Antoni Gaudi's Work in Barcelona

Another interesting thing about Barcelona is the people there worship Antoni Gaudi, a famous architect well known for his unique and distinguished designs. His buildings are everywhere around Barcelona. And it's not surprising really, I went into one of his building, Casa Mila (also known as La Pedrera), and was very amazed with what I saw. I don't think I had ever seen something like that before. In his time he already thought about ergonomic designs and use of nature forms in his creations.

I also went to the unfinished church, La Sagrada Familia. I had not seen a church with the kind of details presented there and I think it's definitely the most exceptional building in Barcelona. The outside area was in a better shape than the inside but the church is practically still under construction. Looking at workers working around the church, I had to agree with one of my friend's comment that it was a very historical moment and that when it's completed and we're still around we could tell our kids that we were there when it's being built.

The last Gaudi's work I visited was Park Guell. Park Guell, a UNESCO Heritage Site, is a park with a unique designs of architecture. There is not much activities you can do there apart from strolling around, looking at the building structures and designs in the park and sitting on the long and wavy bench with a very vibrant and colourful ceramic designs. Park Guell is also a great place to view Barcelona from high up towards the sea. In short period of time, I became one of those people in Barcelona who admire him and his creations.

Travel tips:

1. When in Barcelona, it's worth visiting Gaudi's Casa Mila, La Sagrada Familia, and Park Guell. If you haven't seen any of Gaudi's buildings before, then it's good to start with Casa Mila. There you will find a museum explaining his works and the roof terrace is just breathtaking. You have to pay to get into the first two buildings but it's free admission to Park Guell except for the Gaudi's house located inside the park. Another building worth going into is probably Casa Batllo. I only took photos of the building from outside. Click here to see list of Gaudi's buildings.

2. Nearest metro station to Casa Mila is Passeig de Gracia - Green Line, L3.

3. Nearest metro station to La Sagrada Familia is Sagrada Familia - Blue Line, L5 and Purple Line, L2.

4. The best way to get to Park Guell is to take bus no 24 and it will take you up the hill and stop in front of the park. You can catch this bus from Placa the Catalunya and let the bus driver know to tell you where to stop. If you take metro (Lesseps - Green Line, L3), you will have to walk up the hill.

Casa Mila (La Pedrera)

The Roof Terrace of Casa Mila

Casa Batllo

The many features of La Sagrada Familia from outside. There are just too many details for me to capture.

The inside of La Sagrada Familia

Park Guell

Gaudi's house at Park Guell

Oh How I Love Barcelona!

I took Ryan Air flying from London to Girona. It was just me and a friend, and later we were going to meet another 2 friends in Barcelona. From Girona airport we took a bus to Barcelona's main bus station for about an hour and a half and then we continued on by metro to our B&B which is located nearby Las Ramblas, Barcelona's main tourist area.

We walked around Las Ramblas enjoying the atmosphere there. Las Ramblas is a long walkway that's streched from Catalunya to Drassanes metro station. There are all sorts of shops, restaurants, bars, street performers as well as flock of people (mainly tourists, I'd say) along the walkway. There are stalls selling birds and other animals in one part of the walkway, around Catalunya metro station, and then flowers stalls somewhere in the middle and souvenir stalls towards the Drassanes metro station. It's very, very lively. I just loved walking and browsing around the stretch as well as people watching. One thing about it though, I find the restaurants on the stretch are too expensive for what they serve. I also think the shops on the Las Ramblas stretch are overpriced. I was surprised to find a 1Lt bottled water that costs over €3 and most of the shops there sell it around that price. It's just ridiculous.

Shopping was another activity we did in Barcelona and it was fun! There are a lot of shops around Placa Catalunya and on the small streets along Las Ramblas. You can get almost everything in this area. The most interesting shopping place I went to was Mercat St. Josep La Bouqueria. It's a food market selling variety of fruits, meat, seafood, and the lot. It's full of character and literary a very colorful market.

Travel tips:

1. Barcelona Bus between Girona and Barcelona. Tickets can be purchased at Girona airport.

2. We stayed at Vrabac Bed and Breakfast in Barcelona. The location is superb (nearest metro station is Liceu - Green Line, L3). It's only a few steps away from Las Ramblas. The place is warm and has got a character, it felt like living in local apartment. It's also clean and very secure. They provide free tapas on certain days where guests can meet and chat with each other. The only two bad points (and they are very minor) are it's shared bathroom and it's on level 2 and 4 with no lift and many steps.

3. Barcelona metro map.

4. Mercat St. Josep La Bouqeria is located at Las Ramblas. Nearest metro station is Liceu - Green Line, L3.

It was raining the first few days we arrived Barcelona. In this photos: Las Ramblas, the floor pattern of Barcelona, my friend posing with a street performer, Port of Barcelona at night, birds everywhere in Placa Catalunya, and Water view from Port of Barcelona.

Music is everywhere around Barcelona. I just love the atmosphere. Photo at the bottom left: the old man was dancing following the music. 

Some of the food items sold at Mercat St. Josep La Bouqueria. These photos were taken by my friend HM.

La Font de Canaletes (Canaletes Fountain) at Las Ramblas. The rough translation of the words on the floor at this fountain says: If you drink the water from this fountain you shall always love Barcelona. Away you go, always return.

Spain in 2.5 Weeks

I haven't done much with my blog lately as I just came back from my long awaited Spain trip. After I came back, I got what people call 'post-holiday blues' which I named it 'Spain blues'. I was not in the mood to do anything at all especially in the first few days when I was back. The weather in London was cloudy and it was raining most of the time. In comparison, the weather in Spain was very good most days I was there. It was cold at night time but generally nice and sunny in the day time.

And I was torn between continuing the Angkor trip and starting the Spain trip story. It's not easy to continue the Angkor trip as I was just back from Spain with all the memorable journey in my mind. Even until today, I'm still feeling it. So I decided to start with Spain trip and continue Angkor trip later.

And now here goes, the itinerary for 2.5 weeks in Spain:

- Barcelona (2 days)

- Valencia (1 day)

- Cuenca (1 day)

- Toledo (1 day)

- Avila (1 day)

- Segovia (1 day)

- Madrid (2 days)

- Sevilla (2 days)

- Ronda (1 day)

- Nerja (1 day)

- Granada (1 day)

- And back to Barcelona (2 days)

It's the six of us travelling - all girls. Two were lost in transit on the first 5 days :-). And by that I meant they were only joining us from day 6. There was a mixed up with their visa applications and they could only enter Spain on day 6. So they had their own trip to Edinburgh in Scotland and then joined us in Segovia.

We moved very fast from place to place taking trains and buses as well as driving a rental car. It's a very tiring trip, I must say, but I enjoyed all of it. And we had a lot of good food and wines. I guess it comes to no surprise as Spanish food is just very delicious. But during the trip, I felt we ate too much sometimes. I always felt too full after meals. It's yummy but it was a bit too much for me. But overall, the trip was very enjoyable and memorable to me.