The Tower of Power

I've always had mixed feelings about the questionable aesthetics of the Torre Agbar. Last Friday, we headed to my Walmart/Target Spanish replacement department store, Carrefour. When we got out of the metro station, alas, we found ourselves facing the third tallest skyscraper in town!

It's a newbie bulding in Barcelona, having been built in 1995. It's said to have been inspired by Monteserrat, a mountain near the city. It rises 38 floors and houses the municipal water company. 

It's built with reinforced concrete and covered with a facade of glass. 4,500 windows cover the entire building. 

This is a picture I took from the towers of the Sagrada Familia. This building just...sticks out. 

The courtyard is dotted with these fun orange and blue cubes for people to relax on.

When we came out of Carrefour, the building was illuminated by thousands of LED devices.

It has temperature sensors that regulate the opening and closing of the glass blinds of the façade of the building. Ooh...pretty...

Happy Tuesday!

On Saturday, we visited our friends Angel and Sandra in their home in Sant Cugat, a pueblo outside Barcelona. We also got to visit with their pride and joy, Varu, the fluffiest cat on the Iberian peninsula.

The Park with the Maze

Yesterday, we went to the Parc del Laberint d'Horta, an historical garden in the Horta-Guinardó district in Barcelona. The main attraction is a knotty hedge maze, but it also features both neoclassic and romantic gardens, sculptures, architecture, and water fountains. It sits on the slope of a hill and has a great view of the city.

The Desvalls Palace, where the Desvalls family resided but handed the park over to the city in 1971.

Just a small part of the ample, romantic garden.

Fernando washed his face in this fountain. Just kidding. Who washes their face with their glasses on?

The Danae Pavilion has Tuscan columns with the goddess Danae in the center.

The intermediate terrace had some geometric landscape.

We caught a duck swimming through this charming canal.

Fernando made company with a bust of Dyonysus, god of wine and exhuberance.

A small pond surrounds a statue of the nymph Egeria.
This large pond was tranquil. 

Looking down from the upper terrace at the maze.
I took this shot through a locked gate, but it would have been fun to take a stroll in this garden while singing a Disney-inspired song.
We found a little cottage called "The Hermit's House", or something of that sort (It was in Catalan.) I imagined a grumpy, rickety, old man to open the door. He didn't want to come out...
...so Fernando sat at his cute little patio tables. 

Enter the labyrinth of green. We tried to memorize this tiny etched map of the maze.

Fernando tapped in to his sixth sense to make the right turn.

So did I.

...but we got trapped at a dead end.

We made it to the center among the other lost explorers in this circular section of eight thresholds. A statue of Eros welcomes the blind leading the blind.
This is what it looks like from the outside.

I thought I lost Fernando for awhile. I found him lurking through the cypress hedges.

After finally finding our way out, we stood on the balcony with other onlookers as they guided their friends through the maze. Cheaters!

It really was a challenging labyrinth.

Belly shot!

For the Collectionista

Did I mention how great the Sant Antoni market is? Every Sunday from 8am to 3pm, collectionists gather to scope out the tremendous assortment of comics, old books, DVDs, posters, postcards, and then some. I never buy anything but I am always amused.

Fernando haggled for some comics.
This brought me back. The Smurfs were my absolute favorite cartoon in second grade. But call them "Pitufos" in Spanish, and "Barrufets" in Catalan.
Dozens and dozens of vendors surround the whole market. 
Classic movie posters.
Comics galore...
...and other comic-related memorabilia like figurines...

...and buttons.

The quantity of books is endless.
Fernando was tempted by the 3 for 5 deal.
Collectors' cards range from soccer players to High School Musical stars and are a weakness for many kids. 
They gather across the street to trade cards and complete their collection binders.
Old postcards.
DVDs.
VHS videos for the technologically nostalgic. 

Classic posters.
Vintage magazines and documents.
An obsolete stock certificate for a tobacco company in the Philippines.

The annual Barcelona Marathon just happened to be going on along the same street as the market.

Some kids encouraged the tired runners.