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Towards the end of our stay in Barcelona, we visited Gaudi’s Park Güell, which is a fair hike from the city center. It was originally designed by Gaudi to be a private residential park in which people could buy blocks of land. The project fell through, and only 2 houses were bought - one by Gaudi himself. Nowadays the park is a public area which attracts large numbers of tourists. The layout and architecture are undeniably beautiful, however we couldn’t help being slightly dissapointed by it. Maybe it was the amount of people there, or maybe it was because we had such high expectations, but both Pia and I prefered the inner city buildings Gaudi designed.

The park was definitely interesting to go see though; the two houses, situated at the gate of the park, were almost fantastical in appearance, strongly resembling oversized gingerbread houses. Also, the countless winding paths through dense pockets of forest were quiet and serene, and provided a refreshing contrast of calm compared to the hustle and bustle of La Rambla.

That night, we went out clubbing for the first time in Barcelona, to some cheesy European techno club off Catalunya Place; it was an interesting experience to say the least. One good thing about Europe is the ratio of alcohol to mixer they serve you at the bar (50:50 at this place). Needless to say getting up for the train to Madrid the next morning wasn’t exactly easy. To our credit we did make it, even if the train started moving as we pulled our bags into the coach.

Bye bye Barcelona - I definitely want to visit again in summer!

While going through the Spanish countryside on the way to Madrid we saw snow for the first time in Europe, now that we’ve had a taste we’re crossing our fingers for a white Christmas!

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Sightseeing, Travel Spain, Travel

Day 1

Arrived by train at 8.30am.

After finding a place to stay, and dump our heavy bags, we went to the World Press Photo Exhibition at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona. We then walked through a Christmas market via a laneway off La Rambla, which was very cute but has left us wondering what the deal is with the smiling log in Spain? That night was spent wandering around the busy part of Barcelona and as it was a public holiday there were heaps of people out and about. We’re still getting accustomed to the amount of people in Europe, being used to having so much space in Australia it really is quite a shock.

Day 2

We decided we wanted to see more of Barcelona so we rented bicycles and set out with a tourist map of the city. From La Rambla, we rode to the old grounds of the Barcelona Olympics. The site, which is home to the National Art Museum, has great views of the city and also houses some interesting buildings and landscaping. From there, we rode through the back streets of Barcelona to Segrada Familia, the still-under-construction cathedral which Antoni Gaudi set out to create in honour of the ‘sacred family’. Although there are cranes and scaffolding surrounding the structure, it still manages to take one’s breath away. Gaudi truly was a visionary. The building, which was already partly developed in Neo-Gothic style before Gaudi was commissioned to take on the project, is so absurd that one wonders how it remains standing, let alone how the space can be so effectively utilised. After Segrada Familia we rode to the Torre Agbar, another absurd piece of architectural experimentation which wasn’t quite as impressive.. Actually we thought it looked like a giant tampon.. but to its credit it does illuminate in multicolour at night. From there we rode down main streets to the Arc du Triomf, through the gardens to the city zoo and along to the harbour. After doing more exercise in one day than I’ve probably done in my whole life we were exhausted, and called it quits at a demure 9pm.

Day 3

We spent the morning browsing the market and looking for breakfast. All we are eating over here is baguettes and cheese, it’s not what you’d call a balanced diet, but I’m not complaining! The market was cramped and busy, but it had a wide range of everything – from seafood to lollies, there was more produce than Barcelona could possibly consume. Everything looked pretty nice, although I couldn’t help but notice that the fruit didn’t seem to look as fresh as it does in Australia… then again, maybe I’m just biased. We did end up buying some Spanish ‘vino’, or wine, from a shop just off the market. A moscato in a decorated bottle which cost us only 3€ (about $6 AUS) – it was definitely a bargain by the way! As we hired the bikes for 2 days, we set out once more on our self led tour of Barcelona. This time we headed for the beach which, although it’s winter here, was still very beautiful. We stopped by the harbour on our way back to take some photos of the yachts against the menacing sky because the picture was just too perfect. It was then time to give the bikes back, and by that stage we were well and truly ready to use our feet again.

Day 4

We woke up late for the first time since leaving Melbourne, and although it was a shame to miss the quiet part of the day, it was also nice to sleep in. Well rested, we set out to find La Pedrera, another of Gaudi’s masterpeices. The apartment block, built between 1906 and 1912, is truly a work of art. It is home to a small museum in the attic which provides an insight into the motivations and inspirations of Antoni Gaudi, and also offers an overview of his work in Barcelona. Santa, if you’re reading this… all I want for Christmas is an appartment in a Gaudi building!

La Pedrera is amazing, the entrance is via a huge glass door laced with wrought iron in a peculiar bubble pattern. The ceilings of the entrance are painted with naturalistic murals in a pastel colour palate, and the light fittings are like something out of a fairy tale. Once inside, you find yourself in a light flooded circular courtyard enveloped by continuous walls which hold the inside windows of the appartments. We took a lift up to the attic of the building; a winding dark room formed by consecutive catenary arches. Small windows let minimal light in, and give a view out onto the ridiculous rooftop of the building, which looked like something out of a Maurits Cornelis Escher work.

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Sightseeing, Travel Travel

Day 1.

We caught the train from Gare du Nord, near our hotel, to Saint Michel. From there we walked around town, through the Louvre, up the Champs Elysées to the Arc du Triomph and over to the Eiffel tower. By then it was raining so we took shelter in the Musée d’Orsay. It was dark by the time we left so we bought a baguette and some Camembert cheese and sat by the Seine with a bottle of Cider. On our way home we walked past Notre Dame.

Day 2.

As Notre Dame was closed the night before, we went back to take a look at the interior. After that we walked through the gardens behind the cathedral and through some riverside stalls selling cute prints and postcards. Then we caught the metro out to Montmarte to see Sacré Coeur. The sky was so beautiful it could have easily been summer. After sitting inside the church for a while we walked around Montmarte before catching the metro back to the hotel. At 8.30pm we got on a night train and slept all the way to Barcelona.

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