The Barc Parks

Yes I know above doesn't necessarily actually rhyme because the c in Barcelona is not a "k" sound.  But when you read it really fast you can't tell.  And seeing as it's been three weeks since I've even written about Barcelona chances are you forgot what this post was supposed to be about so you read it as a rhyme anyway.
So here goes my last Barkelona Post.  And this one is all about parks and outdoor type things.

On Sunday(as in like five weeks ago) we visited the Parc de la Ciutadella…a really cool park in the center of the city.We had read that Sunday was the day to go to see vendors and performers galore (but I think we saw one...sort of...) 

so we stopped at a local supermarket and picked up some crackers, meat, and cheese and went for a nice picnic…

(nina is covering her feet because she suffers from podiaphobia)

We enjoyed a lazy afternoon of just sitting around munching with the occasional cat nap thrown in.  When we were done lazing around, we walked around the park taking pictures. park with just about everything – a Natural History Museum…

a Zoo…

With an awesome mascot btw...

A palace type thing of some sort...

Some art...

A giant mammoth (which was in no way close to the vicinity of the natural history museum)...

and an Aquarium with a really cool fountain in front.  Nina says the fountain was her favorite thing.  It was pretty awesome…

But even better was climbing up all the stairs on the side and taking pictures from the backside...

After a good couple hours we left the oasis of the city and headed back into tourist mode…we had two museums to visit and were on a mission!

On Monday, we headed to Montjuic – the forest on the outskirts of the city.  We took the tram up with the intention of hopping on the skyway to find the palace in the sky.  But after we found out the skyway (the only way to get there) cost twice as much as entrance into the palace itself, we skipped it and headed towards the Olympic Stadium instead.  On the way were some gorgeous photo gardens that we wandered through in the attempt to find food.  We never did… Finally we arrived at the Olympic Museum…which was closed due to refurbishment...so here's the outside...

But there café was open and at that point, it’s really all we cared about.  So after  quick hot dog, and a couple pictures of posters, we headed across the street to the stadium.  No as you know, I love the Olympics.  And I think I’ve decided to make it my life’s goal to visit every single one.  Yep…decided that right now.  So I’ve got three down…and way too many to go.  Anyway, we wandered around the stadium, pausing in the front for some pictures of the stadium, and the surrounding sights…

We even got to go in, even though there wasn’t much to see since most of it was closed off…

And finally we went around the corner to see the torch…

After the Stadium we headed to Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya.  This building was GORGEOUS!

It housed an art museum (also closed…ugh) but it didn’t matter because the outside is where it’s at.  From here you can see all of Barcelona, and we had fun switching to the big lens on my camera and taking photos…

Then we had a quick break where we enjoyed a “clara cerveza" (beer with frozen lemonade…delicious!) And then made the trek down the numerous stairs, pausing at every level to get yet another photo of the continuing fountain.  This fountain goes off at night in a big light show, but of course (because this is our luck) it wasn’t going to go off that night due to cleaning.  Anyway, we’ve seen the Disneyworld and the Bellagio ones...

Once we got back down to city level, we saw advertisements for a big Harley Convention.  Which I guess explains what we saw the morning before for twenty minutes…

Our last day we had a half day before we had to get ready to fly to Malaga, so we saved what was supposed to be the best for last – Gaudi’s Casa Mila and Parc Guell. Casa Mila is the apartment in which there are no straight lines…at all.  The inside of the apartment is cool enough, and the attic area was a fun wander, but the real amazing part is the roof…absolutely breath taking.  No really…it took my breath for a few seconds.  Again, fun views of the city were also had, but this time with interesting shapes to frame it…

Another of Gaudi’s masterpieces, (because really, how can you name just one?) Park Guell, was commissioned by a guy named Eusebi Guell, one of Gaudi’s biggest patrons.  The park is a natural park with hiking trails and views of the city.  But in the center is a very large…er…decoration thing going on.  Sure that’s what we’ll call it.  Gaudi basically decorated a forest.  There’s mosaic tiles everywhere, pillars decorated with stones, stones made into pillars, and a very large entrance façade with the famous mosaic-ed “gecko.”  My aunt just got a bottle opener of it :-D

There was lots and LOTS to discover which made leaving the park till the last day a HUGE mistake.  By this time, we were tired and worn out from walking, and even our best shoes weren’t doing anything to quell the aching pains in our feet.  But we did enjoy a quick catnap on what is said to be the longest bench in the world…

We still saw most of the “decorated” park, but I know there was much more to be seen even though as soon as we found an exit with a bus heading in our direction, we hopped on that thing and sped back towards civilization and a very aggravating flight down South.

Finally you know all about our trip to Barcelona.  And later (who knows…maybe even tomorrow...gasp!) you’ll hear all about Malaga!

Word of the Day: parc - park (Catalan)