Barcelona is 'squashed' between the sea and the mountains. When locals give directions, they say "walk toward the beach" or "walk toward the mountains".
Parc Güell was the brain-child of Eusebi Güell and Antoni Gaudi. It was built (between 1900 and 1914) on a very dry, rocky hill with little vegetation and few trees -- but a great view over Barcelona and toward the sea.
Güell and Gaudi imagined many high-quality homes, but as a housing development, it was a failure. Only two houses were built, one a guard house (now the shop to drag Euros from tourists). Neither of the houses were designed by Gaudi!!! Tourists (including us) believed they were.
The main house was put up for sale, but there were no buyers! As a result, Gaudi purchased it and moved in with his family and his father in 1906.
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The common entry is the main terrace, surrounded by a long bench-seat in the form of a sea serpent.
As you can see from the photos, it was a very hot day. People were covering their heads with tourist maps or whatever they could find. I bought a truly dreadful hat but I would have bought anything to keep the sun off my head after the VERY short hair cut in Barcelona left me bald!
The locals assured us that October is NEVER this hot. (Today, it was 40ºC in Seville. Hope it cools down a lot before we get there.)
A quick snap to get a rare pic with no people!!!
The main terrace is held up by columns, so the area underneath was much cooler and intended for different purposes (eg. as a place where market stalls could be set up). The ceiling includes tiled mosaics by Gaudi.
In this pic, you can see that the site is very hilly, with lots of steps and uneven, rocky ground. It's not a place for pushers, so unfortunately, Katrina, Stéphane, Alistair (nearly 2) and Laure (nearly 3 months) couldn't join us.
The columns supporting the main terrace can be seen at the top of the next photo.
The only two houses built at the park -- and NOT designed by Gaudi. You can see Barcelona in the background and the sea in the distance.
The Guard House is now the shop (ie. tourist trap).
Top of the guard house:
Gaudi's multicoloured mosaic salamander.
More mosaic work on the wall.
Gaudi did design the roadways. They are jutting out from the steep hillside, and supported by columns to look like tree trunks. Footpaths ran underneath. Everything was designed using local stone so that they blended into the environment.
I can be seen holding the hideous white hat, but you will never see me wearing it in a photo. Anyway, it's lost now. I left it on the train to Madrid! Obviously, the hat didn't like me either.
Two very tired people at the end of the day.
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