If you haven't guessed it yet, I admire Antonio Gaudí's work. To me the Park Güell is a magical place where Gaudí's architecture blends intimately with the nature he sought his inspiration from. Curves and colors merge with the hill, overlooking the beautiful city of Barcelona.
We started our walk from the top of the park, strolling toward the main entrance, soaking in the atmosphere. Originally the park was meant to be a development for wealthy families. However the rich families of Barcelona did not like Gaudí's architecture so much at the time. So instead of 60 houses, there are only 2, and instead of a development it's a beautiful park. At the very top is one of those houses: la Casa Martí Trias i Domènech.
From Casa Trias, the road meanders down, following the hill. One can walk on top of the pathways and see some odd rock trees. There are benches between each "tree", but a barrier blocks the access.
One can also walk under the roadways and discover the arches holding them. The light is amazing and there are often musicians there. As for us we got to listen or more or less acceptable version of Hasta Siempre, Comandante.
The most famous section of the Park Güell is of course the main plaza with the sea serpent creating the benches. The rounded shapes, the colorful mosaic of ceramics, invite to conversation. We heard French, Catalan, Spanish, English.
The perfect spot for a picture really.
Under the plaza there is The Wave, close your eyes and imagine being under water. I heard that it's where the community's market would have taken place.
In fact the sea world is found directly under the plaza. Between the columns, if you raise your eyes up, you'll find a ceiling of white mosaic. Here and there creatures appear such as this fabulous octopus.
I could spend hours looking at Gaudi's work, the details, the colors.
The stairs leading up to the lower plaza stayed busy the whole time. After all it's the main entrance of the park. Once again there are no sharp angles, the retaining walls are curves, so are the fountains, it has a very soothing effect.
Of course what attracted the crowds wasn't so much the stairs, but the famous lizard. I had to to be sneaky and quick to get a picture without a stranger sitting in front of it. I think one has to get up early to get a quiet atmosphere in the park.
Hubby decided to not fight against the crowd and let me take a picture of him in front of the next fountain.
I always found the pavillions of the entrance fascinating. Is it gourmandise? But I always had this feeling that the roof was made of whipping cream and candies. It wouldn't take much for us to feel like Hansel and Gretel.
Thankfully no mean witch tried to catch us.
Can't say that it's for lack of wanting to eat the candies that framed the window though.
We left Park Güell feeling enchanted. My only regret though was that my brother told us about a great little restaurant called "nou candanchu". We found it by accident on our way back. Unfortunately it was 4pm, not hungry yet since lunch and too early for dinner. It was also a little far from where we stayed. It's one of the few regrets I have from our stay, I would have liked to try it.