Archi-tour of Spain: Part 3 | Barcelona

Visited: June 2012

I’ve been fortunate to see quite a bit of this world through my travels, but one city that always eluded me all these years and one that I've been super keen to visit - Barcelona.

Almost every visitor of Barcelona that I have spoken to sings praises of this city. The culture, architecture, food, shopping, weather, shopping, eating, shopping, eating (one can just rotate on shopping and eating) – everything about it seems to enchant its visitors. Little did I know this city was going to completely blow me away!

I’ve already given you all a taste of Barcelona through my Food Safari post, and if you are a foodie, please make it a mission to visit this amazing food capital! To me, the most stunning aspect of Barcelona would have to be its architecture. Whilst Gaudi’s buildings are stamped all over Barcelona, and I do love Gaudi’s incredible mind, imagination and willingness to experiment and push the boundaries in modern architecture, but it is actually the component of its small parts that make Barcelona shine. 

Now onto the photographs so one can see why Barcelona is such a cool place to visit!

Centuries old buildings that are still standing strong!

No building looks the same in Barcelona!

The mansions on Prasseig de Gracia

The Chimney Tops (or we liked to call them 'ice-cream cones') from Palau Guell are incredible works of art. They are imaginative, distinctive, colourful, fun and just plain unusual! Really appreciated and admired the creative efforts of artisans of the time, and of course thank you Gaudi for having such a vivid imagination.

I actually thought another cool feature of Guell Palace was being able to checkout the Barcelonean rooftops, which was such a contrast from the colourful, imaginative chimney tops!

Archi-tour of Spain: Part 2 | Segovia

Segovia is a relatively easy day-trip away from the hustle and bustle of Central Madrid. We took the RENFE high speed rail train from the Chamartin Station, (can I stress here how much I LOVE fast moving trains that are modern and clean), and a bus into this quaint historic town.

Upon our arrival, Segovia greeted us with its most impressive sight - the ancient Roman Aqueduct.

As you can see above, it is simply a brilliant piece of architecture and civil engineering. The arches are perfectly balanced and in proportion, which is where I see the beauty in the design. The aqueduct was allegedly built during the first century to supply the city with water, using just blocks of granite stone. No concrete or mortar were used at all, and this is evident when you look at the aqueduct up close. I'm still in awe as I post these photos.

Archi-tour of Spain: Part 1 | Madrid

As a keen observer and appreciator of the built-environment, I can only imagine that Spain must be a dream destination for architects. From the whimsical and magical creations of the ingenious Gaudi, the jaw-dropping aqueduct in Segovia, to the grand Catholic cathedrals with traces of Islamic arts embedded in the design, the few days I had in Spain to admire these creations left me wanting to linger in Spain for far more than I had planned to. Spain has had a colourful history, and the architecture which stands now and continues to evolve demonstrates this vividly. Travel is not only about ticking off sights seen, foods eaten, and racing to beat everyone to it, travel is also about understanding history, culture, people and society today, at least that is how I see it. What better way to see a country than through centuries of architecture!

As I present my archi-tour snapshots, I hope you will all come to appreciate the beauty and ingenious of the built environment.

Part 1: Madrid, Spain

Wandering through the old streets of Madrid - such colours and details!

Exploring  the grandeur of the Royal Palace of Madrid. The official residence of the Royal Family of Spain, although they physically live elsewhere. 

Almudena Cathedral behind and built on an old Islamic mosque and site. Love this picture below as it reflects the changing status of religion and history in this city. Surprisingly, this Cathedral is fairly modern as construction only began in 1868 and was only officially declared complete in 1993.