Barcelona

'Tis the season for unrelenting rain and gray skies here in the Netherlands. Not sure what all this facebook talk about "loving fall" is all about, especially because you can't even buy a decent can of pumpkin around here.  That said, I will particularly enjoy this flashback to our summer in Spain, and I hope you will too, wherever you may be.

Barcelona is a fun, colorful city with some fantastic whimsical architecture - all thanks to a dude named Antonio Gaudi.  Much of what we did in Barcelona was either designed by, inspired by, or lived in by Gaudi.  Enjoy the photo safari of shapes and colors…if you think it looks fun and disney-toon-townish, just imagine walking amongst these buildings in person.  All I can say is: it was a trippin' trip.

My mom's first public transportation experience.  She did surprisingly well, considering the potential for germ contamination.

Casa Mila

Casa Batllo

Block of Discord

My fave on the Block of Discord, it looks Dutch-inspired, no?

The girls loved this one!

My mom's fave - it had a little french twist on the Gaudi style.

Matchy Sisties

Lunch Break!

The most famous of Gaudi's works, and by far the most impressive is this HUGE cathedral, Sagrada Familia.  It bugs me that it is still under construction - just finish it already!

The interior - a forest of stone, stained glass, and light...

The modern passion facade - not my favorite.  

The more traditional nativity facade - amazing!

Love this tree of life!

Here are some other non - Gaudi sites we saw along the way...

Ancient Roman ruins still stand in Barcelona

Marketing

Shopping the Passeig de Gracia!

Singing at the Opera

But back to Gaudi…

Here we are fighting the crowds at Parc Guell.  Gaudi built this to be a master-planned community of sorts for the very wealthy of the day.  It never took off as a housing project, but is now admired for it's art and architecture.  I can't figure out why it didn't succeed - I would totally live here!

Surfs up!

A colorful view of the city

Think Gaudi had a thing for mosaics?

Although we had just spent the week at the beach in Nerja, and even though the beaches in Barcelona are supposedly manmade and overrated, my one regret about our time in Barcelona is that we never hit the beach.  Summer travel is always better with a little (or alotta) beach time mixed in!