The frugal travels of a vagabond

Indian Mallow Corolla design lamp, Emile Galle, 1900; Art Nouveau was popular between 1890 and 1910 during the Belle Époque period, and was a reaction against the academic art, eclecticism and historicism of 19th century architecture and decoration

Glass vase, Emile Galle, 1915; Art Nouveau reached its peak at the 1900 Paris International Exposition, which introduced the work of artists such as Louis Comfort Tiffany; it appeared in graphic arts in the posters of Mucha, and the glassware of Lalique and Gallé

Lithograph, Alphonse Marie Mucha, 1896; Art Nouveau was most widely used in interior design, graphic arts, furniture, glass art, textiles, ceramics, jewelry and metal work; there is a nice museum in Prague dedicated to Mucha

Autumn design pendant, Rene Lalique, 1900; Art Nouveau was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and flowers; one major objective of Art Nouveau was to break down the traditional distinction between fine arts and applied arts

Dahlia vase, Emile Galle, 1890; Galle was noted for his designs of Art Nouveau glass art and Art Nouveau furniture, and was a founder of the École de Nancy or Nancy School, a movement of design in the city of Nancy, France

Candlestick, Tiffany Studios, 1902; between April and November 1900, the Paris Exposition Universelle attracted nearly 50 million visitors, and showcased the architecture, design, glassware, furniture and decorative objects of Art Nouveau

Orchid vase, Emile Galle, 1890; by 1914, and with the beginning of the First World War, Art Nouveau was largely exhausted; in the 1920s, it was replaced as the dominant architectural and decorative art style by Art Deco and then Modernism

Fish, seaweed and coral glass vase, Daum Freres, 1895; some famous Art Nouveau buildings include Casa Battlo in Barcelona, the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City, the Little Singer Building in New York City and those along Albert Street in Riga, Latvia

Dragonfly and water glass vase, Emile Galle, 1910; Hector Guimard was given the commission to design the now iconic entrances for the new Paris Métro, which brought Art Nouveau to the attention of the millions of visitors to the 1900 Exposition Universelle

Osiris series earthenware vase, Riessner, Stellmacher and Kessel, 1903; Antoni Gaudi designed in the Art Nouveau style with his masterpieces including Casa Mila, the Sagrada Familia, Palau Guell and Park Guell (all are UNESCO World Heritage Sites now)

Dragonfly ewer, Emile Galle, 1890; Nancy, France became a capital of Art Nouveau as major artists working there included Gallé, the Daum brothers in glass design, and the designer Louis Majorelle, who created furniture with graceful floral and vegetal forms

Phanomen design table lamp, Glasfabrik Johann Loetz Witwe, 1901; my favorite art museum, the Orsay in Paris, was originally a railway station and was completed in 1900 in an Art Nouveau style

Thistle and Cross of Lorraine glass bowl, Emile Galle, 1885; his father, Charles Gallé, was a merchant of glassware and ceramics who had settled in Nancy in 1844, and his father-in-law owned a factory which manufactured mirrors

Lily vase, Tiffany Studios, 1905; floral forms were popular, inspired by lilies, wisteria and other flowers, particularly in the lamps of Louis Comfort Tiffany and the glass objects made by the artists of the School of Nancy and Émile Gallé

Forget-me-nots glass vase, Emile Galle, 1900; Art Nouveau was a luxury style which required expert craftsmen and could not be easily mass-produced; Vienna had a distinct variant of Art Nouveau, known as the Vienna Secession, with artists like Gustav Klimt

Brass vase, Louis-Eugene Maurel, 1910; besides Gaudí, Lluís Domènech i Montaner also used Art Nouveau in Barcelona in buildings such as the Palau de la Música Catalana and Hospital de Sant Pau - both now UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Glazed clay bowl, Emile Galle, 1898; early Art Nouveau was characterized by undulating, curving forms inspired by lilies, vines, flower stems and other natural forms, used in particular in the interiors of Horta and the decoration of Majorelle and Gallé

Oak and fruitwood nesting tables, Louis Majorelle, 1910; Majorelle furniture was characterized by the use of exotic and expensive materials, including mahogany with inlays of precious woods and trim, and curving forms without right angles

Brass, copper, wood and glass mantel clock, Alfred-Louis-Achille Daguet, 1902; actress and Art Nouveau collector Sarah Bernhardt owned pieces designed by Daguet

Oak and fruitwood revolving bookstand, Emile Galle, 1904; Art Nouveau furniture design was closely tied to the architecture of the buildings; the architects often designed the furniture, carpets, light fixtures, doorknobs and other decorative details

Casa Batllo was an existing house that Antoni Gaudi redesigned in 1904; it is on the Passeig de Gràcia in the Eixample district of Barcelona and is part of what is known as the Block of Discord with several other houses built in the Modernista style

The building that is now Casa Batlló was built in 1877 and bought by Josep Batlló in 1903; they lived on a very prestigious street so Josep wanted an architect that would design a house that was like no other and stood out as being audacious and creative

In 1904, Josep Batlló hired Gaudí to design his home; at first his plans were to tear down the building and construct a completely new house; Gaudí convinced Josep that a renovation was sufficient with the Batllo's living here until the 1950s

It is hard to find a single straight line in the house as Gaudi sought to emulate the organic shapes found in nature; when Gaudi redesigned Casa Batllo he added two floors which the Batllo's rented out as apartments

Gaudi expanded the central well of the house in order to supply light to the whole building; it also allowed for each floor to have more windows rather than just solid walls; the basic ticket for the house is 29 euros which includes the audioguide

The main room of the house is known for its undulating ceiling and was often used as a ballroom; Casa Batllo is one of Barcelona's most popular tourist attractions drawing more than a million visiitors annually

In the summer, Casa Batllo has nightly concerts on their back patio which is a small oasis in the middle of the city; I had visited Barcelona many times but this was my first visit inside Casa Batllo and I regret not having done it sooner

The staircase leading to the first floor where the owner’s family lived is made of oak and under the banister are pieces in the shape of vertebrae which follow the steps up like a dragon's spine

The façade of Casa Batllo is decorated with a colorful mosaic made of broken ceramic tiles - a style known as trencadís; in 2005, the home was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the other great works of Gaudi

The main focal point of the roof terrace are the 4 crooked and polychrome chimney stacks designed to prevent backdraughts; Casa Batllo was originally an austere building designed by Emilio Sala Cortés who was Gaudí’s teacher during his architecture studies

The loft contains a series of 60 catenary arches that creates a space which represents the ribcage of an animal; this was formerly a service area for the tenants of the different apartments in the building which contained laundry rooms and storage areas

Gaudi designed the light well with increasingly lighter ceramics as you go down to achieve the greatest and most natural illumination possible; the upper windows are smaller and they become larger on lower floors so that more light enters

A few years after Casa Batllo was completed, another Barcelona businessman contacted Gaudi and wanted an even better house; his project, just 700 meters down the street, would come to be known as Casa Mila or La Pedrera

I opted for the 45 euro ticket to be among the first to visit the house to avoid the crowds; these tickets can only be purchased online and I highly recommend buying your tickets well in advance to avoid the long queue

The roof terrace is one of the most popular features of the house due to its famous dragon back design; Gaudí represents an animal's spine by using tiles of different colors on one side

The colors of the houses follow a specific system, originating from the golden age of its development; if someone wishes to paint their home, they must send a request to the government, who will tell them which certain colors are permitted for that lot

Burano is only 4 miles from Venice but a 45 minute vaporetto ride ($8 each way, conveniently on the same line as Murano) from St. Mark's Square; with a population of 2,777, it's economy is largely based on tourism and lace-making

The main reason for painting Burano houses bright colors is unknown however it is believed that houses were painted in bright colors to help fishermen locate their homes during fog (their boats were also painted the same color as their houses)

Burano has a lace-making museum which details the island's lace-making tradition; unfortuntely, few traditional lacemakers are left on the island, making authentic pieces extremely expensive

There are no cars on Burano — locals get around on foot, bicycle, or boat; thanks to Instagram, Burano seems more crowded than ever, so if you want photos without tons of tourists in them, then I recommend spending one night here

Burano is the birth place of Buranelli Biscuits, usually a hit with kids and a treat worth tasting; this was the first trip where I didn't use the nearby Marco Polo Airport but instead flew Ryanair out of Treviso Airport which worked out perfectly

Pisa doesn't have the only leaning tower in Italy, the Church of San Martino on Burano has a leaning campanile; the church features a famous painting by Giambattista Tiepolo (Crucifixtion, 1727)

Burano is a photographer's dream and also a popular choice for jigsaw puzzle makers; I've probably purchased a dozen puzzles showing Burano scenes and they are solved pretty quickly because of the distinct bright colors

Even after having my wallet stolen earlier in the day, I couldn't resist making the trek to Burano for some sights that were needed to lift my spirits; the joyfully painted houses are always on my Venice itineraries

Burano is very famous for its fish dishes, the most famous of which is the risotto de gò: the broth in which the rice is cooked and creamed is extracted from the gòa fish typical of the Venice lagoon, known in English under the name of goby

Burano often appears on lists such as the 10 most colorful places in the world; in its early days, Burano thrived due to its remote location in the Venetian lagoon subjected it to winds that caused malaria to be less of a problem that on neighboring islands

With vaporetto tickets so expensive ($8 per ride), the best value is purchasing a multi-day vaporetto package (20 euros for 1 day, 30 euros for 2 days and 40 euros for 3 days)

The Musée Jacquemart-André, opened in 1913 and a short walk from my hotel, was created from the private home, completed in 1875, of Édouard André and Nélie Jacquemart to display the art they collected during their lives

Saint Mark's Square, Canaletto, 1740; every year, the couple would travel in Italy, amassing one of the finest collections of Italian art in France; Andre was born into a family of rich bankers and was a staunch supporter of Napoleon III

Portrait of Dr. Arnold Tholinx (1666), The Pilgrims of Emmaus (1628) and Portrait of Amalia Von Solms (1632), all by Rembrandt; the museum is going to be closed for renovations from August 2023 until September 2024

The ceiling of the music room was impressive; the couple bought their mansion on Boulevard Haussmann at the end of the 19th century but the mansions of their neighbors have given way to typical Parisian apartment buildings

The marble double helix staircase was my favorite feature in the mansion; it's not in the center of the house but at one end with the winter garden; the large fresco upstairs is by Giambattista Tiepolo and was found in a Venice villa

The Flight to Egypt, Sandro Botticelli, 1505; of Botticelli's top 20 paintings sold at auction, no less than 14 of them are paintings of the Madonna and Child, including his most expensive work which sold at Christie's in NYC for $10.4 million in 2013

The smoking room featured this gorgeous 16th century ceiling by Porta, a disciple of Tintoretto; traditionally, smoking rooms were designed for after-dinner conversation between men in front of the fireplace

Spring Night, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, 1915; the museum had a temporary exhibition of this artist's work and this painting was my favorite; museum tickets cost 17 euros and include a very helpful audioguide

The Florentine Gallery features choir stalls from 1510 and, strangely, a tomb from 1517; this room was designed as a private chapel for the couple and is filled with artwork from artists of the Florentine School

When the couple entertained in the music room, the orchestra would be spread out on the second floor while the party was on the first floor; all of the rooms were just over the top with artwork by famous painters lining the walls

This elaborate cofferedceiling graced the Venetian gallery; while his wife and the public at large preferred Florentine art at the time, Andre decorated this room with Venetian art which is what he liked best

Portrait of a Man, Frans Hals, 1660; Hals was 80 when he painted this piece; Jacquemart acquired it in 1912, shortly before her death; by adding works to her husband’s collections, she was respecting his desire to enrich the collection

For the first time in France, the museum had a temporary exhibition when I visited paying homage to Giovanni Bellini, father of the Venetian School; more than 50 works from both public and private collections were to be displayed

Nelie's bedroom is in Louis XV-style; this room is one of the private apartments in the mansion which you would assume the public wouldn't see but they still feature excellent art and hand-picked furniture

The tapestry room also included paintings from masters such as the near one of Venice by Francesco Guardi (1780) and the portrait in the center by Jacques-Louis David (1811); the couple amassed the finest Parisian private art collection

Rectangular clock with horizontal movement, Vienna, 18th century; I've visited all of the major museums in Paris so this trip I decided to see some of the less-visited museums and this one was small but impressive

On March 19, 1882, construction of the Sagrada Família began with Antoni Gaudí taking over in 1883, transforming the project with his architectural and engineering style, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms

Palau Guell was built by Anton Gaudi between 1886 and 1890, a commission from the industrialist, politician and patron of the arts Eusebi Guell; the home is in Barcelona's El Raval neighborhood and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site

This grand marble staircase in the Palau Guell goes from the ground floor with the main public spaces to the private rooms of the Guell family residence; next to the staircase was a doorman who watched the street for visitors

Las Ramblas is one of Barcelona's most iconic places but on August 17, 2017, a van driven by a terrorist plowed into pedestrians here, killing 14 and injuring at least 100, one of whom later died;

Located adjacent to Las Ramblas, La Boqueria is the most famous market in Barcelona; I visited pleasant Barceloneta Beach, voted best urban beach in the world by National Geographic. a couple of times

Placa Reial, in the Barri Gotic neighborhood, is one of Barcelona's prettiest squares; this city of almost 5 million rose to international prominence when it hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics and it has 9 UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Casa Batllo was an existing house that Antoni Gaudi redesigned in 1904; it is on the Passeig de Gràcia in the Eixample district of Barcelona and is part of what is known as the Block of Discord with several other houses built in the Modernista style

Along with Casa Batlló and Casa Lleó-Morera, Casa Amatller makes up the three most important buildings in Barcelona's famous Illa de la Discòrdia (Block of Discord), noted for its unique, contrasting modern buildings

Gaudí was commissioned by Pere Milà in 1906 to begin work on Casa Milà, affectionately called La Pedrera, the stone quarry; it was the last private residence designed by Gaudí and was built between 1906 and 1912

Built between 1898 and 1900, Casa Calvet is the most conventional of Antoni Gaudi's works, partly because it had to be squeezed in between older structures and partly because it was sited in one of the most elegant sections of Barcelona

Theloft of Casa Batllo contains 60 catenary arches that creates a space which represents the ribcage of an animal; this was formerly a service area for the tenants of the different apartments in the building which contained laundry rooms and storage areas

The Sun, the Moon and One Star, 1968; I'm not a fan of Joan Miro so my favorite part of his museum was this incredible view; Miró was incredibly prolific producing 2,000 paintings, 500 sculptures, 400 ceramics, 5,000 drawings, and 1,000 lithographs

The National Art Museum of Catalonia is housed in the Palau Nacional which was built as the main site for the 1929 World's Fair; one of the most photogenic buildings in town, its façade is crowned by a great dome inspired by St. Peter's Basilica

The Palau de Musica Catalan is located on the corner of two cramped streets in the section of old Barcelona known as Casc Antic; it was impossible to get a good photo so this is a stock photo from the internet

The Hospital de Sant Pau was built between 1901 and 1930 comprising 12 pavilions is one of the most prominent works of the Catalan modernisme architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner (he also designed the Palau de ka Musica Catalan)