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.