Architecture in Barcelona

Barcelona is, of course, famous for the strange and fascinating architecture of Antoni Gaudí. On the way to visit some of his houses a couple weeks ago, I snapped photos of interesting statues and structures that grace the same street as the world renown Casa Batlló. Just as a sidenote, this is my last post on my winter vacation - promised! We'll get back to campus affairs in a few days...

In the Streets of Barcelona - Photos

Here are some more photos from my time in Barcelona this winter. A caption below each photo explains everything - enjoy! 

Apparently all the infants of Barcelona get their picture taken with this elephant, while crying, for their Spanish identity card.

"The Fountain of Water" - the Spanish are very inventive at naming their monuments ;)

This fountain changes colours every few minutes - I passed it everyday on the way back to my residence! It marks the intersection between four major streets, including Gran Via and Paseig de Gracia (which is where most of the big shops and chic restaurants are). 

I visited the Catalan parliament in the Parc de la Ciutadella with some students in my Spanish class - this is the ceiling of the 'stairs of honour', where foreign delegates and Spanish politicians are welcomed. 

Where all the important Catalan political debates happen!

Almost every café in Spain has this obnoxious gambling machine that you must hope nobody plays because the noise is unbearable! This café is a few minutes away from La Sagrada Familia. 

Check out Barcelona's politically correct stop lights 

La Sagrada Familia

Last weekend, I went to see La Sagrada Familia with a couple friends from my Spanish class. The first time I saw it was on a field trip with my high school in 2007, and the interior was still in construction. I saw it again this summer - not much has changed since then - but it's still an impressive structure to admire. According to the construction panels in the museum, they still have 60% of the church to build and the finalisation is expected to be in 2030. If you scroll through the photos, you'll be able to see that every detail - the tiles on the floor, the way the light is reflected off the walls, the design of the fence on the balcony - has been meticulously accounted for.

Barcelona & the Cabalgata de los Reyes

For the second half of my winter break, I'm in Barcelona learning Spanish at the Don Quijote language school. It's been interesting so far; the students in my classes come from different countries so along with Spanish, I've also been learning about German and Brazilian culture. I'm living in a student residence on Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes in centre city and my classes at the language school are from 8h - 15h on weekdays. Scroll down to see some photos of my week...

EasyJet flight from Geneva to Barcelona

Bird's eye view of Switzerland

Five minutes from my student residence is the Plaza Catalunya

My room in the student residence - the building is huge and resembles a hotel! 

Yesterday evening I went to see the Cabalgata del Reyes with some classmates. It's a parade on the eve of the 'Dia de los Reyes' (the Day of the Kings) which is today. The parade is mostly for families and children, but it was interesting to see what type of innovative floats the city of Barcelona came up with to entertain kids.

I passed the Arco de Triunfo on the way to the parade

The city supplied parade-goers with ladders for children 

After the parade, we stopped at a bar called 'Obama' on Gran Via for a late dinner