I woke up early this morning in Barcelona and walked up the hill to the incredible Park Güell. This is another major landmark in the city designed by Antoni Gaudí, and if you like his style (and I do!), it’s a truly incredible landmark.
I was reading online and listening to some of the tour guides. This park was originally designed as a place for the richest people to live at the top of the hill. But when they only sold five lots, the project was abandoned. Eventually, the city bought the property and bought back the five lots and turned it into a park. It stayed free to get in until 2013. I think Barcelona residents can still get in for free, but I had to pay. It was well worth it!
Incredible views, incredible architecture, incredible overlooks, and Gaudí’s style is everywhere you look. Silly me, I always thought that Gaudí’s (and much of Spanish architecture and design’s) “no straight lines” style was simply a design choice, something that looked cool. I can’t believe it took me until today to learn that the whole idea behind “no straight lines” was the idea that there are no straight lines in nature. Gaudí took all of his ideas from nature. That’s an incredible design statement, if you think about it. And quite unusual for us Americans, who always tend to think in straight lines when it comes to design (think about where Frank Lloyd Wright would be without straight lines!).
The park gets really crowded, and tickets sell out. So if you’re ever coming to Barcelona, this is another one that you want to get tickets for in advance. I can’t recommend it enough, it was beautiful and unique and well worth the money. I stood there overlooking the park, which overlooks the city, going down to the Mediterranean Sea. I thought to myself, “How lucky am I, to see these things in my lifetime.” Did I mention that I have no use for AI? I truly feel sorry for y’all that do. This is where it’s at!
See many more photos and videos at Deke’s original Facebook post!
