Gaudi's McMansions -- Park Guell

I have been enchanted by Park Guell in Barcelona for longer than I've known where it is or what it is. I'd imagine I've seen pictures of it for years, then Vicky Cristina Barcelona must have reignited my passion for the magnificent mosaics and curvy rooftops that adorn the view-rific grounds of this landmark park. Anyway, despite my deep-down desire to forego sightseeing in the interest of our family and the wishes of the group-think, I demanded that we all go together to see this incredible landmark.

We hailed two taxis - as I've mentioned, they'll only take up to four people at a time - and quickly made our way in the evening up to Park Guell, after the heat of the day had subsided. Because it's called Park Guell, Serena hounded me for a slide and swingset,which is not the kind of park that Park Guell is. I tried to explain this -- that Park Guell was actually a master-planned community that Gaudi cooked up with his patron, the textile magnate Eusedi Guell; that the community they had planned, with a shaded pavilion meant to be used as a marketplace and a terraced area with mosaic-ed ergonomically designed benches, was a commercial flop 100 years ago because only 2 of the 60 planned homes sold since it was built so "far" from the cultural center of Barcelona; and that the irony of the project is that the area is now home to many wealthy denizens of the city, proving again that Gaudi was ahead of his time -- but Raf stopped me from wasting my breath.

Still, I was inspired. Gaudi gaudy? I think not.