More Gaudi in Barcelona

I started out my last day in Spain, and my day on my own in Barcelona, at the Parc Gruell, another one of Gaudi's creations. It seems as though everyone else in Spain had the same idea....there were lots and lots of people in the park. If you wandered away from the main attractions though, it was possible to find a little solitude.



This lizard is probably one of the most famous images from the park, and judging by the t-shirts at the numerous tourist shops, one of Gaudi's most famous images as well.


Probably the second most famous thing about the park is the long mosaic-covered bench. You can see it in the foreground of this picture...



It was a gorgeous day, and the bench was full of people enjoying the break from the cold.



A closer view of the mosaic....



My next stop was the Sacre Famille--a Gaudi designed cathedral that is still under construction, and is expected to be under construction for at least another decade.

I was confused, because in every postcard picture I had seen of the cathedral facade it looked as though the church was melting--at least that's how I would describe it. But, the cathedral looked nothing like those images...


I spent a long time outside the church looking at the sculptures all over the facade. And I could have spent a lot longer too--I really like the strong lines in all the figures.




It was probably a good thing that I spent so long looking at the outside, because when I went inside I realized it was even more unfinished than I expected. A few parts of it did look like a cathedral....



But most of it just looked like a big construction site...


After wandering through the inside, I went out the other door of the church, and realized my mistake. I was wondering why the cathedral looked so different from all the postcards without thinking "hmmm....I wonder if there's more than one face to the building". Well, there is. And this one does look like it's melting.