Yeah, yeah, the title is a bit of a copout since I used the same pun for when I visited Monet’s gardens in Giverny (oh my Claude!) but who cares—it works!
The first time I visited Barcelona in 2015, I was only there for about a day and a half. The plan was to visit Park Güell and take the same picture that everyone has of the place and call it a day. What we didn’t know was that you needed to book tickets in advance for a specific time slot and of course, we showed up at 5pm—the last time slot of the day—and were departing for Madrid the next morning. Ever since that massive miss, I promised myself that I would visit Barcelona again, so here it is—four years later and I finally made it back to Park Güell with tickets this time. My younger self would be so proud.
Park Güell
Overall, not what I expected. Given that this is one of the main attractions in Barça it’s bound to be crowded, but it was completely overrun by tourists to the point where you couldn’t really sit on any of the tiled benches that surround the park. There was also quite a bit of construction and retouching going on, so there were areas that were fenced off. My reason for going, though, was to admire the tile work and I did have a chance to do that. Everything was so colorful and beautifully put together that I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with joy. Even with all the crowds and people trying to take the perfect photo to post on social media, I was able to appreciate all the work that was put into building this incredible site.
Sagrada Familia
Park Güell was great, but the Sagrada Familia was truly awesome. And I don’t mean awesome in the way that we typically use it—I mean the moment you look up and see this massive and intricate structure, you are completely struck by awe. This place is the definition of grand. The exterior is busy and heavily Gothic and I honestly don’t have the words to explain how stunning and moving it is. There’s so much going on that you could stand there for a day and try to take in every detail and it wouldn’t be enough time to process it all.
The interior is on a whole other level of magnificent. There are stain glass windows everywhere so no matter where the sun is and which direction the light is coming through, the inside is illuminated with intense colors from the entire spectrum. I’m not a religious person but the walking through and taking in all the details, architecture, and paintings was a holy experience.