I should let everyone in on a little secret now. The entire time I had been in Europe, I was in some major pain. It started a day or two before I left for the trip; my tooth had begun to ache. I am not one to let anything come in between me and a trip, so I ignored it. However, with each passing day, the pain became more intense. And when I awoke on this day I truly wanted to pull my own tooth out. Having said that, I decided to continue to ignore the pain, as I was determined to see more of Gaudi’s work and board my evening flight to Ibiza.
From our hotel it was about a thirty minute walk to Gaudi’s most famous creation: La Sagrada Familia, or the Church of the Holy Family. Believe it or not, it has been under construction for over a century and is still not slated to be finished for another decade at least.
While it is a masterpiece, it is is not my favorite Gaudi creation, nor was it the one I was most excited about seeing. That honor belonged to Parc Guell, which is where we visited next. It required us to walk another forty-five minutes and this time it was straight up hill. Between my sangria hangover and toothache, it was not the most pleasant stroll.
Parc Guell, in my opinion, is Gaudi at his best. The skillful mixture of colors and shapes is simply fantastical. As you approach the park, which has no entrance fee, you feel as though you have entered some magical world.
While every part of the park was carefully designed, it was not flamboyant like other Gaudi creations. I think my favorite part were the gorgeous handcrafted mosaic tiles found throughout.
Another thing that Parc Guell offers is one breathtaking view of the city! It is definitely a place I would recommend an afternoon picnic at.
As soon as we took our last picture in the park, the weather changed for the worst. Thankfully, we had seen everything and had already decided it was time for lunch.
We took a taxi back to the center of the city and found a café near our hotel. While we waited for the food to arrive, I could no longer bear the tooth pain and felt like I could pass out at any moment. I told my brother to stay and enjoy his lunch and that I would go back to our hotel and see if they could point me in the direction of an emergency Dentist. It was now 3PM and our flight to Ibiza was at 8PM. I had no idea if I was going to make the flight. . .
My guess is… you made the flight… but first you had to get a root canal…
Toothache or not, you look great Andi, you just …”glow”!! 😀
And I love all the photographs (but you already knew that) 😀
awww, poor u! but at least Gaudi’s gorgeous architecture distracted you from the horrific pain in your tooth for a shortwhile.. glad it’s all fixed now!
Great post.. gorgeous shots to boot.. thanks! 🙂
Your pictures look amazing! Sorry about your tooth! Are you gonna go and get it looked at?? Ouch!
Well done, smiling through the pain!
Gaudi’s work is fantastic- I love all his round edges. Walking through his work is ethereal.
Enjoying revisiting Barcelona through your posts! Nicole and I were just saying we need to go back some day 🙂
I hear you…your pain reminds me of when I had a tooth infection in Malaysia and had to have my wisdom tooth removed. I couldn’t climg Kota Kinabalu because of that, but I did make it about 2/3 up (way more than what I should of…I almost passed out when back down lol)
Federico
While reading your story and seeing the photos I have to say that it seems that one must really travel at least once in a lifetime to visit Barcelona!
I can see why the parc won your heart, the entrance is stunning.
That’s you in pain?! You look gorgeous! Seriously. I haven’t had any medical issues since traveling (knock on wood!) but I still look like death in most of my pictures (I blame the Southeast Asian humidity…. and the fact that I do most of my laundry in a bucket). Hope you’re feeling better now & got on your plane!
Good for you for hanging in there! I once had some very painful wrist tendonitis, which I had to deal with while in Central America. I was hopping off and on buses and it wasn’t easy. Some good wrist support came to the rescue, fortunately.
I agree, though–you should not let anything stop you!
Nice pics of BCN, btw. I was there many years ago and really enjoyed it. Gaudi’s work is great! I later lived there and didn’t care for it as much (for reasons I may go into on a blog post sometime), but as a travel destination, it’s absolutely wonderful…and I loved it. Glad you enjoyed it so much!
Great story. Can’t wait to read the rest.
always regret trips dont take even if i hv great reason not 2.i try 2 think its my blood,after all my ancestors came fm places
WoW! these pictures are stunning. Happy you are hanging in well.
Enjoy the memories of those beautiful views.
also, where did you get that sweet dress?
<3 Kel
Nice pics, honestly I don’t know if I could fight past tooth pain, it’s the worst. Then you get the headache. I guess it takes some amazing architecture but I don’t even know if that would be enough for me. Nope, probably not, I don’t like tooth pain but I commend you for grinning and bearing it. Your smile hides it well.
Ah, I love Barcelona! Parc Guell was a favorite spot for me too. But you’re right, that walk from Sagrada Familia there is killer. I can’t imagine doing it with a toothache!
Thanks for visiting my blog today!
If you didn’t already have such an amazing venue, I’d say you and Lucas should get married though. Holy cow, worth the pain of the walk I bet!!!
It looks like an amazing trip and I really like the interesting buildings and designs.
You are a warrior lady…Teeth pain is NO joke!
Great blog…..
I absolutely agree, Park Guell is just so lovely and whimsical!! I loved our visit there.
That park looks amazing! I hate that I didn’t see it when I was in Barcelona, but it was also about 15 or 16 years ago. Love the pictures! I also can’t believe you were able to continue with that tooth pain!
You and your bro rock!!!
Okay you arent playing around when it comes to traveling you are a trooper!!! Way to keep on it and going about your traveling even with the pain!!!
Love the pictures and I cant wait to see all this when I am in Barcelona!!!
Amazing photographs!! I loved Barcelona! Especially Parc Guell! Loving your adventures abroad chica 🙂
I love Barcelona. It’s obvious you had an amazing time. When I save up enough money to spend some serious time abroad, I’m heading to Barcelona for a few months….this doesn’t mean I won’t hope on a plane to Paris for a weekend before that though 😉
I love Spain!!!
Sooooooo fun!
What an awesome trip!
fun fun
Awesome post!
I’ll be reading more from you.
Simply exceptionally. I’ll be reading more from you.
Fabulous as always!
GORGEOUS!
Nice post!
Great post like always!
Enjoyed reading this. Keep it up!!!
Great article. Waiting for more.
Quite a beautiful website!!!
Absolutely gorgeous!
Can’t wait to get there!
I really love the post you created 🙂
Writing is a talent that you surely have!
Perfect piece of work you have done, this website is really amazing with excellent info!!!
La Sagrada Familia was also under construction during my second trip to Europe last year. I just walked passed there and never bothered to visit inside. Parc Guell (oh my!!) it’s my favorite touristic area in Barcelona 😉 I visited the park and stayed there for a couple of hours eating, walking and meeting new people 😉 Did you go to La Pedrera (Casa Mila) it’s also one of Antoni Gaudi’s work… it’s amazing and it’s definitely my favourite too 🙂 I have posted some photos and written about La Pedrera in my blog 😉