After the breath taking walk to Parc Guell and I do mean that literally, we have arrive at last to Parc Guell. 17 to 18 ha big, it was built in 1900, more than 100 years ago. Originally, it was meant as a housing area with garden concept, but the people didn't buy the idea at that time, thus this project was unsuccessful. In short I have came far and wide to see an abandon housing project. It was later converted to a public park.
The main entrance
In front of the park is 2 small houses that look delicious. Or is it me being hungry and all after the walk. The roof was built with pieces of mosaic while the body was build rough bricks. Only one of the houses was open for viewing and its full of kids. Of course kids are attracted to it. It looked just like the witch's house in Hansel and Gretal.
I swear I have eaten a cake look just like it last year.
This one is swarmed with kids living out their Hansel and Gretal fantasy.
One will notice a lot of mosaic used in the the design, along the stair case and around the flower pots. It was said he actually ask his workers to bring all the broken pottery from their houses. I can just imagine this conversation.
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Wife : Dear, why are you digging the trash?
Worker : Looking for broken pottery..
Wife: Why you want the broken pottery?
Worker: Not me, boss wants. He want to stick it on the wall.
Wife : ( o_O)
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Broken pottery arrange as a type of art on the wall.
Though now we can call this creativity but people 100 years ago categorized this as insanity.
Flower pot with bits and pieces of a broken plate.
You can't see this kind of architecture in Malaysia, probably due to this..
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Boss : Esok kasi bawak semua pinggang mangkuk kat rumah yang sudah pecah. Mau porcelin punya.
Worker : Boss, tak boleh lar. Semua kat Indon.
Boss : Sini takada ke?
Worker : Takada lar boss, semua pinggang mangkuk, plastik punya. Beli kat Mydin.
Boss : Cis..
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When you walk up the steps you will see a lot of people gathered at the center to look at the drooling lizard. Actually the website said its a dragon. However the Oriental Blood in me would not let me type anything but lizard and thus it shall remain a lizard throughout this blog.
Stop drooling at me
This lizard is the most famous lizard in the world. Build as the park mascot it was coated with pieces of mosaic from tail to nose. A lot of people surround it for photo taking, like Mickey Mouse in Disneyland. You have not idea how very long I waited to take this human free shot. I am told you have to line up during summer to take photo with the lizard.
After the lizard, I got curious at the pillars behind it. Inside this room of 100o columns it is very cooling and you can see street performers. The street performers are really talented, no joke. They even have their own CD. E10 per piece. I am so tempted but .. ah well for a person who have to steal breakfast buffet bread, E10 is just too expensive.
Its very cooling and windy underneath. If only there are benches to sit. If one look up the roof you will find mosaic designs. In the picture they look like plate size. Actually they are not. Their diameter is somewhere around an average gym ball size. It is hard to imagine the effort these people take to painstakingly stick one piece by one piece 100 years ago.
Great salad plates. I found plate designs in souvenir shop. Wish I can buy them.
Above this hidey hole you will find benches built like waves around the perimeter. It was also decorated by broken pieces of porcelain. Where do these guys find so many broken porcelains?
Its soooo hot and these can just sit there and enjoy.
The wavy design is actually has an ergonomic purpose. It is suppose to fit your back perfectly while giving a very creative outlook to the park. Gaudi even design the seat using the mold of a worker's butt so that it fits whomever who sat on it perfectly.
Look at the twin peaks... ergonomic
However no matter how I sit, I just can't fit my butt in perfectly. That worker must have some pretty big butt. Since we have arrived pretty late at the park we only manage to see this portion of the park. :(
Nevertheless, the architecture design of the park has a purpose besides being one of its kind in design.
Guell Parc prototype
The sandy top part (on the top of the prototype) that I mentioned just now, is fill with sand ( duh) for the purpose of filtering clean water. Rain water that fell on this piece of land filtered by the sand ( so its clean) and flow into an underground reservoir through the huge columns. Yes, the room of a thousand hollow columns. Columns that channel water to the underground reservoir. If the reservoir is full, extra water will be channel out via the lizard mouth. This is the architecture and design 100 years ago. Gaudi already had the kind of brain and foresight to not just design a fancy garden but also acts as a water reservoir. Can you beat it? Can you even see that forward into the future?
I left this park with my mouth hanging open, really damn amaze and determine to look for a lizard fridge magnet.
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