Gaudi Rules-OK?

Above all, even greater than the influence of its world conquering soccer team,Gaudi's mark on Barcelona is all pervasive and his exotic creations are all the more stunning when one considers that he was born in 1850 and died after being run over by a tram in the 1920s.
He designed apartments, the as yet uncompleted cathedral-the Sagreda Familigia-and even an elevated piazza in a park high in the hills behind the city, affording superb views across Barcelona to the sparkling mediterranean and his ecclesiastical masterpiece.So where to start?

Why not at the Gueli Park, for its glorious overview and because it has become such a popular playground for the populace.Typical of Gaudi it combines almost outrageous design with the practicality of providing an elevated piazza on which crowds enjoy a South American band, Flamenco dancing and the displays of traders, whose wares represent the crafts of manylands from which they have fled to seek sanctuary in Spain and the greater EU.



No, this is not a ginger bread house nor the home of the Mad Hatter. It is the gate house guarding entry to a once private estate which he was commissioned to enliven in his inimmical style and which is now a civic park.


The road up is very steep and getting there is an adventure in itself, requiring the ascent of demanding staircases and alleviated by the most amazing,and welcome, outdoor escalators.