Barcelona: Day 60 : Parc Güell .

Today, since the majority of the people we hang out with were in Paris, Ian and I decided to take a trip to Parc Güell to see what was there. I had been previously, and there was a slight chance of rain, but we decided to risk it. Boy, was it worth it. The day turned out to be a beautiful one, with sunshine abundant and the temperature probably creeping up past the 70º mark. I was impressed, given that it was October. Silly me, I had worn a hoodie, and yet it was clear that it was not needed. The morning had been deceiving...


I had been before, but it was probably 5 or 6 years since I'd walked around that glorious park. One thing that I noticed right off the bat is how hilly it actually was. It was deceiving taking a bus all around from city to city, because you never walked anywhere on my Student Ambassador trip. News flash: We have walked EVERYWHERE in Barcelona since I've been here. I feel like my legs are in one of the best shape's of their lives, even if they may not look like it. I'm definitely in quite good shape, I feel like I could walk forever and be fine. But the park is actually on the side of mountain. Okay, realistically, maybe a moderate hill, but there it is still steep enough for switchbacks in places.

Last time, being with an ambassador group, our guide took us around to the major places and then it was on to the next adventure. This time, we really got to explore every square of this park. Granted we probably didn't cover every inch, but we definitely took the route less traveled. In this manner we circumvented the park and found a lot of neat things, one of them being a fantastic little rock pedestal with a fantastic view of the city. It reminded me of the view from Mount Carmel, which is right nearby. Either way, it was just as fantastic. At this point in the day it was still a bit hazy out, but hazy or not, you can't argue the fact that this picture is a great one:

You can even see the important landmarks out there, like Sagrada Familia right over my shoulder, and the Agbar Tower to the far left, and the twin towers right by the beach. You can even see the W Hotel to the far right, right on the shore. It was quite a view, I must say.

The park was good to us and offered some great pictures and even some great musicians that were out there. As is normally the case with every tourist destination in Barcelona, there were the random guys trying to sell trinkets and little dust-collectors, as I call them. But it was still a worthwhile day. My favorite part may have actually been the people playing the music. A lot of them are so talented -- so much so that Ian and I each decided to get a CD from two different groups and then share it with the other. He got one from these guys that played a sort of fast-paced reggae, and I got one of a trio of guys on guitar. Each was €10, but in the end, it was worth it. Parc Güell is definitely one of the places I will go back to before the trip is over, so props to Gaudí.