Exploring Barcelona

So today is our last day in Barcelona - we leave for the airport mid afternoon. Its been so much fun here, mixing it up between relaxing at the beach and seeing the sites. Wednesday morning we got up and caught the subway up to Guell Park. Guell Park was originally supposed to be a housing site but only two houses sold there and it is now a municipal garden. What is interesting about the park is that it contains a significant number of works by Gaudi which fuse his fascination with nature and religion. It a huge park and is really interesting to go have a look at. We went pretty early on in the morning and it was already packed with people. One of the interesting attractions is Gaudi's famous mosaic salamander, which we saw but couldn't really get a good photo of. The park is on the hill of El Carmel and at the top we were able to get some really awesome photo's looking out over the city to the ocean.

Looking towards the entrance of Guell Park

Looking over Barcelona to the Ocean

Terrace walls - The almost look naturally formed. Lots of buskers would sit inside these in the shade while people walk past.

After the park we caught transit down to the port and had a quick loaf of bread with some salami and cheese before heading to a cafe for a coffee. After we were fed and caffeinated we went to the beach to get a bit more sunshine in our system (I think we deserve it after the last couple of winters). The weather really was stunning and we were able to sit there all afternoon without getting the slightest bit burnt. The temperature was perfect and there was a nice cool breeze which meant you could literally sit there all day without getting too hot or too cold. Despite the crowds and European swimsuits I could definitely get used to a place like this I think.

Yesterday morning, just to make sure we didn't have a day here without seeing something architected by Gaudi we went back to the Sagrada Familia, but this time we went inside. The building is massive and absolutely stunning. While we think the outside is a little more impressive the inside is something to behold. This building as I mentioned in a previous entry is not yet complete nearly 100 years later and consumed the last part of Gaudi's life. Drawing inspiration again from nature and religion literally every facet of this building is remarkable. One of the really interesting aspects of the inside was how he overcame some engineering issues by designing the central columns based on trees which allow the load to be stabilized on top of smaller branches which join to a larger trunk. We spent a couple of hours looking around at the detail and exploring the museum and displays that they have there which included Gaudi's grave - as he is buried in the building.

A view of the columns (I think there maybe 16 of them in the building? some larger some smaller)

A view of stairs and windows beside the North Eastern Tower 

After our explore of the Cathedral we sat outside an treated ourselves to coffee and croissants. Despite the fact that it was 11.30 most Spanish people are literally only just sitting down to breakfast. I don't know how they do it. They eat breakfast at our lunchtime, then eat lunch at our afternoon tea time and have dinner around 10pm when we would normally be going to bed. Must be those siestas.

My new breakfast staple - chocolate croissants. You can see the Sagrada Familia in the background.

After the Sagrada Famila we headed down to another tourist staple - La Rambla. La Rambla is a main street in downtown which has a pedestrian only area in the middle of the road where there street vendors and restaurants. Around the side and in the surrounding streets are lots of cafes and shops of every kind. While it is one of those places that you really have to watch your wallet we didn't have any issues. Off to one side of the street we found a interesting food market with literally every kind of meat, cheese or bread you can think of. The meat came in various forms from barely dead and still in a living position (minus the skin) through to fully preserved. It was fun and we spent a few hours exploring around the area before walking back to our apartment for an afternoon siesta.

A view of the Market

 After our siesta we took advantage of the late afternoon weather and went for another walk (and yes by now our feet we very sore) to La Monumental. Bull fighting was made illegal in 2010 so this is set up as a concert venue and a memorial for the events held there since it was built in the early n 1900's.

La Monumental

In the evening after dinner we went out to explore the nightlife. We ended up at the Montjuïc Magic Fountain where there was a light show played to classical music. The were literally thousands of people and we had heaps of fun in the bustle - I think New Zealand really is going to seem very quiet having been in some of these places.

Today we are getting all packed up before heading out for some paella for lunch before heading to the airport to catch a flight to our next destination - Morocco.