Stepping Foot on the 7 Continents of the World A Step at a Time

My last day in Barcelona would take me from one end of the city, Park Guell high up on a hill, to the other end, the Olympic Stadium near the sea. This meant that I had to master the metro system. And on my last day, I did just that. Reaching Park Guell by metro was no sweat. But walking to get there was. But once there, it was surreal. Park Guell was one beautifully grotesque theme park in cement. Dragons, minarets and fountains in brightly colored mosaic tiles greet you as you enter. There was this elongated walkway that felt like it was carved out of the cliff. Gaudi envisioned it to be a market place. It's one artsy marketplace if you ask me. The highlight for me was the spectacular view of Barcelona from up there. It was just breathtaking seeing how the old and new perfectly blended together against the backdrop of blue sea. It felt good being witness to such beauty. Even though I was tired from that experience, it sort of inspired me to go ahead with my plan and see what's on the other side. En route to Montjuic, where the Olympic stadium was, I made a quick stop at the Perdrera, another famous Gaudi building. It was an apartment block that was unmistakeably designed with the sea in mind. The wrought iron railings of the terraces were like large lumps of moss taken from the ocean. Again, weirdly beautiful. There was one house that wasn't designed by Gaudi which was equally stunning. This was Casa Atiller. I saw it yesterday when I went to see Gaudi's Plau Bastillo, but never really paid attention. Today, I totally appreciated its distinction. At least, this was a different eyecandy. Off to Montjuic to now see the Olympic stadium. When I reached it, I had to find what I really went there for, to see the Olympic torch. It took me a while to look for it. Even when it began to drizzle, I was determined to find it. And when I finally found it, I was happy. Though it looked taller on TV, I was not at all disappointed for wasn't this the same torch that blew me away when I saw how it was lit by a burning arrow in 1992? The thought, helped a lot by the cold wet weather, gave me goose bumps as I stood there in awe. I was in for another surprise when I had another spectacular view of the city, this time with the hills as backdrop. Awesome. No wonder people fall in love with Barcelona. As I wound up my trip by going to a nearby beach, I thought to myself how Barcelona, as a whole, was just spectacular, shaped not only by Gaudi but by the collective creative imagination of the beautiful Catalans. I was sad to leave.