Continuing our tour of Barcelona and Gaudi, we visited Guell Park. The Guell family was very wealthy and is famous for funding some of the most important projects of Gaudi’s career. Guell Park is a little far from center city but exhibits some of the most interesting masonry and mosaic work that Gaudi did.
This is a picture showing his row of columns that is tilted out and still manages to stand structurally. The sculptures on the outside are doing nothing to hold up the path on top or the vaulted ceiling on the inside of the arches.
Below is a picture of me sitting with the mosaic lizard at the entrance of the park. Luckily this was the only day that it did not rain so we were able to walk around and enjoy the park. You can tell how crowded that this place gets.
Gaudi is also famous for the work he does with iron. The most intricate is shown in the picture below: a large gate topped by a dragon. He is well known for being involved in all parts of the design and building processes and had a good relationship with masons, iron workers, and carpenters that allowed him to create pieces like this.
That night we traveled to the south of the town to see the Magic Fountain! I don’t know what it is about water, music, and lights but people just love it. It was a fun show to watch because the fountain is giant sized and has so many interesting effects.
Our final day there we visited the Palace Guell, which lucky for us, we could enter for free because we were there on the first Sunday of the month by chance! The entire palace, designed again by Gaudi, exhibits the most intricate ceilings and vaults I have ever seen in a home. The image below is just one of many rooms that had detailed wood ceilings.
The house was a place for concerts, religious worship, and parties and to encompass all of these programs the large central space is covered by a dome that exhibits Gaudi’s famous catanary arches (see below).
Being able to see all of this was totally worth sleeping in the airport that last night. I felt like I only got to see one eighth of what Barcelona has to offer. The city is so large and has so many interesting things to see and do that I hope to go back soon!
Location: Barcelona, Spain
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