The story-book spires of Gaudi's Park Guell
Even the sign is sweet
Pausing for a group shot in this mud-inspired walkway
Gaudi mimicking a breaking wave here
A strange mix of architectural styles, these classic Greek columns support crazy curving tiled benches.
Park Guell's famous benches
The city view from the park
Barcelona at sunset
A break in the trees reveals the Sagrada Familia
On our way up the hillside
Eric and the ladies
The park had so many interesting details, like these little stone men forming a railing
Barcelona and the Mediteranian
Gaudi's other-worldly Sagrada Familia
Nice place to live
Intricately tiled benches
Lauren and Dez test them out
Just 100,000,000 more tiles like this and you pretty much have the park.
Great view of the sunset
Dez and the boys
Gaudi was incredibly imaginative and almost nothing was built with straight lines.
Full of color
The park was full of good hiding places...if there was an international hide-and-go-seek competition, I think Barcelona should be a front-runner for hosting.
Curvy McWaverson.
Old and new? Why didn't anyone tell Gaudi you just don't do that.
The park entrance with famous giant tile lizard.
Leaving Park Guell
I think Gaudi would have approved of further photographic abstraction.
Our apartment had balconies on the 3rd floor of a busy street--great location but impossible to sleep! Note the moving van at street level.
The stairs are so narrow apparently this is how people move in Barcelona.
All of your possessions have to be lifted or lowered from a window
Our balcony and street corner
Our first morning there
Mmmm...a very reasonable 'offerta'.
Sagrada Familia -- it's huge!
Yep, never seen anything like this before.
The outside was incredibly ornate
Part of the "Glory Facade"
Holy, Holy, Holy
Even the very tops of all towers are intricately colored and decorated. When asked why he put so much effort into places that few people would ever see, Gaudi responded "the angels will see them".
Roman soldiers - some of the modern statues added through work since Gaudi's death
Passages from Mathew on the church doors
The inside was surreal and almost organic
The forest of trees supporting the roof
Most of the cathedral is a construction zone, but the roof is almost complete and the first service in 100 years of construction should be in 2008
Tree forest
Light sculpted concrete shapes
Totally unique.
Signs of construction
Industry amidst beauty
Columns in a sea of scafolding
Gaudi had a pretty through attention to detail.
The "fruit of the spirit" adorn the cathedral towers.
Christ over the main door
Jesus during the Passion
Come on pigeon, this is serious scene!
Judas Kiss
Here's one for our University of Pittsburgh alumni magazine...
The cathedral park
So photogenic
Hanging out on Gaudi Way
The Sagrada Familia looms over the north-eastern corner of Barcelona
The Hospital De La Santa Creu I De Sant Pau - quite a mouthful.
This hospital was designed by an architect/philanthropist (Montaner) who wanted to create an environment that would make patients happy.
Cool light and stairway in the hospital complex entrance.
The hospital is made up of separate pavilions each with a unique design.
Orange trees in the (very nice) hospital yard between the 16 pavilions where patients stay.
Forbidden fruit: it probably goes without saying that you shouldn't eat the oranges, but they looked so good. They weren't though, and were incredibly sour and not ripe...um...not that I picked on or anything.
Dez and Lauren tend to a patient in the yard.
The hospital has a great view
This is the kind of hospital where I want to stay
Statues on the famous main street, La Rambla
Cool stonework
Those are window columns with panache. These Spanish architects know how to give a building curves...
Dez and Lauren at this AMAZING tapas place that we got lost 3 times down unlabeled alleys to find.
Eric and Nick living it up on the house wine...served from giant casks by the door
Mmm...Spanish Tapas
Composition.
Laundry hanging everywhere. The nerve of some people.
In the alleys of Barcelona
I took this picture to show the roofers as a guide when we buy a house...
Rows of ecomachines
Gardens on Montjuic, a small hill overlooking the city on its west
Group shot overlooking the city at dusk
Some really nice gardens overlooking the city
Very peaceful up here
The Olympic Stadium from the 1992 Barcelona games. For the 1 month during the Games, Montjuic was renamed Mt. Olympus "officially". I think that has a much better ring than Montjuic, why didn't they keep it?
Santiago Calatrava's Needle, a radio tower he was contracted to design.
The imposing entrance to the Olympic Stadium
The torch bearer, baring all.
Inspirational.
The national art gallary
Dusk over the city
View down the famous Art Museum steps
Impressive fountains from the 1920 World Fair
Fountain.
More fountians
really nothing more than hypnotic, moving water.
The fountain and light show was amazing today--it must have made people's heads explode in the 1920's.
This photo also taken as a model for our front driveway when we get a house.
Good times in our (green) apartment before heading out for dinner our last night.
Eric and Dez, looking classy.
Enjoying the view on our last morning in Spain
Breakfast before the bus trip to France!
