Barcelona - Gaudi Style

On the last night of my Ireland/Scotland trip, I stayed in Dublin before an early flight to LAX.  I met these two guys from England, and one told me there's no city like Barcelona.  I had to see what he meant for myself, hence this trip.

One of the significant highlights of  Barcelona is the abundance of buildings designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, which are so unique.  I went on a Gaudi walking tour, which was interesting.  A girl from China asked a lot of questions, like asking when people buy houses, if its theirs to keep, since in China, you only own a house for 70 years and have to give it back to the government.  (Communism.)  Fun facts I learned about Gaudi's works - Gaudi liked his buildings to be imperfect and he liked them to be controversial (he wanted people to not like them).

Gaudi's most famous works are the Monument at Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia.  More on La Sagrada Familia later.  If you ever go to the former, make sure you get tickets for early in the morning, since there are crazy crowds.  Your ticket is good for a 30 minute window, which they're strict about.  Although they don't kick people out after that window expires, they just don't let you in after that time.  The famous vantage point area  only has a few spots to take good pictures, so it was definitely crowded.  

A look at how crowded it is in just a specific area

Not as photographed but equally fascinating is the rest of the park area, the lower area.

Although I typically posts by the day, I'm trying something different, for the sake of streamlining. So these aren't in chronological order.  This is the plaza where the Gaudi tour began.  This light is one of Gaudi's first works.

Another Gaudi work.  Here's the walking tour guide Pablo.  He looks kinda like Enrique Iglesias.  I tried to tell a Canadian girl that but she didn't know who he was.

Casa Batllo, another Gaudi work.  I heard the inside is wonderful, but I didn't get a chance to go.  One of the most interesting Gaudi works - it has dragon-like design elements.

Other Gaudi work

Casa Mila.  This one is a residential building, unlike other Gaudi buildings, which are mostly museums.  People consider this one of his ugliest works.



This is the Gaudi house in Park Guell.  It was pretty small and only somewhat interesting.

Finally, La Sagrada Familia.  I'd gone by myself and gotten tickets to go inside.  But walked by the outside again on the walking tour.  It's the most popular tourist destination in Barcelona, so it was really crowded.

I didn't realize how much I enjoy Gaudi buildings until the rest of my trip, when there were a lot of interesting sites, but nothing as unique.