BArcelona is one of those places, which stands beside London, Paris and New York. Maybe its because of the Spainish men that attract people or the culture of the city, but for me it has always been the beaches. So here I am, summer of 2012 in Barcelona. There are lots of this to see and do, and eat in Barcelona. Its generally very touristic and most of the time, foreigneers are everywhere. In general, Spain and Italy are Summer capitals for the europeans.
Casa Mila, by Gaudi
In Barcelona, you shall never miss a sight of Gaudis artwork.
Our first stop was to see what Gaudi has to offer up upon the hills of Parc Güell. But before that, was the climb up the hill. Under 36°c heat. To get to Parc Güell, there are to Metro stops. It either the Lesseps stop or the Vallcarca stop. And we were smart enough to take the Vallcarca stop, which was a bit higher than the Lesseps stop. This meant we enter the Parc from the back part, which was not as chaotic as the main entrance.
It was a really high high, as the plane was very steep. For the people who thought of those escalators, I thank you very much. Made our day.
Parc Güell, a garden that grows desert vegetation with whimsical Architechture that makes you feel like you've just entered Willy Wonkas Chocolate Factory. What look like dragon caves, with nests build with rocks and clay, buildings with funky designs galored with colorful mosaics. There were people climbing and sitting inside 'nests' which was actually quite funny.
Gaudi was a Spanich architect well known throughout Barcelona. His works are very hard to miss for sure. They just outstand everything else. So far this park belongs to the State, theres no entrance fee charged to visitors and I do hope they stay that way since most of the other buildings he designed requires an entrance fee.
Colonnaded pathway
At the entrance of this park, you're welcomed by colorful
Park entrance
This is the Dragon / Lizard that represents Gaudi in the modern age. Everyone just crowds around it touching it for luck. Its actually a small fountain with a little stream. Trying to go through the crowd was really something.
Mosaic details on ceilings
This two gingerbread looking houses stand on the entrance, and you can't help but put a smile on your face. If I'm not mistaken, the blue one has a souvenir shop in it. I just managed to take a peek, and didn't dare to enter looking at the swarm of humans in it.
The La Rambla, a very famous street crowed by the world, is about 1.2m long, filled with cafes, florists, souvenir stalls, street buskers, fast food outlets, you name it. The heat is on. On one side of the street is the Gothic quarter, where the architecture of the buildings are mostly of the Gothic influence.
Honestly, I didn't take a lot of photos. We were just jumping around happily, not having a care for lots of snaps.
This is the Sagrada Familia Church, which was designed by Gaudi. On the main facade is a story of the Passion, done in squarish sculptures. On the back side of the church is suppose to be the story of the Nativity. The construction of this church, sadly, was never finished. Hopefully the next time I get to go to Barcelona, the place would be done beautifully.
Standing on this spot, when you look up, if it's a nice day with lots of moving clouds, you'll feel like the church is almost falling on you. I'm not sure if it happens always or its d way the building is constructed, but I was surprise and amazed at the same time. It was as if the church was leaning very fast towards your direction.
Owh and this was at Camp Nou, which housed the FC Barcelona Stadium. The night before watch the El Classico match, Barcelona against Real Madrid. We just went to watch it at a tapas bar because the tickets were really expensive. They do sell tickets on the day itself, and the price started from 240€ if I'm not mistaken. That night, everyone was in jerseys, the whole city was happening.
The next day we decided to go visit the Stadium site. Which was also full!! The merchandize store was packed until you can't feel the air-conditioning. The line for the stadium tour was also long. So we just went and walk around.
This is generally an overview of Barcelona. Next post will be on the main reason why we visited Barcelona.
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