A Gaudi tour of Barcelona! Park Güell architecture, Sagrada Familia church, El Born restaurants.
Are those… gingerbread houses? Almost. I’m standing in Barcelona’s Park Güell, which looks like a real-life candyland!
I’m sure you are familiar with the terrace in the photo above, designed by the extraordinarily progressive architect Antoni Gaudí. Let me take you a tour of his most famous buildings including La Sagrada Familia cathedral, and the spooky house of bones — Casa Batllo.
Finally, we’ll end with a round-up of my favorite food around the world, including the best Spanish cuisine in Barcelona. Sound good? Then ¡
With its electric-colored tiles and daydream atmosphere, Park Guell is my type of hangout.
Recently, I’ve been dying my hair a lighter shade of purple. My stylist Stephanie Hoy (at Stratosphere hair salon in Vancouver) did this vivid ombre color, which shifts from magenta to purple to lavender. Thank you to Stephanie for all the rainbow hairstyles and dyes over the years!
I wore my white leather tote from Strathberry of Scotland. Their purses are modern and minimal, yet made with time-tested craftsmanship.
I’m always up for supporting independent design studios that create thoughtful, high-quality works like these. You can check out their entire collection here, including my Strathberry tote bag.
Before we walk inside, let me dispense some travel tips for visiting Gaudi’s Park Guell. (Address: Carrer d’Olot, s/n, 08024, Barcelona, Spain)
I recommend booking your entrance tickets in advance from the Park Guell site, since they only release 400 tickets every half hour. Every ticket has a timed entry, so make sure to arrive well in advance of your time slot. If you show up and buy a ticket at the door, chances are that you can’t go inside the terrace until a few hours later — but you can explore the surrounding gardens in the meantime (no fees or restrictions there).
We had a bit of time to kill before going inside, so we walked around the park. Gaudi integrated winding stone arches and pathways into the greenery, mimicking the organic forms.
From up high, we took in this view of Carmel Hill and surrounding Barcelona neighborhoods.
Park Guell was built between 1900-1914, originally as a housing development. It became a public park in 1926, and is now a UNESCO world heritage site
Gaudi’s design is a masterpiece of Catalan modernism / naturalism, with influences from mythology and the Temple of Apollo of Delphi. The staircase is guarded by a serpent, whose head pokes out of a Catalonian coat of arms.
When we reached our ticket entry time, we stepped inside the roped-off area and onto the famous terrace, or “Monumental Zone.” A long bench twists around the perimeter, like a sea serpent glistening with multi-colored mosaics.
Each section of the tiled bench had different colors and patterns. This type of broken-tile mosaic is called Trencadis, and was a feature of Catalan modernism design.
I purposefully matched my nail art to the Spanish themes and colors of Park Guell. My gel nails are by Glam Nail Studio in Richmond, BC (near Vancouver).
There’s an Alice in Wonderland sense of whimsy, everywhere you wander in Park Guell. At the same time, the forms feel natural and not disorienting.
From every angle, the organic forms become part of the landscape. The terrace overlooks the best panoramic view in Barcelona.
Visitors can go inside Gaudi’s “gingerbread house,” which looks like the witch’s lair in the Hansel and Gretel fairytale.
As much as I love Park Guell, my favorite Gaudi work is hands down Casa Batlló. One glance at the facade at night, and you’ll know why: the windows look like they’re made of bones, and the balconies are like Jack Skellington skulls! The roof arches mimic the back scales of a dragon, and the interior arches are like ribcages. No wonder locals call this the Casa dels Ossos (House of Bones),
The spooky Casa Batllo is located near our El Palauet hotel, at Passeig de Gràcia 43, 08007. Visitors can find out more and purchase tickets to see this moderniste-Gothic masterpiece here.
Gaudi remains the most celebrated architect in Barcelona, and his spirit lives on in the funky public art and sculptures found around the city. Near La Barceloneta (the beach district), we spotted this happy-faced giant lobster statue.
We saw impressive street art everywhere, especially in El Raval (the former red-light district, now one of the coolest areas of Barcelona).
If you’re curious to see more, I wrote an entire guide to the El Raval hipster neighborhood.
Finally, no Gaudi tour is complete without going inside La Sagrada Familia. The controversial Catholic cathedral has yet to be finished, even though construction began in the late 19th century!
Gaudi was always ahead of the game, and during his life, citizens had mixed feelings about this ornate, experimental style. Today, the “Passion facade” (above) is one of the world’s most celebrated achievements in architecture.
Since the construction is privately funded from donations and ticket sales, progress is slow and continuous. Can you believe that construction began in 1882… and is projected to be finished in 2026!
When we visited, the window peaks were being topped with stacks of fruit.
La Sagrada Familia is unlike any other church. Outside, you could spend hours looking at all the fine details of the facades. They show the apostles, nativity and more iconography – executed in curving, Art Nouveau style.
Inside, the nave ceiling looks like a hybrid of trees and clockwork. The complex geometric layers create this glorious effect.
Gracias to Spain Tourism and Eurail for making our trip to Barcelona possible. I hope our Gaudi adventures inspire you to see Spain for yourself.
(Photography by my film partners, Borderless Media.)
Another highlight of our Spanish journey: eating our fill of tapas! One of our favorite districts was El Born, a hip area surrounded by all types of ethnic restaurants.
We met up with friends at El 300 Del Born (Plaça Comercial, 12, 08003), a laid-back Spanish restaurant opened by the Michelin-starred chef Jordi Vilà. It’s in the same glass cultural center that houses excavated ruins from the 18th century.
Tapas (small plates of Spanish food) are perfect for people like me, who like to try a bite of everything. At El Born, we ate bombas, chocolate flat bread, baked eggs and other delicious Catalan specialities.
You may have noticed that food has become a larger focus of my site lately. Since readers often ask me for restaurant recommendations in different countries, I thought I’d put together some of these “greatest hits” below. Enjoy, and add your own in the comments!
Click the bolded titles for all the food posts from each location.
Over the past few years, I’ve eaten and reviewed all types of restaurants in Hong Kong. Of course, you can eat fantastic Chinese dim sum here — but I actually prefer dining out at international restaurants like Motorino Pizza (above). Hong Kong is a competitive culinary scene, and there are always new chefs coming here to make waves.
Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel
Israel’s food scene took me by surprise, in the best sense. I had no idea the local food was so fresh, with a focus on local seafood, olives and vegetables.
One of my favorite memories was eating at the hummus restaurant, where people from all backgrounds bonded over chickpea spread!
In Bali, I gained a new appreciation for cooking classes. My friends and I went to Jimbaran market with a chef. He then showed us how to make Indonesian dishes from scratch, beginning with spiced “bumbu” paste and ending with green pandan pancakes.
I followed this up with a Vietnam food tour, where I made spring rolls with villagers and did a seafood cruise through Ha Long Bay. I still have many stories to show you from Southeast Asia… above is a preview of Pirate Miffy eating pho!
By now, you’ve probably guessed that I am a fish and seafood addict. San Francisco deserves its reputation as one of the foodie capitals of the world. I gained a new appreciation for Peruvian cuisine here, especially the ceviche and pisco sours.
Whenever I go abroad, I try to take a culinary tour with a local insider. In Budapest, we did a four hour walk-and-taste, where I tried specialities such as a bitter liqueur and sheep cheese chocolate. Many items are not exported out of countries (such as small batch wines, dark grain breads and soft cheeses), so eat to your heart’s content while you’re there.
Molecular madness, hawker centers, charcoal laksa… Singapore’s food scene rocks. The chefs aren’t afraid to experiment, and you can get a world-class meal at any price point. We ate high, we ate low… and it’s all documented in my Singapore travel category.
If I had to pick a favorite eating destination, I’d have to say Japan. At random hole-in-the-walls, you’ll find the best ramen and sushi of your life. I’m also a huge fan of izakayas — yuzu sours, grilled fish — and themed eateries like the Alice in Wonderland cafe.
(I also wrote two books about theme restaurants and cute food, if you want to dive in deeper.)
To see where I’ll be dining next — and my current hair color! — feel free to add me on Instagram and Snapchat (@lacarmina).
I’ll end with a fun question. “If you were stranded on a desert island, and you could only eat three types of ethnic cuisine for the rest of your life, what would you pick?” I’d go for Japanese, Italian, and I’m undecided on the last one…
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Vintage, Hip Porto: travel guide! Harry Potter bookstore, modern architecture, Bombarda street art.
“Blue skies, Smiling at me… Nothing but blue skies, Do I see.” – Ella Fitzgerald
As you’ll see from the photos in this post, the jazz song seems to have been written for Porto, Portugal! Let me share how I spent the perfect day in Porto — a travel itinerary that includes vintage shops, the Harry Potter library, futuristic architecture, and the best sponge cake in the world.
(PS – but I’m currently in Istanbul and Brussels… follow along on @lacarmina Instagram and Snapchat to see my daily life.)
Porto is about a five hour train ride north of Lisbon. A stress-free journey, thanks to our Eurail passes that let us board trains all over Europe.
As you recall from this Lisbon story, we loved Portugal from the moment we arrived. I heard that Porto was a laid-back, artsy type of place — and so we came to check it out with the help of Visit Porto.
Porto is known as a center of modern architecture. We started our day at the Casa da Musica, designed by the legendary Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas.
This spaceship-like auditorium has over a thousand seats and is bathed in light, thanks to two walls made entirely of glass.
We saw more alien art as we drove along the coast. This hovering net is “She Changes,” a work by Janet Echelman. Made from wire, the sculpture pays tribute to Porto’s seafaring and fishing industries.
As we drove around the city, we spotted contemporary buildings at every turn. There’s a renown architecture school in Oporto, and two locals won the international Pritzker prize (the highest honor for an architect).
One of these architects, Álvaro Siza Vieira, constructed this mesmerizing Leça Swimming Pool in 1966. The open-air pool is filled with salt water from the Atlantic Ocean, and the design naturally harmonizes into the craggy coastline. I felt like a mermaid, perched on the rocks and gazing at never-ending skies and waves.
In addition to these modern works, you’ll find charming century-old buildings all over Porto. One of the oldest bookstores in Portugal is Livraria Lello, which dates back to the late 19th century.
The shrubbery hides the long lineup inside… Livraria Lello is Porto’s most famous landmark because of how it inspired author JK Rowling to write Harry Potter!
The best-selling author spent a great deal of time in Lello as she was formulating her story. The art nouveau meets Gothic interiors conjure up the magic of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
JK Rowling was most likely inspired to put a Grand Staircase in Hogwarts Castle, after seeing the winding wood stairs of this Porto bookstore.
After, we spent a few hours walking around Porto. It’s the perfect balance for travelers like us: no annoying tourism trappings, and yet the city has a lot to see and experience.
Our guide took us to the downtown square, and explained that this mega-church is actually two churches, separated by one of the world’s narrowest houses!
Carmo and Carmelitas was built this way to overcome a loophole, which prevents monks and nuns from having contact.
Located the left, Carmelitas has an ornate gold interior. On the right, the baroque Carmo has a striking blue and white panel on the side.
It seems blue and white are favorite colors here — I can see that inspiration comes from the sky.
Those classic facades, with swirling wire balconies!
Our guide stopped at a viewpoint, overlooking red rooftops and the Romanesque Porto Cathedral (oldest in the city). I did a little panorama of this view on my Vine (you can add me @lacarmina).
Onward to my favorite Porto neighborhood: Bombarda, a district filled with young art and hip galleries.
Bombarda is the bomb. Every few paces, we saw giant works of street art. The round cat over-top a heart was my favorite.
Perhaps these two kitties, intertwining their tails on a nearby wall, were the muses.
We browsed small, indie “creative shops” inside the Bombarda CCB Centro Comercial.
Locals have all sorts of designs on display here, from Robert Smith illustrations to dog and cat lamps. We also stopped by the CCB cafeteria for a simple yet incredibly tasty homestyle meal.
I recommend walking on Rua Miguel Bombarda, and popping into the various galleries. So much intriguing art to see here! Keep reading…
LA CARMINA
