Park Guell

Ashley Bruce

Blog Post 5

Park Guell

            My eyes were foggy as I woke up from a mid-day nap. I rubbed my eyes as I heard: “I was just about to wake you, get up we are heading to Park Guell!” My best friend Katie stated. My body woke instantly. I was so excited to go see one of the top tourist attractions in Barcelona. After I quickly got ready, we started off and headed to the metro. Park Guell was just a few short stops on the metro, but what a hike up! As we got off the metro we walked towards the bottom of the hill. I looked up and it looked as if it was an illusion. It looked like it never ended. Luckily there were escalators to bring you up most of it. This would have been great if I wasn’t scared of escalators! I would say we headed up at least 10 escalators once we reached the top. It was absolutely breathe taking standing at the entrance of Park Guell. The skillful man by the name of Antoni Gaudi created all of this and I couldn’t believe it. There were stunning panoramic views, gorgeous architecture, astonishing gardens, and praiseworthy tile work. I couldn’t believe how skillfully he incorporated his work into this piece of landscape. There was uncommon architecture, beautiful bright colors, and work inspired by nature throughout this park. This park was so big it was almost overwhelming, but luckily I had my best friend to tour guide me through it. Kate taught me everything I needed to know about this park! Park Guell was built in the early 1900’s and is built on the hill of El Carmel, which is located in the Gracia District. This is one of many architectural sites made by Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, but definitely the biggest. This site was never fully finished due to the war in 1914. By 1922, the property was then taken over and owned by the city of Barcelona and was open to the people as a public park. Some of my favorite places to see in the park were the two gatehouses, the staircase, the serpentine bench, and the peak. The two gatehouses are at the entrance of the park. Their roof tops reminded me of mushroom like dome rooftops with colorful tile work all over. The staircases lead up to the serpentine bench and the peak. On this staircase there were a few magnificent fountains. One of the fountains was my all-time favorite. This fountain had a salamander that was covered in broken ceramic glass of all colors in a mosaic style.

Salamander Fountain:

 

The serpentine bench was eccentric. It was a striking tiled bench that wraps around the main square. Kate told me that this bench is allegedly the longest bench in the world! This bench was open for the public to sit on. It was the perfect place to sit and to just take in all of the beauty.

Small portion of the bench:

The peak was one of my favorite places because the view was breath taking. The peak is a stone crossed monument at the tip top of Park Guell. The peak at the top of Park Guell was like nothing I have ever seen before. We went at sunset and all you could see was the sun setting with panoramic views of what now is one of my favorite cities with the gorgeous view of the ocean. When I am older, Barcelona will be one of my top cities to visit again before I die.

The Cross: