I went back to parc Guell (I was reminded by the tour guide that double l’s are pronounced like a y) for my guided tour of the part of the park where it used to be free to visit but now it costs extra. I’d heard on a podcast that this was an event that could be missed and I was already annoyed (not really, I’d made peace) that I’d been here already on Saturday, so my expectations were low enough for me to have a great time! It was hot and I learned more Gaudi stuff than I would have exploring on my own. So Guey and Gaudi were friends. Guell acquired this land and wanted to turn it into a housing development for rich people so he hired Gaudi to design it. Guell had a a house, Gaudi had a house, and one of their friends bought a plot, but no one else did. Gaudi built the community part of it, but other than that and the 3 houses, the project was considered a failure so it was turned into a public park.
This column has a washer woman on it– this hallway was intended to be the place for the servants to wash clothes.
This building was inspired by the witch’s house in Hansel and Gretel. Gaudi saw the show and incorporated it into his latest project
View from the common area on top. The benches are ergonomic (before that was a word) and it undulates like a snake so people can have semi circles of conversation.
View of the entrance from the guard’s house (the top above the columns is where people sit on those ergonomic benches)
There’s me!
So I’ve mentioned my search for plants to eat. Today was a great day. On the way to the park I found a bakery that had a pastry with zucchini in it. They were just shavings of zucchini and the pastry was amazing- slightly crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. It also had this pizza:
I got really excited and decided to come back and get some for lunch. Which I did. Also on my way down the hill I found little cups of cut up fruit. But I wouldn’t be fooled by tourist traps! Those cups were probably like the ones they sell at Starbucks that cost 5 euros for a bunch of melon and one slice of kiwi! Then, later down the road I found a fruit and veggie stand that had a plate of all kinds of cut up fruit- mango, kiwi, orange, pineapple, melon for only 1,50! I also grabbed a thing of blueberries for 1 euro and a plate of 8 apricots for a euro! I was so happy to find more fruit than I could eat in 1 sitting that I didn’t have to make a mess of cutting up for 3,50!
I went back to the hostel for a nap and a shower while everyone else was out exploring. In my 8 person mixed dorm, we had a bathroom in the room that had a handicapped shower with no curtain. Just right there in the room next to the toilet. There was a giant squeegee so you could squeegee the floor after getting water everywhere. I felt uncomfortable taking over the only bathroom right when I arrived, and also while everyone was still sleeping in the morning, but that afternoon I was all alone. Continuous water flow but I still hand to hold the thing by hand if I wanted it higher than my head. Ah, the joys of traveling cheap.
La Pedrera is right around the corner from me and my mom said it was worth the expensive (22 euro) entry fee. Remember this one?
This building, designed by Gaudi, is interesting because people currently live and work there— the main floor, the roof and one of the apartments is for tourists, but as the guy behind me in line said, who cares if tourists are walking around your building all the time if each of them are paying 22 euros to get in! I wonder if they have an HOA fee. A I listened to the audio guide, I could just imagine Gaudi designing something efficient and excitedly showing someone his design saying, “look what I made!” Like door and cabinet handles that fit your hand. Like chimneys that look like sculptures. Like courtyards that allow more light and air circulation.
The first courtyard we walked through:
This was meant to be the front gate. Cars would drive through the gate and then go down into the underground parking lot. This was before underground parking lots so it was very cool. Imagine driving into your living room and then going down into the garage.
Here’s the other courtyard with a staircase to the apartment of the people who commissioned the building:
Now up on the roof looking down at the courtyards
Gaudi designed the chimneys and ventilation systems to be sculptures (and much more beautiful than their boring neighbors)
The neighbors:
There was a great view of the Sagrada Familia (which he was also working on)
If you look closer at that building you can see a couple of girls enjoying snacks on their balcony. I wonder if they watch the tourists on this building.
This chimney is made of broken champagne bottles.
In the attic which was designed using hanging rope upside down to make the arches. Having two ceilings made the building cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.
Inside the apartment
Private bathroom.
There was also a bathroom for tourist use up in the apartment and it was fun to think I was using plumbing that Gaudi designed.
Back down to the courtyard, every element was artistic
The staircase up close
Looking down from the exhibition hall
See all that nature?
After the tour I found my way to the Pablo Sec neighborhood where I had met Joanna on Saturday night. There was a street full of restaurants advertising pinxos– a Spanish custom where you get a drink, and they have all these bite sized snacks on bread with toothpicks. Each one is a euro, but the fancy ones are more (1,30 or 1,70). You take what you like, put the toothpicks in a cup and then they tally your bill from that at the end. I tried two different places and liked the ones with frittata on bread and fancy cheese. As I was sitting there, eating my pinxos and reading my book I heard a familiar set of chords. Sure enough, Dust in the Wind, an old Kansas song that my dad would sing with his friend Doug Ackerman was playing. All of a sudden I was both on the other side of the world in a foreign country and home on Hidden Lake Circle where I grew up.
On the way back to the subway, after I passed the turnstile, I found signs that led to a funicular (A train that goes up a mountain at an angle). I’d heard this mountain was cool. Joanna said there was an awesome restaurant up there where they give you free wine while you wait for your table (though it didn’t open until 8:30pm). I wasn’t hungry for more food or more exploring, but I decided to ride the funicular anyway. It turned out to just be like a subway (I went on some really cool ones in Italy). It was in this tunnel:
The train went outside for just a little bit, but all I could see were walls covered in graffiti. Oh well. Now I know where it is!