{"id":3417,"date":"2026-03-13T00:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T05:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/a-lot-of-gaudi-ness\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T00:32:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T05:32:00","slug":"a-lot-of-gaudi-ness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/a-lot-of-gaudi-ness\/","title":{"rendered":"A Lot of Gaudi-ness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The focus of today\u2019s trip was all about Gaudi and his architecture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our first stop was of course his <em>pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance<\/em>, the La Sagrada Familia. It is the largest Catholic church in the world under construction. Building started in March 1882 and a few weeks ago, on February 2026, it became the tallest church in the world. There is still many years of construction to go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The outside is very ornate and tells all these biblical stories in dioramas of stone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is the inside that takes your breath away and makes you feel that you have been transported to a different place and time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To quote: \u201cIt is a monument to Light\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And everything you see has a symbolic attachment to faith. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After a drive through town past some of Gaudi\u2019s other great pieces, we got to Park Guell where he was commissioned to do a neighborhood of whimsical places in a park for the Nouveau Riche. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A fascinating day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1336-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1336\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Barcelona morning.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1337-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1337\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The city is full of art everywhere.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1338-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1338\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1339-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1339\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1340-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1340\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Keep seeing faces in the architecture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1341-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1341\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>There is no photo that can convey the sheer drama and transformation entering this space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1342-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1342\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1343-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1343\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1344-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1344\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1345-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1345\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The smaller part under the main church.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1346-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1346\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A monument to light.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1347-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1347\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1348-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1348\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1349-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1349\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It is a massive organ that was being played while we were there. The acoustics were astounding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1350-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1350\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The locals lovingly call this building \u2018The Suppository\u2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1351-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1351\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This house was commissioned to tell the story of St. George slaying the dragon. You can see the roof with the tiles as well as the balcony \u2018skulls\u2019. The chimney is the sword that he used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1352-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1352\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At some point these Argentinian Parrots were released and they have now become an invasive pest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1353-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1353\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The house in Park Guell that Gaudi lived in for a few years.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1354-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1354\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Park G\u00fcell has its origins in an urban development project that was awarded to Antoni Gaud\u00ed by Eusebi G\u00fcell, a prominent Catalan industrialist whose plan was to build 61 houses for well-to-do families, along with a network of roads, viaducts and stairs to make it easier to get around the hilly terrain. G\u00fcell wanted to recreate the British residential parks and locate homes close to nature. Hence why he called it Park G\u00fcell.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Work began in 1900 and finished in 1914 with the construction of the pillared hall (hypostyle hall) and the bench<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The Park is organised around a central core of monuments: the staircase, the pillared hall and the square.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Work came to an end and in 1922, following the failure of the urban development project, G\u00fcell sold the Park to the City Council, which opened it to the city as a public park.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>1969 &#8211; Declared a historical-artistic monument by the Spanish government<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>1984 &#8211; Declared World Heritage by UNESCO<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>1993 &#8211; Declared Cultural Asset of National Interest by Catalonia&#8217;s autonomous government.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1355-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1355\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The reception building as you entered the main gate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1356-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1356\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The roof of the guard house.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1357-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1357\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1358-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1358\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1359-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1359\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1360-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1360\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Inside each if these columns is a pipe that funnels rain water from the catch basin above into the reservoir. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1361-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1361\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gaudi was a pioneer in recycling.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1362-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1362\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1363-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1363\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Part of the wavey bench that surrounds the central space. He said that if the bench is straight people ignore each other, but on a wavey bench you are forced into groups facing each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1364-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1364\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1365-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1365\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>To mis-quote Gaudi himself:<br><em>\u201cBeauty is not a question of money, beauty is a statement of art.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/images-posts\/1366-a-lot-of-gaudiness.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1366\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Oir final show on the ship was a Catalan Rumba show. It was high energy and full of fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The focus of today\u2019s trip was all about Gaudi and his architecture. Our first stop was of course his pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance, the La Sagrada Familia. It is the largest Catholic church in the world under construction. Building started in March 1882 and a few weeks ago, on February 2026, it became the tallest church [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spain"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"mailpoet_newsletter_max":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"monkeydads","author_link":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/author\/monkeydads\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"The focus of today\u2019s trip was all about Gaudi and his architecture. Our first stop was of course his pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance, the La Sagrada Familia. It is the largest Catholic church in the world under construction. Building started in March 1882 and a few weeks ago, on February 2026, it became the tallest church&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3417\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travel.monkeydads.com\/2026-pieter60\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}