Gaudi, Gaudi, Gaudi! Definitely my favorite part of Barcelona was the unique and crazy Gaudi architecture! We visited Sagrada Familia (his famous unfinished Cathedral), park Guell, another park of his where he built this huge fountain monument thing, and two of his famous houses! Friday, our first full day in Barcelona, the sun was shinning and it was a beautiful warm day! We started off this lovely day by walking down Las Ramblas (a crazy street full of performers and vendors) and finding the Market…so lively and colorful. Next we headed straight for Park Guell. The interestingly out of place gingerbread type houses at the entrance made me feel like I was entering a land of Dr. Seuss or Alice in Wonderland! Then you go further into the park where all the people are and can sit on the long curvy mosaic bench and look out over all of Barcelona! I could have spent all weekend just in that park! Saturday we toured La Sagrada Familia! The nature inspired interior was amazing, even unfinished! The stained glass was absolutely stunning and the geometric religious figures that decorated the exterior were so interestingly new! Later that day, I went to the Picasso Museum where his earlier work (before cubism) is kept. It was so interesting to read about Picasso before he became famous for his cubism. When he was young and just starting to study, a lot of his works were of landscapes and he used pastels and blurred lines. How much he evolved! Saturday evening we walked along the beaches (which were not there prior to the Barcelona Olympics I found out…the sand was imported from Egypt to make miles and miles of coast for the tourist that came for the games) and although it was too cold to swim, the scenery was lovely! We ended our day at another park where Gaudi built this amazing fountain…more like a waterfall with mythical statues and creatures of gold decorating it! Despite the somewhat rainy weather and cold, Barcelona was a very interesting city…very big with such diverse people and language (I couldn’t even begin to understand Catalan) that it was hard to take it all in…but I still love my city of Sevilla the most! Something about it is comforting and charming. Maybe its because my phone was pick pocketed in Barcelona or that everyone spoke English to us even if we started a conversation in Spanish…but I’m glad I got to experience the crazy-ness that is Barcelona!
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