Parc Guell Barcelona

The bus wound up and up from the old city of Barcelona.  The streets were clogged and smelled of diesel, gasoline fumes and cigarette smoke from the ubiquitous Spanish smokers, The air was choking but as we climbed the sky emerged bluer and cleaner.  Finally we arrived at Parc Guell the former estate of the very wealthy Guell family.   Early in the twentieth century in one of those wonderful confluences of art and commerce the fabulously wealthy Guell family commissioned Antoni Gaudi, architect and visionary artist to build a fantasyland of gardens, structures, fountains, vaults and other fanciful constructs.  Visiting it is a little like going through the looking glass with Alice after she ate the magic mushrooms.  Gaudi obviously thought that too much was not enough.  He layered tile on stone on sculpture.  The park is built on very hilly terrain so one is always slightly off balance like being in a fun hall house of mirrors.  The park was jammed with tourists, locals, couples, families, a bride and groom posing for pictures, musicians and vendors hawking everything from Guadi reproductions to Adidas sneakers.  We were exhausted when we left but it was well worth going.