Barcelona, Spain - Parc Guell

Parc Guell was originally a housing site that was unsuccessful and was later converted into a municipal garden.  You can see the details of the project on wikipedia.

This is the Gaudi House Museum, where Antoni Gaudi lived for about 20 years (1906-1925).  It now houses a collection of furniture and objects designed by Gaudi.  We did not enter the museum on this tour but I would like to go through it on a future trip.  Learn more about the house/museum here.

 These are views of Barcelona as we walked through the park.

 The main focus of the park is the main terrace.  From the wikipedia article:

The focal point of the park is the main terrace, surrounded by a long bench in the form of a sea serpent. To design the curvature of the bench surface Gaudí used the shape of buttocks left by a naked workman sitting in wet clay. The curves of the serpent bench form a number of enclaves, creating a more social atmosphere. Gaudí incorporated many motifs of Catalan nationalism, and elements from religious mysticism and ancient poetry, into the Park. 

This is a close-up of the tiled bench.  I don't know what happened to my pictures, but I will try to get a few from others on this tour.

Roadway in the Park - resembles the pine trees of the park.  In order to fit in, the road and walkway structures between the terraces were built with stones quarried within the park.  Bird nests have been installed in the walkway. (Source: wikipedia)

 Seating areas along the walk way.

As always, plenty of shopping.

I like these coffee cups and wish that I would have bought one when I saw them.

This is a great park, and it is free.  It soon became very crowded because it is a great site and great price.  Go early and enjoy the space. Be prepared for hilly walking.

For more photos on the park, click here.