Wandergliding: Beautiful Barcelona

February 3^rd, 2026

After Valencia, I drove part way towards Barcelona and had a relatively chill day outside a small town called Tirig. The following day I headed to Sant Cugat, a suburb of Barcelona, where I would spend the next three nights as I figured I needed at least two days to check out Barcelona.

The main attraction in Barcelona is Antoni Gaudi’s masterpiece, the Sagrada Família, which is still under construction over one hundred years after it was started. I couldn’t get a ticket until tomorrow, but I was able to visit one of his other works in Barcelona, Park Güell.

I hopped on the train and then the metro to arrive at the park, which was originally part of a failed housing development. Gaudi was commissioned to transform the area into a park between 1900 and 1914 and it officially opened to the public in 1926 and is now designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The first thing I saw of the park...which turned out to be the exit.

Signs along the fence (which were actually near the exit, not the entrance I used).

A wacky bridge of stones.

It almost felt like you were walking under some massive prehistoric creature.

Barcelona and the Mediterranean in the background. You can just see the main tower of the Familia Sagrada to the right of my head.

The Sagrada Familia.

You can still see a crane working on the main tower...more on that place in the next post.

Looking away from Barcelona, a radio tower on the left and Tibidabo Amusement Park on the right that was opened in 1905, making it one of the oldest amusement parks in the world...but it was closed today, so not an option for me.

Looking to the southeast, towards Barcelona's airport.

There was this big open area lined with palm trees on one side and a view of the city on the other.

That's the exit, and those are the buildings in the first photo of this post.

I can't imagine how busy this place is in the summer, although they do regulate it with the amount of tickets for sale.

The funky, curvy tiled benches that lined the perimeter of the area...a Gaudi signature as he likes his curvy lines.

The other side of the benches.

And this is underneath that area, big columns holding it up.

Some interesting artwork on the ceiling.

They are fanciful looking houses which I believe were the original design intentions when the area was to be a neighborhood for upper class residents.

I came down that stairway, you can see the columns of the viewpoint.

Inside one of the houses. The ceilings were interesting.

The view from outside of the exit.

After the park, I jumped back on the metro to head to Plaça de Catalunya, a large central square in Barcelona. Like many large city squares in Europe, there were fountains, statues and a plethora of pigeons!

Statues, statues and more statues...oh, and a metro station.

I was surprised to see a Canadian flag flying in the plaza, then there was a homeless looking man playing beautiful classical music on a piano and if that wasn't enough, a man with one leg who was dressed like a pirate was wandering away with a tiny Canadian flag stuck in his hat...huh?!?

I couldn't tell what the building was that was flying the Canadian flag.

From the square I started to wander in the direction of the sea, through the Gothic Quarter.

There were a number of narrow lanes.

Lots of insteresting stores.

Look at all of the plants hanging from apartment balconies. I was amazed how big of them were when you look at how much sunlight they probably receive, maybe an hour a day if they're lucky.

You've probably seen this type of store, with the little plastic ducks, which is aptly named "Barcelona Duck Store".

But across the street was this place. Yes, that is a turd under the statue. The place is called Caganer, which literally means “pooper” and inside were hundreds of handmade statues, all of which are taking a dump. Traditionally, the figurine is depicted as a peasant, wearing the traditional Catalan red cap. The lady in the shop explained to me that it's a Catalan thing and their motto is "Spread Joy"! Umm, okay. There are a few different ideas behind it. One is that the feces are fertilizing the earth and it was common practice to put one of these statues in a nativity scene which was supposed to bring you good luck and joy. Oh, the things you come across when you travel…

There were celebrities, politicians (and yes, there was a Trump!), sports figures, actors, fictional characters including the cast of Star Wars, the Hobbit and many others.

I enjoyed checking out the streets and lanes of the Gothic Quarter.

This was a little square, with its lonely tree down a tiny lane with a bunch of little posters on the wall with a common theme...

...it was all about robots. Kinda weird.

There's a statue ahead, I assumed on a church.

Getting a better view of it...

Nice!

A square near the waterfront.

Part of the harbour.

This Columbus Monument. It was constructed in 1888 for the Exposición Universal de Barcelona in honor of Christopher Columbus' first voyage to the Americas. Now Columbus was Italian, but the monument serves as a reminder that Columbus reported to Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand V in Barcelona after his first trip to the new continent.

The harbour.

Some large yachts getting some maintenance.

This is Casa Milà, another one of Gaudi's creations. It was near the end of the afternoon and I was tired, so I didn't bother lining up to buy a ticket to enter it...just looked like an apartment with curvy lines to me at this point in the day!

The wide boulevard by Casa Milà.

What a cool way to get around Barcelona!

On the walk back from the train station to where I had parked Octi, I got a view of the mountains of Montserrat. I planned to visit there after Barcelona but those plans were thwarted by rain.