Epic Honeymoon - Day 29 - Barcelona

Park Guell, Barcelona.

The following day, we started with a general stroll around La Rambla and side streets, at first venturing down to the port area, but then coming back up. As it’s a hotspot for tourists, there’s always something going on around there.

Plaça Reial.

This same busker was in La Rambla on my first visit to Barcelona in 2011.

The hustle and bustle of Barcelona's main tourist strip.

We had been looking for coffee, but then decided to just proceed to lunch. We’d already planned to head to the infamous 4Gats restaurant, famous for being a favourite of the art world, including Picasso. The front of the restaurant offers tapas and drinks only, while the back has a full a la carte and Menu del Dia for €19. We both went for the latter, and had some pretty lofty expectations.

A fancy setting at 4Gats.

To be honest, the food was okay; good if I’m being generous, but definitely not outstanding. The service was poor; both waiters we dealt with had a real superior attitude about them and made us feel a bit like we were interrupting their day by being there. So I won’t be raving about this restaurant to anyone I know. It was nicely set out, but you can get the same quality or better food – and probably better prices – at plenty of other places. Sorry, 4Gats.

First round of the Menu del Dia.

The food was fine, but really not as good as we were expecting.

My pork cutlet was quite dry.

Dessert was also a bit lack-lustre.

We had booked ourselves in for the afternoon to visit yet another Gaudi brainchild: Park Güell. Situated out to the north west of Barcelona, we took the Metro to Lesseps before walking along Travessera de Dalt. Street signs will point you in the direction to turn, and you will get to trek up a nice hill to get there. Towards the end, though (at least on the route we took), there was an escalator to finish things off.

Park Güell is certainly one of the more “out there” creations by Gaudi. It’s a mishmash of different styles all thrown into one. We started with the “Ramp”, which winds its way down on multiple levels, supported by sloped, twisty columns covered in rough stonework. The whole thing looks like it was built from mud and rocks available in the area.

"The Ramp" is one of the main entrances to the park.

It's like a massive mud castle.

It's actually quite hard to photograph without other people in the shot!

At the end of this walkway, you can find the “Washerwoman”, cleverly disguised on one of the columns. If you’re not paying attention, you will miss her, as she looks basically like all of the other columns.

"The Washerwoman"... and my wife. Haha!

Continuing into the centre of the park, the main feature presents itself: a massive, elevated platform, designed for social events and parties, supported by 88 stone columns. Between the columns, several areas open up wider than others, in a similar fashion to the naves of a church. The ceiling, when under the platform, is adorned with mosaic tiling, punctuated with beautifully colourful circles over the column-less openings. The platform itself, called "Nature Square", offers a lovely view over the whole park, but was closed for earthwork renovations during our visit, so we weren’t able to access it.

Pillars holding up the Nature Square.

Detailed fencing that surrounds the school within the park.

Detailed mosaics on the ceiling under the Nature Square.

Nevertheless, the lower platform at the top of the central stairs offers a nice view down to the main gate. Heading down these stairs, you come to meet the infamous Park Güell dragon. Covered in more colourful mosaic tiles, much like the decorations on the platform ceiling, the dragon serves a purpose other than being an oddly pretty water feature. Gaudi designed the platform such that water would be collected during rains and flow down through the columns, then down through the dragon and out his mouth.

The view from below the Nature Square.

"How to train your (Park Guell) dragon".

The dragon flows with water collected up at the Nature Square.

A bit further down, there’s a second, smaller water feature. This one looks a bit like a stegosaurus head (sorry – I was a dinosaur nerd as a child). This has a small trickle of water out the mouth, which I presume is fed from the output of the dragon.

The dribbling Stegosaurus.

Looking back up at the Nature Square.

Either side of the main gate, there are two small houses. At the right, as you look into the park, is the Casa del Guarda; the Guard House. Park Güell was originally intended as an estate with 60-odd properties to be built. The idea never came through. The Guard House gives a bit of history on this notion, but mostly it offers some nice views over the whole park as you get higher up. The house on the otherside, with its blue-and-white chequered “lighthouse” feature acts as a book and souvenir shop.

The book store at the front of the park.

The book store's lighthouse.

Overall, I would say Park Güell was interesting, but I would debate whether it’s worth the €7 entry fee. If you’re not really into weird and wonderful architecture, then you can probably skip it and go for a coffee with your money instead!

From the Park, we headed back down the hill and towards Gaudi’s most famous work: La Sagrada Familia. It was a bit of a walk (you can take the metro if you choose), but we got there eventually. From the outside, I always thought this was an odd building. It looks a bit like a mud house that’s dried and chipped off at the front; many jagged edges jutting out. We had only planned to look at the exterior, but later decided to go inside. We booked tickets – which can only be done online; no sales on site – for the following day. We took a final stroll passed the old St. Paul’s Hospital, also renowned for its intricate design, and the fancy Gaudi lightposts nearby, before heading in for the night.

La Sagrada Familia from outside.

Gaudi lampposts along the street.

Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau.

Ready your neck for skyward stares on Day 30!