Guell Park

Guell Park is the park up in the hills of Barcelona that Gaudi designed.  It is a breathtaking blend of nature and the man made.  There is a surreal feeling of being in the blended wilderness while in this park.  Most of the Park has beautiful trails that overlook the city.  Above is a section of the worlds largest bench.  It is made of tile and there are beautiful mosaics all along it.  There is a dirt plaza surrounded by the bench where people can mingle and perform.

Here is a close up of the tiled bench.  It looks really uncomfortable, but on the contrary its comparable to the comfort of an Eames chair.  I later learned at the Gaudi museum that Gaudi studied the human body and designed this bench to match the curve of the spine.

Here is a hall that looks like a wave crashing over into the pillars of the left.  All of the curves and round features gave a very easy flowing feel through the park.

In somewhat of a juxtaposition there is a hall of pillars under the plaza of dirt that is surrounded by the bench.  Each of the pillars acts as a hollow funnel of rainwater from the plaza down to the fountains below.

The wave hall that you saw before has many pillars, the outside of each has some type of pattern or sculpture on the out facing side.  Each and every one is unique, this one looks like Aunt Jemima.  Unfortunately there was no syrup to be found.

Here is a whole series of pillars, click on the photo to see the patterns and sculptures close up.

Notice the swirling spiraled pillars in the top peer of this out look.  It is incredible how organic Gaudi was able to make stone work look.

Here is the famous mosaic lizard fountain that is fed by reclaimed rain water from the dirt plaza.

Along the main staircase the walls are covered with tiles of beautiful mosaic patterns.  Below the lizard is this fountain that reminds the visitors of the importance and beauty of nature.

At the lower entrance of the park the gates are flanked by two houses that are of the late nineteenth century gingerbread style.  One houses the gift shop and the other houses the park offices.  Guell Park is a must for anyone visiting Barcelona.