Day 5 (February 17, 2020): Park Guell
And so it is here already: our last day in a city we have totally fallen for! Our last morning in Barcelona was intended to be an opportunity to visit the famous Park Guell, designed by Antoni Gaudí, the chief designer on the Sagrada Família. The Park is north of Gràcia (where we did the walking tour yesterday) and about 4km from Plaça de Catalunya in the heart of Barcelona. It is where Gaudí turned his hand to landscape gardening.
The Park is popular that reservations are normally required. But we figured that a Monday morning would be slow and quiet there. Not so! After our last buffet breakfast at the Four Points, we sat down at the computer in the hotel lobby to see if tickets were needed and were shocked to see that it was almost sold out! So we snaggled two tickets and set out in a hurry to make our 10AM reservation window.
We weren't quite sure what to expect as we neared the Park in a minibus operated by the city's transit authority. As we walked in, we felt like we had landed in a town made of gingerbread and lollypops! It's probably the best way I can quickly describe Gaudí's architectural style. Or maybe a scene from Who-ville in the Grinch that Stole Christmas would be an apt description, too! In any case, it was a feast for the eyes, and it was quickly evident why the Park is one of the top sights in Barcelona.
With urbanization in mind, Eusebi Güell (who bought the land and was behind the development) assigned the design of the park to Gaudí. The park was built from 1900 to 1914. They imagined an organized community of high-quality homes for the elite of Barcelona, decked out with all the latest technological advancements to ensure maximum comfort, finished off with an artistic touch. They also envisioned a community strongly influenced by symbolism, as they were trying to bring together many of the political and religious ideals they both shared.
Ultimately, only two houses were built, as the development proved to be an economic flop. It was officially opened as a public park in 1926, and in 1984, UNESCO declared the park a World Heritage Site.
After a morning of exploration at the Park, we made our way back to the hotel using the city's very efficient bus system. We grabbed a light lunch at a pub near the hotel, sitting outside under the warm sun to drink our cappuccinos. We then returned to the Four Points to pack up our room and checked out at 2PM. We took the tram and metro system back to the airport in the west of Barcelona, and enjoyed the "Sala VIP Canadus" lounge at the airport before boarding our Norwegian Airlines Dreamliner for the nonstop flight to JFK airport at 6PM.
It was a great flight with another good meal, and we arrived on time at 9PM. We took a 40-minute cab ride from JFK to Newark, where we stayed for the night at the Courtyard Hotel in nearby Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Our nonstop United Airlines flight back to Halifax left the next morning at 10:30AM, so we arrived early at Newark Liberty to have breakfast at "Art and Lounge". Touchdown in Halifax was early, at 1PM, and by 2:30PM, I was back at my desk at Canadian Heritage, and Pam was gearing up for a choir rehearsal.
Thanks for joining us on this visit to one of Europe's great cities, brimming with amazing architecture, infrastructure, culture and great tapas!
The Park is popular that reservations are normally required. But we figured that a Monday morning would be slow and quiet there. Not so! After our last buffet breakfast at the Four Points, we sat down at the computer in the hotel lobby to see if tickets were needed and were shocked to see that it was almost sold out! So we snaggled two tickets and set out in a hurry to make our 10AM reservation window.
We weren't quite sure what to expect as we neared the Park in a minibus operated by the city's transit authority. As we walked in, we felt like we had landed in a town made of gingerbread and lollypops! It's probably the best way I can quickly describe Gaudí's architectural style. Or maybe a scene from Who-ville in the Grinch that Stole Christmas would be an apt description, too! In any case, it was a feast for the eyes, and it was quickly evident why the Park is one of the top sights in Barcelona.
With urbanization in mind, Eusebi Güell (who bought the land and was behind the development) assigned the design of the park to Gaudí. The park was built from 1900 to 1914. They imagined an organized community of high-quality homes for the elite of Barcelona, decked out with all the latest technological advancements to ensure maximum comfort, finished off with an artistic touch. They also envisioned a community strongly influenced by symbolism, as they were trying to bring together many of the political and religious ideals they both shared.
Ultimately, only two houses were built, as the development proved to be an economic flop. It was officially opened as a public park in 1926, and in 1984, UNESCO declared the park a World Heritage Site.
After a morning of exploration at the Park, we made our way back to the hotel using the city's very efficient bus system. We grabbed a light lunch at a pub near the hotel, sitting outside under the warm sun to drink our cappuccinos. We then returned to the Four Points to pack up our room and checked out at 2PM. We took the tram and metro system back to the airport in the west of Barcelona, and enjoyed the "Sala VIP Canadus" lounge at the airport before boarding our Norwegian Airlines Dreamliner for the nonstop flight to JFK airport at 6PM.
It was a great flight with another good meal, and we arrived on time at 9PM. We took a 40-minute cab ride from JFK to Newark, where we stayed for the night at the Courtyard Hotel in nearby Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Our nonstop United Airlines flight back to Halifax left the next morning at 10:30AM, so we arrived early at Newark Liberty to have breakfast at "Art and Lounge". Touchdown in Halifax was early, at 1PM, and by 2:30PM, I was back at my desk at Canadian Heritage, and Pam was gearing up for a choir rehearsal.
Thanks for joining us on this visit to one of Europe's great cities, brimming with amazing architecture, infrastructure, culture and great tapas!
Various scenes, structures and features from Park Guell.
The Park's iconic iguana.
On the way back to the hotel, we saw the statue in the middle of Placa Tetuan, in the heart of the city.
The bull-ring at the very heart of Barcelona is no longer used for bull fighting, a sport which the people of Catalonia have deemed cruel and out-of-date.
A beautiful, warm Monday in Barcelona. City lounging has never been better!
We were very impressed with the extensive metro, bus and tram network, and took transit all over the city.
Boarding our Norwegian Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner, nonstop to JFK.
The beef dinner wasn’t bad!
Somewhere north of the Azores, I started to think about meteorites and why you never hear of meteorites hitting airplanes. And, what would happen if a space rock hit our plane over the Atlantic! I’m not usually one to worry about those things but I admittedly found myself worrying about it mid-flight. Luckily, the panic passed.
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