The Car, The Commercial, and a Stunning Succulent Garden

It all started a few years ago when I saw the commercial for a Vauxhall Corsa (or Opel Corsa in the continent) wherein a beautiful woman was struggling to cycle up a hill and she was spotted by a group of...puppets driving the above car and promptly offered her a ride including her bike. Nice, catchy commercial it was but the plantsman that I am was more fixated by the planting on the place wherein the commercial was filmed. I thought, wow, where could that be? Masses of agaves, palms, cycads, and other succulents densely planted on a slope on the side of an inclined road. The uphill road and the planting was a perfect location to convey the message of the commercial as well as provide a beautiful back drop.

My initial thoughts were that it was filmed somewhere in the US but through the years I've noticed that a lot of car commercials here were filmed in Barcelona. Still it didn't cross my mind to put two and two together.

Fast forward to February 2014 and whilst researching and planning for our itinerary of gardens to visit in Barcelona I came across an information online, of a supposedly stunning yet little known cacti and succulent garden in the heart of the city. That despite its prominent location it is still obscure and rarely features on any tourist guide.

I jotted the name and the location of the garden and when we were in the city on our way there the public bus passed by a familiar road and almost instantly I recognised that this was the road that was used in that commercial! What a coincidence! After my wondering then who would know a few years later I would get the answer to my question. 

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Park Güell, Barcelona

Combining our love of tropical plants and the architecture of Antoni Gaudí, is the quirky Park Güell. The original concept was that of a garden village, a landscaped garden that would house numerous homes and villas. However despite the best intentions and magnificent views away from the more polluted city the scheme failed. In fact only two homes were ever built and neither of these was designed by Gaudí. However Gaudí did move into one of these homes and it now houses a museum. 

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Architectural Merits

One of the places we visited last week whilst in Barcelona was The Picasso Museum. As you can imagine, typical of most museums photography inside the galleries is not allowed. However the museum itself, consisting of five adjoining medieval palaces converted to become a large art gallery is an attraction in itself, especially to those appreciative of architecture.

Sometimes only one plant is all you need to enhance a space....

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Sagrada Familia

One of the most famous building sites in the world is that of the Sagrada Familia, the Guadi designed church raising up from the centre of Barcelona. Work started in 1892, and Gaudi was involved from the following year, the completion of the building is estimated to be some 15 years or so away. Construction has been stop start over the years, with fund raising being the key issue, however n the 1930s anarchists destroyed the plans and models prepared by Gaudi prior to his death in 1926. During his life, when asked about the length of time the project would take, Gaudi replied "My client is not in a hurry". 

Although still unfinished the church was consecrated in 2010, following the completion of the roof over the main body of the church, and despite the huge scale Sagrada Familia is a church rather than a cathedral.

The building has been open to the public for many years, with visitors entrance fees helping to speed up the construction process. I remember visiting back in 1994 and again with Mark in 2004, and the changes over that period are noticeable. Unfortunately for us the towers were closed to visitors, apparently due to bad weather, that did seem somewhat hard to understand as it was a clear sunny day. However we will just have to come back on another day! 

The Nativity Facade was the first one completed, and had the most direct influence from Gaudi.

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Botanical Garden of Barcelona

Nestled within the green and leafy Montjuic area of Barcelona (where the Olympic Stadium/Estadi Olimpic is also found) is the city's still rather obscure botanical garden. There are no glasshouses here, which makes it unique from many other botanical gardens we have visited before but instead the plants are all growing out in the open in designated areas such as Australia, California, South Africa, Canary Islands, and Chile. 

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Casa Batlló, Barcelona

When one thinks of the architecture of Barcelona, one architect always comes to mind, Antoni Gaudí. Much of Gaudí's work was inspired by several of his key interests,  architecture, nature and religion and many of his famous buildings tie these interests together.  Gaudí planned every detail of his designs, integrating into his architecture a series of crafts and techniques in which he was skilled: ceramics, stained glass, wrought ironwork forging and carpentry.  Barcelona is home to several of his famous works and one of these is Casa Batlló, which is situated on Passeig de Gracia, a grand boulevard home to many stunning buildings and designer shops.

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Barcelona We Meet Again

It's been ten long years since the last time we've been to this vibrant city. Far too long for us to come back but then again time does fly! Back then we said to ourselves we must come back again soon then lo and behold ten years have past before we actually managed to do so. And this seems to be a particular trend for Gaz especially as his first trip to this city was ten years prior to that.

Banco Español de Crédito, Plaça de Catalunya

We usually go away somewhere around this time of the year, to break the winter, and our first thoughts were to Madeira. But then again I blogged about breaking visiting habits recently and in reference to that I thought that for a change why don't we go somewhere instead that we haven't been for a long time and yet have always wanted to come back to? Sort of a compromise between familiarity and a change of routine and scenery. So Barcelona it was.

There was hesitation at first, Barcelona in the winter? Will it be any good at this time of the year? We had an amazing, very memorable holiday (one of our best ever) in this city ten years ago, early September, sunny and warm and yet not oppressively so. Will we dampen this wonderful impression left on our minds if we go in a colder, and potentially damp time of the year?

Red bridge near the Marina

With a bit of research our hesitations were dispelled as this city seems to remain vibrant even in the depths of winter and worth visiting at any point of the year. Winter is usually mild by virtue of the location, and although it can get rainy and chilly in the evenings, on the whole the chances of sunny and dry periods are still very high (even more so if you compare it to the UK!).

And that's how we have found it here so far. Yes you still need to wrap up and deciduous trees are still bare but it has been sunny and dry most of the time (the odd drizzle so far) with daytime temperatures in mid teens Celsius and a stroll out brings more of a sensation of spring rather a reminder that it is still winter. 

Street Art, Barri Gotic, Barcelona

Barcelona is one of those cities that we can truly say that there's so much to do and the culture is so pronounced that you'll need much more than a week to fully savour its delights. Only a select few cities in Europe can truly claim this status. Going back here is like meeting an old friend, only this time not in shorts and flip flops but in a thin winter coat. It's unlikely that we'll be able to do all that we would have wanted to do, much like what had happened ten years ago but that's what makes this city special.

Plaça Reial

Our stay here has only started and I can imagine wanting to come back here again. It's only a two hour flight, we ought to really. And we ought to break that ten year cycle. If we do will it feel like a routine much like how I feel with Madeira? Maybe, that's always a possibility, but at least not wait ten years if it can be helped as I don't like holiday cycles either.

Parc de la Ciutadella

Such a delightful city even in February, so happy to be re-acquainted! Best to pause for now, we quite fancy some tapas!

Mark :-)

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