The tour required me to return walking up the steep hill we walked up yesterday. We were given headsets so we could hear our guide, and as a group headed further up the hill into Park Guell.
Park Guell was created about 100 years ago, intended to be a subdivision for housing wealthy people, and Gaudi was commissioned to create an amazing private park for those who live there. Eventually only one house was built, which Gaudi himself lived in. The remaining land was handed back to the public. Paul Guell is open to the public, however all of Gaudi's work, which is complete, is paid entry only and only limited people are allowed every day. Hence the ticket I purchased.
The park is amazing. From the bottom, wrought iron gates hide the treasures within.
We headed up to the top of the park, passing by the long walls decorated with mosaics, eventually arriving at the top of the monument.
We walked across the top of the monument, which is surrounded by seating around the edges, all made of mosaic and ergonomically shaped for comfort especially lumber support.
We made our way below, to view the columns holding up the momument. We were told the columns are hollow, the the seating above collects water which goes down through the columns and into giant water storage tanks below for the purpose of park irrigation. Very forward thinking!
We admire other creations including the famous mosaic lizard, noticeably worn because every tourist wants a photo of themselves touching it.
The park is just beautiful. Our guided tour ended here, and we were left to stay as long as wish.
Next I wandered back down the hill, found lunch at a local bakery, then caught a bus to my next visit.
I went to Saint Pau, a large complex of many building spanning an entire city block. This was built as a hospital and medical teaching facility, hundreds of years ago, and served Barcelona well over that time. Eventually many of the building have been restored and are now able to be visited and serves as a museum. The tour is as much walking around the outside, as seeing inside. Interestingly all buildings are linked via underground tunnels for moving patients and supplies without going outdoors. I found this a very peaceful place and took my time.
After that, I returned to the hotel to Helen. I started on some blogging activity, but was unable to post at that time. We had dinner at a small Turkish restaurant nearby, very tasty. Tomorrow, more walking!
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