Travelday

When I went on my first backpacking trip, after graduating high school in 2005, our first stop was Barcelona. By the end of our trip, we got tired and barely did any touristy stuff in the cities we visited, but in Barcelona, we were just getting started, and we saw everything: we went to the cathedral, walked down Las Ramblas and went to the Guell Park in the Gaudi Village: my favorite.

I’ve always had a thing for city parks. Maybe it has something to do with living so close to Central Park in New York City. Regardless, I love the little spot of nature within the city. The Gaudi park, however, is different from any other park I’ve seen. Unlike other parks, it doesn’t seem to be merely a spot of nature within a bustling city: it’s also an work of art, a wonderful place to explore.

Of course, there are the parts designed by Gaudi: the vibrantly painted walls and benches and the decorative wall and staircase in the middle. However, there are also other art forms being portrayed here. My favorite was a guitarist who was in the park the day we chose to explore it. I’ve seen many street musicians in my time, and it’s not necessarily the fact that he was any more talented than anyone else, but he had an aura about him. Perhaps it was him within the park that I liked: the whole package of a Spanish guitarist in a very Spanish park in a city that I love.