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Photos from my trip to Barcelona and the Costa Brava, June 2006
Barcelona is an incredibly beautiful city. Its historic medieval architecture sits alongisde modern streets. There are lots of green spaces and water features. The architecture is amazing. In parts of Barcelona, it is like being in a dream world. It has enough art, culture and history to keep me busy for months. The shopping and eating can be good. Not only that, but the coast is also there! The weather is usually great. So many reasons to like Barcelona. It is not perfect - its popularity means that it is packed everywhere with people, there are always long queues for everything, and as it is so romantic, honeymooners flock there in there thousands. It is also not an easy place to photograph, as so much is on an immense scale and hard to fit into an average camera frame.
Parc Guell is the park designed by Anton Gaudi. It was originally going to be a housing development, but as all Gaudi works, one with a difference. Parc Guell has a magnificent collection of buildings, public spaces - originally planned to be public spaces for the residents - and sculptures. The park is built on a hillside, and there are many different paths and steps. The higher you climb, the better the viewpoint. Gaudi inspires me. Possibly due to suffering rheumatism as a child, he became very inspired by nature. His buildings reflect that - there are few straight lines or right angles, instead his buildings use the natural curves that you find in nature. Elaborate decoration and bright colours also help his work to stand out. His work was far ahead of his time and he had few supporters, but he was not afraid of ridicule. He knew his mind and his vision, and he stuck to it. He had only one supporter, but that was enough for Gaudi. Nowadays, Gaudi is regarded as one of Spain's greatest and brightest. No visitor can avoid Gaudi - his influence is everywhere in Barcelona. I believe that towns and cities could be a brighter place if there were more like that. Gaudi was also a strict vegetarian - it was not common then and still is not a common, widely accepted thing in Spain. He did not let his childhood illness turn him into an invalid, but instead he brought what he had learned from it into the life of all around him now and today. I am hooked on Parc Guell. It is like a fantasyland. Perhpas it appeals to my (hidden) escapist nature. Parc Guell is like nowhere else I have been to in the world. This is a shady, artistic piece of public space with seating.
Throughout park guell, there are sculptures. The lizard sculpture is very colourful with its mosaic surfaces.
This is one of the two gatehouses at the main enterance to the park. The one on the left is a cafe and souvenir shop. The one on the right are administrative offices. The Gaudi mosiacs and sculpturs in Park Guell have resulted in a whole industry of art and crafts inspired by them, and of course don't forget the T'Shirt. There was amazing glassware and mobiles inspired by the mosaics, which were very beautiful and in my opinion not remotely tacky.
Inside the Building above, on the ceiling are these mosaics - I find them among the most beautiful pieces of public art I have seen. They are in glass, using images inspired by the coast, in beautiful natural colours. The glass gives them a transluctant quality and the light mosaic surroundings show them off to their full glory. There are several of these, in varying sizes. Many other tourists were lying on their backs admiring them and taking phots, and since they are on the ceiling, you have ot walk around with your head in the air. I love these so much. I find them so calming and peaceful. I love nature and the sea, that is where I feel at my happiest, and perhaps these spark off those associations.
Even in a busy place like Park Guell, there are places all around where you can find a quiet breathing space. We started climbing a hill, and just went up and up. From the top, we could see for miles across the city below and across the port of Barcelona. The Churchtower really stood out, again very ornate.
Gaudi has a collection of buildings across Barcelona. I have visited many. This one is on a main street close to Las Ramblas, and very pretty it is too.
La Sagrada Familia is a spectacular building, still unfinished yet., This is Gaudi's most famous work. It is the second most visited attraction in Barcelona, after Camp Nou (home of the Barcelona FC). The Cathedral consists of 12 towers, each representing an apostle. Not for Gaudi plain stone walls- every bit of space is elaborately carved with various religious sympbols. It is hard to take in and needs several visits to begin to appreciate it.
A close up shot of the above. I have not successfully managed ot photo the entire building, as it is so big it needs a much larger frame than my basic point and shoot camera can manage. My advice - go see it for yourself. Even the most non religious and the most architecture bored people will be awestruck by it. It is one of those once in a lifetime things
The Gothic quater - Barri Gotic- is the old historic heart of Barcelona. With lots of narrow streets, old squares, the Gothic Cathedral, historic churches and civic buildings, and plenty of shops, bars and restaurants, it is a busy place. Some parts are pretty and well preserved. Other parts are very run. I really like this section of Barcelona. I think it has a lot of character and atmosphere.
What can I say? Not only do you have an amazing city with enough to keep anyone happy for months whatever their interests, but it also has miles of coast going from it. Some places are really big loud resorts, but there are some areas of isolated coast. This is the beach at Cadaques. I found Cadaques a little over-rated. It is described as a place that has inspired many artisits and writers in the past and it has a lot of connections with Salvador Dali, and it does have some white buildings which are dazzling in the sun. However, its down at heel in many parts and the beach was not the cleanest. The sea was lovely here, turquoise in parts and very clean, and dazzling blue in others.
A sculpture of the man himself. The Salvador Dali connections are everywhere in Cadaques. He visited Cadaques often in his childhood, and he had a home later nearby. The Costa Brava coast inspired many of his paintings.
The old historic city of Girona is well worth a visit. It is about an hours drive out of Barcelona, and bus and train connections are frequent. I went on a day trip from Barcelona but I plan to stay if I go again. The waterfront is a popular postcard image of Girona. The photograph is taken from the new town side. It is mostly uninspiring but nearby Independence square is very nice. However, these buildings hide what really makes Girona special. If you walk across the bridge and through the passage, you come into another world, the old town. This is where the attractions are.The old town is lovely, with narrow winding streets, very old buildings and the beautiful cathedral and archeological gardens. Here they take a siesta in the afternoon, making it a lovely quiet place for strolling.
Another image of the waterfront. I was amazed at how clean the water was. From the bridge I watched loads of large fish swimming in the river, and you could see them clearly. The buildings were once warehouses, but they are now apartments.
One of the old town attractions behind the cathedral, are the archeological gardens. This is a small part of it. The gardens consist of the remains of an old monestry. There is much to explore. You come across many stairways, walls and viewpoints. It is a lot bigger than it first looks.
Oh well, I will look forward to my next visit!
Official website of Barcelona (in English)