A ride around town on the view deck of a HoHo bus is a nice get-acquainted opportunity.
Another HoHo making its way around the routes. There were many busses available and we have no complaints. We Hopped Off several times and the Hop On part went easily without much waiting.
I would often scan the horizon for La Sagrada Familia that appeared regularly, soaring above all else.
I asked her to please stand by the sign and look really sad. So she did this.
We Hopped Off to visit Park Güell which took a long slog up up up from the bus stop. Of course we should have known better than go up to this top-rated attraction without tickets. So right then we bought tickets for another day and decided to go back one stop to visit Sant Pau, a place that was not even on our radar.
“Sant Pau Recinte Modernista is the largest Art Nouveau complex in the world and one of Barcelona’s most stunning architectural hidden gems. Designed by architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, it served as a fully functioning hospital for nearly a century (1930–2009) before being restored as a museum and knowledge campus.
“Unlike sterile modern hospitals, Sant Pau was designed as a “city within a city” with 12 (of an original 27) pavilions set in lush gardens. The architect believed that beauty and nature were essential for healing patients.”
A model of the original campus.
“He’s the renowned Catalan architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner, a key figure in the Modernisme movement and best known for designing masterpieces such as the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Hospital de Sant Pau in Barcelona.”
This was one of the spots where we could transfer from the Green line to the Orange so we got off and decided to take a break.
“Casa Milá, popularly known as La Pedrera (“The Quarry”), is a renouwned UNESCO World Heritage site designed by Antoni Gaudí between 1906 and 1912. It is famous for its undulating stone façade, seaweed-like iron balconies, and a fantastical rooftop with sculptural chimneys. It was Gaudí’s last civil work.”
We enjoyed lunch in the restaurant of this building..
..Marita and Lill having their first chocolate con churros.
We rode the entire route of both the Green and the Orange HoHo lines. It was good fun!
Just outside our apartment.
Lill’s pharmacy. Hummm, what would be good for tonight?
