Barcelona, day three.
After breakfast in the hotel we located the nearest stop of the
blue bus that takes tourists on a ride to the upper parts of the city. Once
again we decided to take the entire route before picking a few places to return
to. The tour includes stops at various museums including that of Pablo Picasso
and Salvador Dalí. Higher
up we came along Park Güell
and decided to return to this place. Along the rest of the tour we were shown
the FC Barcelona stadium and the Olympic village.
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| At the entrance to Park Güell |
We remained on the bus and got off at Park Güell. This was meant to be a
residential neighborhood with large opulent villas, park grounds and a market.
It completely failed, and is now a park with a couple of the villas in use as a
tourist shop and the park maintenance operations. A third villa is located
higher up and seems to be lived in. The market place is a haven for musicians
and its ceiling is inlaid with tile mosaic art. All over are columns holding
up the roof structure which in itself is a plaza surrounded by a serpentine
bench, it snakes along the edge of the plaza. The idea here was that people
would be encouraged to have conversations, because the serpentine effect
causes people to face each other. Another function of this bench is to collect
rain water for use in the park as irrigation and to supply the water features.
A large stairway leads up to the market area and a mosaic tiled lizard guards
the entrance.
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| This villa is now the gift shop |
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| One of the villas now used for park operations |
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| This villa appears to be occupied |
After taking this all in we walked the many paths through the
park. Fantastic views of the city in all directions demand photographers to aim
and shoot. The lush greenery combined with local, more drought resistant
vegetation are a wonderful mix. We spent the rest of the day in this park and
enjoyed a wonderful late lunch with some white wine.
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| The market place |
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| Ceiling detail in the market place |
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| Looking out from the market place |
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| On the serpentine bench |
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| Ditto |
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| Serpentine bench tile work, Gaudi gave the tilers free range on the design |
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| Tile work detail |
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| The bench drains through these holes into a gutter that feeds cisterns with water |
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| The outer gutter on the serpentine bench |
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| Along the many walking paths in the park |
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| The view of Barcelona |
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| A look back |
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| Intricate stone work holds up the upper walkways |
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| A stone wave |
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| The market below and the serpentine bench above |
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| The lizard guarding the entrance |
Back on the bus we arrived at the soccer stadium and got off to
check out the FC Barcelona gift shop. We chose a couple soccer jerseys and
matching scarves for the boys, gifts well received by our soccer playing sons.
A late afternoon stroll along las Ramblas finished with a dinner
at a restaurant in the marina area rounded out our day. The evening air was
wonderful and the dinner excellent. At one point our waiter tripped and broke a
plate on the floor, resulting in a small cut in Shelagh's ankle. The poor waiter
was beside himself with concern and came with tissues and bandaids to stop the
bleeding. After much fuss, and Shelagh convincing the staff that she was all
right we were served free desserts, with a local drink called "Crema Catalán"' it reminded us of
Bailey's. We returned to the hotel in the evening for our last night in this
great city.
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| The entrance to a home on Las Ramblas |
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| They have their own "arc de triomphe" |
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| The Catalonian presidential palace, probably the only building without grafitti |
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| Upper crossover from the courthouse to the palace |
In the morning, after breakfast we said goodbye to the hotel
staff and walked uptown to the bus stop, dragging our suitcases, looking so
touristy. The bus connection to the airport is simple, no problems. Barcelona
is a wonderful place to visit, and we highly recommend it.
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| Walking to the bus stop, adios Barcelona... |
I must thank my brother and sister in law, Bart and Wilma, for
making this trip possible.
Bart booked the flight, and Wilma booked the hotel, and gave us
this holiday! Wonderful people.
