ARROW - 27. Chapter 27

Sitting at a table, looking over the square, “Armand, what are we going to do tomorrow?”

“You wanted to go and see the church of the Sacred Family.”

“That is the church by Antoni Gaudi?”

“Yes, and then there are a few more examples plus his home.”

“Can we do that? I like his style of architecture. It’s very unusual but fascinating.”

Arriving back at our hotel, I extended our stay one extra day and placed a call to our airlines, canceling our reservation, and making a new one for the day we would check out. We spent the evening at the pool on the roof. Colin thought this was a great idea, and I was afraid he might want to put a pool on top of the club.

One last swim, and we headed to our room. “We need to make sure our trunks are dry before we leave.”

“We can wash them in the shower and then let them dry while we see Gaudi’s creations.”

That is what we did. I had arranged for room service for our clothes to be laundered. Before going to bed, I gathered our clothes for room service.

“I had fun today. To think how long those relics have lasted. Armand, I find it hard to accept that those Roman rulers were so egotistical to put a 13-year-old girl to death for not worshiping their gods.”

“I knew that bothered you. There were a lot of ideas and actions that appeared to be cruel to us. But even today, people are persecuted for their beliefs. A lot of cruelty was and is being done in the name of God. In some cultures, we would be persecuted.”

“Why persecute us? We haven’t done anything wrong.”

“There are people who condemn us because we are married.”

"I remember two boys who were living together when I was at Carnegie Tech. They were teased, and other students would go out of their way to bump into them, knocking them to the ground on occasions and then laughing. All of this tormenting because they lived together. They were cousins and had limited funds."

Falling asleep, I had a smile thinking of Colin’s excitement tomorrow.

We had breakfast in the bar at the hotel. Colin laughed, “You know people will think we are alcoholics if we tell them we’re having breakfast in a hotel bar.”

“Let’s go. We have to go to church, and you can tell them that you had to go to church after breakfast in a bar.” We laughed as we walked toward the church of the Sacred Family.

The church had three towers representing the Holy Family. The last tower to be finished was for Mary. “Colin, that tower on our right represents Mary, and the tower in the middle represents Jesus, and the tower on your left represents the father. Ergo, the name of the church as Sacred Family.”

“You read that from that pamphlet you’re holding.”

I laughed as I paid our entrance fee. Walking inside the church was unbelievable. If you didn’t see the religious significance looking at the church, you felt it when you walked inside. I watched Colin as he looked at the walls and the various statues. He looked at me, and I offered a prayer of thanks at that moment. I wasn’t a religious person. Going to church didn’t make you a spiritual person. Like coloring, a page in a color book didn’t make you an artist. But this morning, standing next to Colin, I took his hand, holding it, I said thanks.

We stayed at the church for almost three hours. There was a lot to see and to feel.

Leaving, we headed to Park Guell. Here Gaudi creates a green oasis. Walking into the park, we picked up a pamphlet that explained how Gaudi saw this park.

“Armand, this pamphlet states this was Gaudi’s plan to create houses, a marketplace, a chapel, and a theater.”

“He only built three houses, and one was his house. Let’s go and tour that house.”

That is what we did. I think Colin touched the artifacts with reverence. I’m sure if he didn’t study to inherit his dad’s business, he would have studied to be an architect. That thought gave me an idea.”

After touring Gaudi’s house, we headed to Casa Batllo, translated as House of the Dragon. According to what I read, this house had something very special. In the basement, they have what is termed as Gaudi Dome.

Colin led the way. He decided to work his way from top to bottom. So we headed to the terrace on the roof. As we descended, we were able to see Gaudi’s Mask and Dragon. I was waiting for a request to include that in my painting, but he didn’t say anything. We went to the basement, and there, Colin was quiet. Gaudi had created a garden in colors. You were in the center of one of those snow globes; only you were surrounded in color.

In Gaudi’s Dome was Gaudi’s Cube, his head bursting with ideas. We stayed there until Colin’s stomach growled.

“Let’s have lunch.”

We walked toward Torre Bellesquard’s manor house. We never made it. We stopped at a tapa bar, and Colin smiled when he saw where we were headed.

We stood at the bar, and Colin had a flute of beer, and I had a glass of wine. The smile on Colin’s face told me our club would become a tapa bar.

After our lunch, we continued our walk toward Torre Bellesguard, a manor house. From the roof garden, one could see a panorama of Barcelona. I saw the camera come out, hoping he wouldn’t ask me to include that on the wall.

Our next stop was Casa Vicens. Here, Gaudi diverted from his usual in incorporating his inspiration for Islamic art from Andalusia and Maghreb. “Colin, note the range of materials he used, even paper mache.” I knew the moment I said that I was in trouble.

“Can you use that medium?” “No”

Like most of Gaudi’s creations, there are gardens of flowers. I think every one of his creations involved some plantings.

Our next stop was Casa Mila also called La Pedrera. Walking toward the building, “Armand, what are those things on that roof?”

Looking where he was pointing, I remembered me asking the same questions. “They look like sentries keeping an eye on Barcelona, and actually, they are chimneys.”

“Do you think our roof could support them?”

“I think those are made of stone, but we could make ours of wood and paint them as if they are stone.” Now I knew I had another project.

“This house was built as part of an estate with flats for rent. The owner wanted the home to be his permanent residence and then a section of apartments to rent.”

Walking up to the roof, “These look like guardians.”

“I think that was Gaudi’s intentions.”

Walking toward our next stop, “Want to see a palace designed by Gaudi?” “Yes”

We walked until we came to large iron gates. “This is the entrance. When the house was finished, visitors came in carriages drawn by horses.”

“This isn’t a house, and it looks like a palace.”

“This is called Palau Guell, which translates to Guell’s Palace. I think he was a little weird. He married into aristocracy and was very rich. He didn’t want anyone to know his business, so you had to arrive by coach and horses if you had an invitation. And when you left, the coach was pulled around the back of the house so guests could depart by a grand staircase without being seen.”

“What is on the roof?”

“Ceramic chimneys in different colors and very ornate. It’s a pity, but the only thing Gaudi is the roof. Guell wanted a medieval designed home to reflect his royalty.”

“But he wasn’t royalty.”

“No, but his wife was, History doesn’t say it, but knowing how he was preoccupied with being royalty, he was rumored to have married her for her royalty connection.”

“Sounds like common gossip. Hard to believe they had gossipers back then.”

“I’ll bet they were gossipers back in the days of the Roman Empire. People don’t change much. Guell wasn’t a bad man, and he had enlisted Gaudi to build houses for his employees.”

“What happened? I don’t see any here?”

“Guell dies before Gaudi could build his houses. Gaudi’s next project for Guell was a Crypt as part of the housing development. An iron fence surrounded the project, and on the fence, Gaudi made a dragon. I’ll show you.”

We walked to where there was a Pavilion, and I showed him the iron dragon. The camera came out, and I knew I would see this on the wall.

“This area is called Colonia Guell, and it was where the houses were to be built and the Crypt.” Walking toward the Crypt, “When Gaudi finished the crypt, he was to start the houses, but Guell died.”

“Guell gave Gaudi a lot of jobs.”

“Yes, Guell was an industrialist making his money in textiles. That was his father’s business, and when his father died, he inherited the business. He and Gaudi were close friends.”

“I wonder what the people of the time thought about his work.”

“People don’t change much over time. I’m sure he had his critics just as we do today. You liked my painting, but not everyone did. At Yale, there were a lot of students who didn’t like my painting, and they said I had no imagination.”

“I like your painting.”

“You’re supposed to like my painting; you’re my husband.”

“Where do you want to go next?”

“How about a swim, then a nice dinner like we had that first night when we arrived, early to bed? We have an early flight tomorrow.”

He didn’t need to say anything. He just smiled.