Barcelona- 20 Mar- Parc Guell :)

This was such a lovely day...I swear...
After having some really cheap strawberries (1 Euro/kilo) like good romanians in Spain...we went up to see Parc Guell. Another one of Gaudi's attractions. Up, up very high..the parc offers a grand view of Barcelona.

Here, on Muntanya Pelada, in the Barcelona district of La Salut, Eusebi Guell wanted to build an urbanisation inspired by the concept of garden city. In this he sought to return to nature and health and have an escape from the insalubrious industrial city. Gaudi worked on the construction of this parc between 1900 and 1914 and even moved his home here in 1906.

This is a row of benches that wind like a serpant and that have again many symbols of nature in the colorful tiles that cover them. This part has a very ingenious system of collecting water from rainfall, sending it through pipes in columns you will soon see, to water the rest of the parc.

It is said that Gaudi outdid himself in building these benches in a way that fits the human body perfectly. So I decided to give it a try...truth is that they are very comfy..but that they were a bit cold :p.

The buildings behind are the first ones built in the parc between 1900 and 1903. If you notice, both of them have chimneys shaped as a mushroom. This is a symbol traditionally connected to the world of magic and fairytales, of druids and shamans and of gnomes and witches.

This site is underneath the benches, in a space held up by collumns, as you will see. This space was destined surprisingly to be a marketplace and the ceiling is decorated as you can see with interpretations of suns, medusas and snakes.

The doric colonade which supports the square is a very imposing site. Here one can see the colorful lizard and a salamander on the coat of arms of Catalunya. The salamander is a legendary animal, charged with symbolism.

This little lizzard is one of my favorite things in Barcelona :)

An aquaduct Gaudi built...

Unfortunately, in the end, only one other person bought a house, alog side Gaudi in this parc. So the urban project had to be abandoned in the end, because it became too expensive. In the end, the administration of Barcelona bought the place and it has been a turistic attraction ever since.

A souvenir shop I loved...

Sadly, Gaudi died in June, 1926 ran over by a tram, a solitary man, with little people to mourn him, as he was working on Sagrada Familia. Sadly because he is my favourite archites and a fascinating artist.

In the end I leave you with an image of a fresh fruit and fish market in Las Ramblas. Here my biggest dilema was which fruits to chose or which candy :).