Gaudeamus Igitur: Latin for "Therefore, rejoice!" That is what kept going through my mind the whole time we explored Parc Guel not to mention seeing all the other wonderful Gaudi creations. They break with architectural traditions so joyously. The love of nature is so evident in all of his works. All of his works are so much bigger than life. The first photo is that of La pedrera. (Click on it to see it large.) The flow of this building is like mushrooms growing in abandon on a forgotten forest floor with the balconies being the connecting dry leaves fallen from the trees above. The second photo above is of the stair dragon of Park Guell just outside of Barcelona. Its vibrant color just fills me with joy! But in addition, I am amazed at the functionality of the piece. Since the dragon's fountain is the overflow from the water collection scheme of the center park above the stairs. The next two pictures below are of Casa Patllo and the final one is of Casa Vicens. We saw the buildings in our free time walk in Barcelona on our first day, the dragon at the park in our second day.
