Day 10: Barcelona, mi amor
The last day of our trip was certainly a memorable one! We began the day with an impromptu tour of the Olympic stadiums and buildings built for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic games. We also went up to Montjuic to see the spectacular view of the city.
We then took a drive to Guell park, which Gaudi was commissioned to design in 1900. It was supposed to contain 60 houses, but no families wanted to live that far outside of the center of Barcelona. So, in 1914, construction of houses ended and one 3 were completed. They serve as a museum and park offices.
Gaudi did not want to change the landscape of the mountain so he built his structures based on the natural landscape. He also worked with a new technique called "trancadis" where the ceramic tile is broken and glued back on in pieces that take the shape of the artifices on which they lay.
This picture was taken moments before Christian learned to ride a bike! Go Christian!
The oddest bromance Barcelona has ever seen. It made us all really uncomfortable
Our tour guide, Carmen, told us all about Antonio Gaudi and his influence is seen all over Barcelona
Th building below is called Casa Battlo and the facade was built between 1904-1906. It was based around the Legend of St. George which revolves around dragons. That is why the top of the building looks like it has scales and the windows are made to look like the bones of the people the dragon ate.
We also went to La Sagrada Familia which is supposed to be finished in 2026. Gaudi was also commissioned as the architect for this cathedral and he used parabolas (which are found in nature; for example, valleys and ocean waves) as the main structure for the cathedral. He loved nature and tried to use natural elements such as stone, plaster, ceramic and wood for his buildings. Gaudi completed 1 side of the cathedral, the nativity scene, and left the others empty because he knew it was a multigenerational project which is funded through donations. The three sides of the cathedral are the nativity, Christ's death, and the resurrection. The resurrection is the only side left to be completed. He also placed 4 towers on each side to represent the 12 apostles. Zoom in on the pics to see the incredible details he used.
We then took a drive to Guell park, which Gaudi was commissioned to design in 1900. It was supposed to contain 60 houses, but no families wanted to live that far outside of the center of Barcelona. So, in 1914, construction of houses ended and one 3 were completed. They serve as a museum and park offices.
These round stones go around the circumference of the park and are representative of beads on a rosary. Gaudi would pray as he walked the grounds.
Gaudi did not want to change the landscape of the mountain so he built his structures based on the natural landscape. He also worked with a new technique called "trancadis" where the ceramic tile is broken and glued back on in pieces that take the shape of the artifices on which they lay.
We returned to the center of Barcelona and did some people watching and shopping before our bike tour.
Of course I had to buy pictures from a local artist
This picture was taken moments before Christian learned to ride a bike! Go Christian!
No training wheels, but a smaller bike which she did well on until that dog ran in front of her tire!
Alexis, our bike tour guide, told us about the park he took us to.
The Mediterranean Sea is crystal clear in Barcelona!
Time lapse of biking back...
This statue is representative of the "human castles" Catalonians build for sport.
A protest for Venezuelan rights.
More flamenco ended our excursion!
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