Saturday, June 06, 2009

Park Güell by Gaudi, Barcelona

We took the very first tour bus from the location by our hotel, intending to see Antoni Gaudi's greatest work, Sagrada Familia. The bus poked along and got us there by 10:30 in the morning and the line around the church was so long, that it reminded me of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. There was no way we could see it unless we got there first thing in the morning.

So we decided to see Park Güell, which was on two stops away. It too was mobbed, but because it is an open space, we just walked right in.

The caretaker's cottage.

The church.

The church as viewed from the serpentine seating with a city view in the background.

A detail from the ceiling of the structure that holds up the serpentine bench.

A tile detail from the steps leading up to the serpentine seating.

A detail of the exterior of the serpentine seating showing a lion's head waterspout to help drain rain runoff. The caretaker's cottage is in the background.

A city view from the aqueduct at the summit of the park.

The other side of the view showing the Mapfre Towers.

Entrance to the park was free.

9 comments:

Y said...

These are great!!It`s amazing everywhere you turn you see Sagrada Familia.Too,too bad you couldn`t get in:(

Sue said...

We were very disappointed! Thanks Toni!

Doug said...

Gorgeous!

Stan said...

I must get to Europe some day. *sigh*

Sue said...

Thanks Doug!

Stan - You really must!

Jackdaw said...

Indeed the Sagrada Familia is worth visiting if you also climb the towers. The facades are beautiful, but you can see those from the street. Inside there is not much to see yet. I trust that when it's finished it will be breathtaking.

Park Güell is such a nice happy place, and it shows Gaudi's creativity very well: from the colourful tiles to the almost natural looking pillars. And I love all these nice tongue-in-cheek jokes in his work. Your photo's are beautiful as always.

Sue said...

Thanks Jackdaw!

Anonymous said...

Sue
I thnk the detail from the steps
would make a very nice watercolour

Your Prairie Friend
Jim

Nick808 said...

oh how I miss barcelona. I was there for 2 months in 2006. Is that the place with the giant lizard tile sculpture in the front? i love gaudi's work :)