La Sagrada & Park Guell

On the 27th of June I had booked myself in for a day of walking around Barcelona and taking in two popular sites. I started the day making my way over to La Sagrada Familia. I now understand they hype a bit and why everyone I know that has been to Barcelona and has gone and seen it, told me I had to go see it. It’s super amazing to be so impressed with a building that started being built in 1882 and still isn’t finished.

When I booked my tickets online I opted for the base level guided tour and I am so glad I did. Our guide was wonderful, she put energy into the spiel that I am sure she has repeated quite a few times. So the way the tour works is that they give you a radio receiver and headphones, while the tour guide has a microphone and that way there isn’t raised voices and you’re able to hear the guide at all times. Just as with the tour I went on the previous day, I also got lots of knowledge and information that I just wouldn’t have taken on board as much if it had been the prerecorded audio guides. I like the interaction with a person and the live feedback you get from each other.

It’s astounding just how clever a designer Gaudi was. The details placed into every aspect of this building from 7.5 (everything comes back to this number) to each of the faces of the nativity facade are real people. Moulds were taken of real faces and used to create the figures in the facade.

After the tour and spending a bit of time alone appreciating the generations that have invested their time into creating this building and historical monument, I stopped for a bite to eat and then continued on my way to Park Güell. Stopping to take photos of all the street art along the way.

Park Guell was lovely to walk around. They are beautiful grounds and it was lovely to see all the locals that use the park to picnic in, and do their fitness walks. The views overlooking Barcelona were beautiful.

When I was ready to make the trek back to my hotel I obviously stopped along the way to snap more pics of street art. Once I made it back to my hotel I thought I would just cool down and rest for a little bit before heading out for dinner… I didn’t leave again that evening. Opting instead for eating popcorn and watching some telly. My mind, body, and feet were pretty beat.