mount tibidabo and güell park

left the house this morning on a mission: to find guell park, gaudi´s self-styled garden of creation. however, i was ummmm, shall we say slightly side-tracked? due to the labyrinthine nature of these neighbourhoods, i was soon lost and seemingly on a collision course with mount tibidabo. you know what they say, if mohammed will not go to the mountain, then the mountain must go to mohammed!

well it seemed this mountain was calling to me. you know, when a mountain summons you, there isn´t much room for futzing around! also, i read a great book last year ¨l´ombre du vent¨ by carlos ruiz zafon where the story´s climax took place on mount tibidabo so this was my way of tipping my hat to dear carlos. near the top i discovered some lovely hiking trails which to my astonishment were marked in the very same red and white stripes used by the french chemin st. jacques. though they were meant to mark a local trail, i greeted them as old friends.

at the summit awaited a fantastic old cathedral and i even got to ride at the very front of the cable car on the gravity-defying descent, woooohoooooooo!! had a good little nose around the neighbourhoods in the foothills of mount tibidabo where i drew the conclusion that barcelona is not without its old money!

eventually wound my way to my original destination named after eusebi güell who wanted to create a stylish 20 hectare park for barcelona aristocracy so commissioned his close friend antoni gaudi to architect it. gaudi worked on the park from 1900 to 1914 before the project ran out of steam and the city purchased it as park land in 1915. as one of the entrances was perched atop a rather steep hill, those wishing to bypass the stairmaster style workout could hop on the string of 6 or 7 outdoor escalators at the top of which is a fabulous view! the park contained amazing stone structures, stunning tiling and fascinating buildings. i also found walkways supported by twisting rock pillars that seemed to be growing out of the ground like tree trunks. at the top of the park was a terraced area with a superb view of the park and of the city. here were multi-coloured tiled mosaic seats in a breathtaking palette of colours.

as a huge fan of cartoons and animation, i cannot think of another architect who more closely embodied the concept of animation while his designs remained of course within the realm of still life. all those curves and flowing lines...it was almost as though the landscape wanted to break into a spontaneous jig and bust a serious move! gaudi must have had a blast with these designs.