Day 29 Barcelona Parc Guell

After an even later start than usual (which has become the norm in Spain!) we began the day with a visit to the Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat de Barcelona - museum for the history of Barcelona. On our way to the museum, we encountered a huge phalanx of fun-runners on one of the major streets. The event seemed to be a health-kick sponsored by Nike. We were astonished by the number of runners participting, as we were watching for more than ten minutes and the stream showed no signs of ending. I estimate tens of thousands of runners.

In what is becoming a pattern, part of the museum was closed for renovation. The museum documents the story of Barcelona from pre-history to the present and is located over a multi-layered archaeological site. The city was founded by pensioned-off Roman soldiers in the 1st century AD, and was called Barcino. Beneath the museum is a fascinating labyrinth of excavations that one walks through on raised walkways. One thing that impresses about the Romans is their method of construction - they built for eternity - always in big blocks of stone.

The areas displayed comprised laundry dyeing premises and extensive wine-making facilities. The detail of the vats and channels was remarkable. There were well-preserved huge vats used for storage and fermentation. The laundry exhibit explained that the process used potash and urine.

Above the Roman layer was a Visigoth church, later expanded and rebuilt over the centuries. Above this was a palace that houses the museum. We loved this place but were frustrated by the arbitrary ban on photography. It's exasperating that some museums allow it and others don't.

We next caught a metro to Parc Guell , featuring Gaudi as a landscape gardener. We were deceived by the maps which led us to believe that the Metro station was near the park. In fact it was 1.2 Km away, the last part uphill. All the walking today finished off my (L) blistered little toe, and the consequent change of gait has caused back pain for which I will have to seek chiropractic help. Nurse J has bandaged up the little toe, but we will have a less active day tomorrow.

Gaudi was originally commissioned by a wealthy developer to make a parkland estate for affluent people on a hillside with fine views of Barcelona (and particularly the Sagrada Familia). This project fell through during the depression and the land reverted to public ownership. It is now a pleasure garden containing startling structures that we presume were part of the entry to the sub-division. There is a museum in a small house displaying furniture designed by Gaudi. The furniture may have elegant form, but it looked rather uncomfortable.

We spent a good deal of time wandering and ascending the paths of the park, culminating in a cairn featuring three crosses and a 360° view. Pretty cool! 

Following our day out, we collapsed in our bed for over an hour before Joan did the supermarket (read, corner convenience store) shopping for another in-house picnic of bocadillos and wine.

Strange buttgon on a Metro lift:

BTW, since the last few days we have been collaborating on this blog and the selection of photos.