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Published: November 27th 2016
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After another evening sampling the tapas in Fondo, we decided over pig’s ears to devote our final day in Barcelona to Gaudi. The Other Half decided against sampling the afore mentioned and saved her appetite for the grilled prawns and fideua – the latter is a form of paella with noodle base.
We devoted our final day in Barcelona to Gaudi. Antoni Gaudi’s most famous creation in the city is the Basilica & Expiatory Church of the Holy Family – otherwise known as the Sagrada Familia. Along with the thousands, we had been to see the progress on this project earlier in the trip. The unfinished is still coming along, although exactly what the final finish date will be is open to debate. Gaudi of course is long since departed, after his unfortunate incident with a tram in 1926. His plans obviously live on to allow the designs to come to fruition.
We set of for Park Guell in the north of the city. The first impression of the La Salut district was that it was full of inclines, so it was with some relief that we encountered a series of escalators up the middle
of the steep streets towards one of the park entrances. The graffiti on the walls heading up towards the park was less then welcoming ….
“Tourists Not Welcome” ….. The vast array of shops in the locality peddling souvenirs, water, snacks and ice cream would probably disagree with that sentiment.
The original idea for the park came from Count Eusebi Guell, who was inspired by the English Garden City movement – hence the original spelling of the word, Park. The site was known as Bare Mountain and the plan was to exploit the views and fresh air away from the industry below to create a development of luxury houses. In order to add prestige to the plan, Guell himself moved to the area in 1906. The vision only translated into 2 houses actually being built – ironically neither of which was designed by Gaudi. One was constructed as a “Show” house. However as no buyers came forward, Gaudi used his own savings and moved later in 1906. This house, where Gaudi lived until 1926, is now the Gaudi House Museum. The idea of the luxury housing estate was scrapped in 1914 and officially opened as a public
park in 1926.
The entrance to the general park is free, but the entrance to the main monument section is 8 Euros. We hadn’t pre-booked, so obtained the timed entry tickets from the machine at the gates. The general area is a series of gentle walkway viaducts. The paths float on pillars, that appear a combination of palm trees with a birds nest on top. They stood out well against the backdrop of the blue sky. The central terrace accessed for the fee is a colourful series of spiral seats covered in mosaic tiling. The terrace is supported by a series of pillars and the underside of the roof has yet more Gaudi design tile mosaics. The masses however (including myself) are drawn to the colourful serpent, who resides below and the salamander, known as the Dragon. I watched with amusement as the many sought their photograph with the said Dragon. As at least 50% fired directly into the sun, I suspect they would have ultimately been a bit disappointed by the results. The numbers of people allowed inside on the time slot tickets is restricted. However the sheer volume of people converging on the same place
at the same time, made it almost impossible to take any form of sensible photograph. The park might have been a failure as a luxury housing development, but the cash is certainly rolling in now for the city of Barcelona. We queued separately to get into the gatehouse, which contains a series of old photographs of Gaudi designs and buildings and old film footage. The sign outside vastly overestimated the queueing time. The bored assistant glumly clicked people in and out and recorded it in her state of the art note book with a pencil.
We left the park and wandered down the hill to find some transport. The entrance was some way from the nearest Metro. The line of taxis park nearby was a clue to that fact. At least, it was all downhill. We alighted near the Avenue Diagonal. The world of Gaudi meets posh shops. The Passeig (or Promenade) de Gracia is Barcelona’s answer to Bond Street. The upmarket designer stores are the order of the day in this location. In between the retail therapy, two Gaudi buildings draw in the crowds. The Casa Mila, known as the La Pedrera, was Gaudi’s last civil
work and constructed between 1906 and 1912. This is arguably his most impressive work – still striking today – although blighted by the passing traffic at this busy intersection. A few blocks further down is Casa Batllo, a redesign of an original house. Gaudi worked on this project between 1905 and 1907. The front of the building is dark in contrast to Casa Mila and characterized by balconies that appear to be a series of spectacles for the building. We had decided against a tour of either and just viewed from the street.
We went for some lunch down by Plaza de Pau Vila at a recommended tapas bar. Standing room only was not what was ordered by the Other Half, who was moaning about the quantity of walking on the itinerary. The Can Paixano however was worthy of standing and despite being down a bit of a side street off the beaten track, even had a doorman outside on a lunchtime to control the crowds keen to enter. I was particularly taken by the black pudding dish, secured after a spot of pointing. There was no beer on obvious sale, so we settled for the fizzy
prosecco type drink favoured by all other customers.
We caught the bus to the point down by the yacht clubs. The Hotel W stands on the point, looking for all the world like it should be a 6 star hotel in Dubai. A load of posh cars with their drivers waited outside. A load of trendy offices occupy the surrounding buildings. I spied a few Wegner Wishbone chairs round a boardroom table, so someone had an eye for design. The substantial headquarters of Desigual was next door. The brand founded by a Swiss businessman is characterized by a backwards “s” in the name and a collection with a focus on design prints, patchwork art and graffiti symbols. A concept store joined the headquarters buildings. The sun was shining, but the temperature was not particularly high. The surfers were taking advantage of the swell. Despite the non-tropical temperature, a bikini clad few laid on the sand. There were others who were attired in slightly less than a bikini, boldly strutting around without a care in world. The reincarnation of Wilfred the Hairy stood before us. Shocking! The blanket salesmen were out in full force at this
section of the beach. Nike trainers, sunglasses, handbags … all the top quality fakes were yours for the asking. The level of competition suggested that nobody would be getting rich anytime soon. The dream of Europe indeed.
The Other Half began to make further comment about the walking levels. It was time to come home and get her a new pair of feet.
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Rainyb
Lorraine Brecht
That looks yummy!!