roof ridge... or maybe parapet detail.

“His houses are for erotomaniacs, where you can dream as well as live.” -Salvador Dali 

Of course at the end of every tour there is a gift shop where you can leave a little more money and take a memory book or gift for someone.  There are more books on Gaudi than this photo shows... and available in almost any language.

This little salamander is Gaudi's trademark.  Isn't he precious?  Ask me how many times I have kicked myself for not buying it?

Now would be a good time to end this blog... but I have one more fun detail that isn't Gaudi which I captured with the camera.

This photo taken from the street shows an camera arm centre top.

Not to miss any opportunity to make another few dollars off the tourists, when you are touring Casa Batllo you can have your picture taken with your spouse/friend standing on the upper deck of this house.  That will be 15 euros please.  Sorry.  We didn't get one to show you.

Hope you are having a good weekend, where ever you are... what ever you are doing.


“The measure of a man's culture is the measure of his appreciation. We are ourselves what we appreciate and no more.” 
-Frank Lloyd Wright

Venice -a City of Canals and Bridges

Venice is an elegant older lady, full of charm and majestic architecture, with canals instead of streets and more than 400 bridges.

She is a romantic city... where you can get a gondola ride just for the joy of it!

Some even get a singer with accompaniment!  We enjoyed their music when they passed by... and it was great while it lasted.

The first picture and this one are our friends from Alberta.... 12 of us enjoyed a ride together in two gondolas. Above left to right is Barry and Gail Grabo, Byron and Joyce Grabo...amd Shirley.

Most of the bridges in Venice are masonry. 

Academy Bridge as seen from Peggy Guggenheim Museum (1854)

Some are wooden.  

Rialto Bridge opened 1591

Some are large.

And some are small..

But all have steps.  

And all are arched to accommodate boat passage under.

This is not a bicycle friendly place.

We were surprised to learn that it is illegal to ride a bicycle in Venice.  In fact you will get a fine if you are caught riding a bike here.  These bikes stayed parked in the foyer of our hotel until the guests left.

Venice is an island, divided in two by the Grand Canal... with only four bridges over it. 

This is the newest bridge over the Grand Canal.

On our way to board the Royal Carribbean cruise ship our vaporetto (water bus) went under this amazing bridge... unlike any other in this ancient city. This bridge is new... only five years old.

Immediately I was impressed by it's design.  Good design is not an accident.

I was clicking photos like crazy as we passed under it.

I resolved to come back when we returned after the cruise to take more pictures of the bridge and to walk over and enjoy it.  I love creative engineering!

There was a lot of controversy about this bridge before the design was approved.  There was resistance to do anything modern or contemporary in a city steeped in history.

Notice how you can see daylight thru the steps.

The bridge was opened September 11, 2008 and named Ponte della Constituzione.

But the locals and tourists call it the Calatrava Bridge after the famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Please click on this link to see exceptional photos of his world class portfolio of projects.

Every effort was made to integrate traditional materials into the construction.  The deck is paved in Istrian stone and the steps have a gentle rise that decreases as you ascend.

The glass panels are translucent so it isn't scary to walk over it.

The parapets are solid glass and the brass handrail seems to just float above.

At the ends of the handrails where they meet the abutments the architect left his subtle stamp with the crest of the Knights of Calatrava.

This pod for handicapped people was no doubt added to satisfy the complainers.

It has not yet been completed and the project has significantly exceeded the 6.7 million dollar budget... so who knows if or when it will get done.

Calatrava is well known for creating bridges inspired by nature and this bridge is no exception.

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature.  
It will never fail you." 
-Frank Lloyd Wright

What do you think?

Did they do the right thing here?

Do you like the bridge?

I came upon this link which shows some photos taken during construction... like floating the prefab sections on a barge down the river at night.  And cranes putting sections of the bridge into place.  I like construction projects so found this website most interesting.

Look at some the links and share your thoughts.

Tuzigoot National Monument... near Flagstaff, Az.

This morning we were the first to show up at this National Monument... like 8:05 AM.

Where did they get this name from?  Apparently Tuzigoot means "crooked water" in Apache... which refers to the winding Verde River nearby.  There is lots of other cool information on this Wikipedia site.

In the Visitors Centre I saw this poster on the wall... and I wanted to know where this photo taken from... and how could I get one like it?  What a great photo!

The attendant told me that the mayor of Clarkdale, Doug Von Gausig, took that photo from his residence on the hill across the Verde River.  Since it was private property, it was unlikely we would be able to get a photo just like that one.  You can see by the colour of the sunlight that this shot was taken early after sunrise.

So, I asked if there might be another place I might be able to get a long shot of these ruins?  She told me that we might get it if we went to the Dead Horse State Park... which we did after.  My shot is not nearly as dramatic.  The sun was higher and not as yellow... but it does give one a good idea of the scope and magnitude of this ancient 110-room pueblo apparently built in the late 1,300's by the Sinagua people.

At first I was blown away at the quality of these ruins... all done with stone and mortar that had lasted around 600 years.  That is Shirley in the red top in the distance.

And then we saw where workmen had left their tools... three heavy hammers with chisels, etc.

They had excellent plaques around the site telling about the history and the people.  On this plaque they talk about how over time the original mortar eroded, causing the roofs and walls to collapse.  rubble filled the rooms burying and protecting lower wall sections and room floors, including features like hearths and post holes from timbers supporting the roofs.  When archaeologists removed the debris they made every effort to reconstruct the rooms using modern protective measures, including cementing walls...

adding drains to keep water from standing in the rooms, and covering the floor features with dirt.

So bottom line, this place has been totally rebuilt over the years using best efforts to capture the feeling of the original dwellings.

It is a phenomenal archeological site... and as one wanders around this place today you cannot help but think of how awesome it must have been to live in this castle on a hill top, overlooking the Verde River below.  Might this have been looked upon as a "Marriott Residence Inn" or a "Hyatt Regency" in it's day?

There were numerous tools for food preparation.  The trough like "Cusinart" is called mano and metate... and it was used for grinding corn.  The mortar and pestle was used for wheat and grains.  Throughout this site we saw a plentiful variety of these tools.

Shirley and I went thru the room inside this upper most section of the ruins.  This may have been where the chief lived... kind of like the "presidential suite!"  I think if I lived here I would have made sure it had some windows to enjoy the view from this prominent location.

Inside central posts supported a nearly flat roof.  Using flash photography we were able to capture the feeling inside this windowless dark place.

The roof detail shows using beams to support cross members, which in turn carried smaller sticks on which mortar or cement might have been used for a roof top patio or lookout.

From this pinnacle on the property one can see in every direction... an excellent place to early spot any attacking enemies.  Today we look across the river at the mayor of Clarkdale's home on the ridge.

Or at the Blazin M Ranch to the south-east. Check out their link for fun and fixin's.  This also would be a great spot to take an early morning photo of Tuzigoot.

Looking to the west in the 1940's this large field was a tailings pond for copper mining...

photo by Shirley

and further west on the hillside is evidence of current mining activity.

photo by Shirley

You almost have to be here to get a feeling of the magnitude and scale of this pueblo.  110 rooms is a huge development.

People come here from all over the United States...

And Australia and Europe.  In fact, after we left this place and stopped at the Tourist Information in Cottonwood, we ran into a couple visiting here from Goerlitz, Germany.  You have to see Shirley's post for today for all the amazing details.

Today men have built "monuments" all over the United States.  Some for high and noble purposes... and others for selfish reasons.

"New York City is a great monument to the power of money and greed... a race for rent." -Frank Lloyd Wright