El Parque Güell

Dear friends, I will be out on assignment again for awhile. I will be trying to keep up with my blogging comments, etc as much as I can.  I have a kindle that allows me to read your comments from around the world while I'm stuck at an airport etc so I'll be able to post from this device often, but I may or may not have access while I'm out in the field.  Just depends on the connection speeds. However, I have scheduled many wonderful posts on birds, wildlife and gardening over the next couple weeks. Have you ever been to a garden that makes a strong statement?  Over the past couple of years, I've done some writing on my trip to Spain.  Today I wanted to take you all on a journey back in 2004 to a garden that completely blew me out of the water.  Parque Guell is located in Barcelona on top of a hill. 

The easiest way to get there?  Take a taxi from your hotel and head to the area.  The entrance can be congested so most people choose to walk up the BIG hill.  This can be a challenge for some so if you can't do this walk, you'll need to pay a bit more for you taxi ride.  All I can say is that this was one of the big highlights for me in Barcelona.  Magical! 

The pictures you see today are from my OLD camera, but I think they are okay to show.  This park utilizes excellent xeric practices.  It also has great art by the famous Gaudi mixed in with the natural coloring on the various plants. Bring excellent walking shoes.  This is a nice little trek:)

I also love the bathrooms here.  You pay to do whatever inside that cubical.  And so I would laugh and laugh everytime my friend had to use it.  How does it work?  Well you put your coins inside and then enter.  Do the deeds.  Wash your hands!!! And then get out!  The door shuts and then begins to wash the inside with a spray.  My fear was that I would be "showered" while using this bathroom because I've heard it happens:)

The park was originally part of a commercially unsuccessful housing site, the idea of Count Eusebi Güell, whom the park was named after. It was inspired by the English garden city movement; hence the original English name Park. The site was a rocky hill with little vegetation and few trees, called Muntanya Pelada (Bare Mountain). It already included a large country house called Larrard House or Muntaner de Dalt House, and was next to a neighborhood of upper class houses called La Salut (The Health). The intention was to exploit the fresh air (well away from smoky factories) and beautiful views from the site, with sixty triangular lots being provided for luxury houses. Count Eusebi Güell added to the prestige of the development by moving in 1906 to live in Larrard House. Ultimately, only two houses were built, neither designed by Gaudí. One was intended to be a show house, but on being completed in 1904 was put up for sale, and as no buyers came forward, Gaudí, at Güell's suggestion, bought it with his savings and moved in with his family and his father in 1906.This house, where Gaudí lived from 1906 to 1926. It contains original works by Gaudí and several of his collaborators. It is now the Gaudi House Museum since 1963. In 1969 it was declared a historical artistic monument of national interest....a UNESCO World Heritage site.  So there's your history lesson for the day.  Amazing place and highly recommended if you're in Barcelona.  More tomorrow.....

The Lost City of Atlantis....Discovered?

The core of who I am is all about the mystery and stories of our lives.  In these recent and tragic events happening in Japan, here is a story coming out of Spain about the power of tsunamis and the possible discovery on the lost city of Atlantis. During this dark time for our friends in Japan, here is a story that may link a modern day tragedy to a similiar story of great devastation to our ancient past. An excerpt from the MSN website today.....

"NORTHAMPTON, Mass. — A U.S.-led research team may have finally located the lost city of Atlantis, the legendary metropolis believed swamped by a tsunami thousands of years ago, in mud flats in southern Spain.  "This is the power of tsunamis," head researcher Richard Freund told Reuters.
"It is just so hard to understand that it can wipe out 60 miles inland, and that's pretty much what we're talking about," said Freund, a professor at the University of Hartford who led an international team searching for the true site of Atlantis...To solve the age-old mystery, the team analyzed satellite imagery of a suspected submerged city just north of Cadiz, Spain. There, buried in the vast marshlands of the Dona Ana Park, they believe that they pinpointed the ancient, multiringed dominion known as Atlantis.
The team of archaeologists and geologists in 2009 and 2010 used a combination of deep-ground radar, digital mapping and underwater technology to survey the site.
Freund's discovery in central Spain of a strange series of "memorial cities," built in Atlantis' image by its refugees after the city's likely destruction by a tsunami, gave researchers added proof and confidence, he said. Atlantean residents who did not die in the tsunami fled inland and built new cities there, he added.
The team's conclusions are detailed in "Finding Atlantis," a National Geographic Channel special.

While it is hard to know with certainty that the site in Spain is Atlantis, Freund said the "twist" of finding the memorial cities makes him confident Atlantis was buried in the mud flats. "We found something that no one else has ever seen before, which gives it a layer of credibility, especially for archaeology, that makes a lot more sense," Freund said.

A computer graphic shows the concentric rings that may have existed during Atlantis' ancient heyday. Scientists have seen evidence of such submerged structures beneath the vast marshlands of southern Spain's Dona Ana Park. Greek philosopher Plato wrote about Atlantis 2,600 years ago, describing it as "an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the Pillars of Hercules," as the Straits of Gibraltar were known in antiquity.

Using Plato's detailed account of Atlantis as a map, searches have focused on the Mediterranean and Atlantic as the best possible sites for the city. Researchers have previously proposed that Atlantis was located on the Greek island of Santorini , the Italian island of Sardinia or on Cyprus .

Tsunamis in the region have been documented for centuries, Freund says. One of the largest was a reported 10-story tidal wave that slammed Lisbon in November 1755.

Debate about whether Atlantis truly existed has lasted for thousands of years. Plato's "dialogues" from around 360 B.C. are the only known historical sources of information about the iconic city. Plato said the island he called Atlantis "in a single day and night ... disappeared into the depths of the sea."
Experts plan further excavations at the site where they believe Atlantis is located and at the mysterious "cities" in central Spain 150 miles away to more closely study geological formations and to date artifacts.
This report includes information from Reuters and msnbc.com. "Finding Atlantis," a documentary about the search for the city's ruins, will air on Tuesday on the National Geographic Channel"  End of report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42072469/ns/technology_and_science-science/?GT1=43001

Atocha Station

Lately, I've been extrememly busy with things and I apologize for not reading more posts because it's one of my favorite things to do.  I keep documenting and reporting during this busy "spring" season because there is a lot to report.  Unfortuneatly, I have also had to deal with the recent death of a former student. The funeral is tomorrow and I have a very sad heart. It's also my 7 year anniversary and we're going to Cafe Poca Cosa(my favorite Mexican restaurant! in Tucson).  Can tomorrow be any more conflicting in the emotion department? Things also have been busy with other matters related to school, family, and visits. If it's one thing I don't have a lack of, it's the work! Taking a break from projects and plant series, I thought I'd share with you a beautiful garden place in the metropolitan city of Madrid, Spain.

I took this from a second story balcony

On one of my adventures to Spain, I remembered stopping at a subway station known as the Atocha Station.  A lot of metro stations can be humdrum when it comes to design, but this place did not disappoint!  It's a major hub in Madrid for intercity travel, dining, and now a place to go dancing.  But who cares about all of that!!  What's cool about this place is that there is a huge tropical garden containing such plants as Jacaranda, large Birds of Paradise, and oh so much more inside the station..

We were on our way to a peace demonstration after the bombing at the Atocha station in 2004.  Over 150 people were killed and thousands came from all over Madrid where they held a peace rally. Below is a pic at the station with red candles symbolizing the color of Spain and the lost lives.

Meanwhile above ground, the tropical garden held a calmness and stability. It was a whole other world from the sadness outside the station.

I love it when you accidentally stumble upon a place and discover something beautiful. Next time I go, I want to eat at one of the local restaurants below.

May you find magic and form in your own landscapes.

Spanish Style! A European Look

La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

At Parque

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Beyond Tomorrow

Parque Guell

While in Spain, you will have the opportunity to explore this country's many facets.  The gardens here are unique and special.  I got a lot of ideas from my travels here.  One of those places is Parque Guell.  So while it's storming outside during this monsoon evening,  I thought I'd share a couple of thoughts about what I saw and how I'll use the ideas in my garden.


This place is truly magical...I felt like I was in Alice In Wonderland!!!


Here is some basic info on Parque Guell located in Barcelona, Spain.  If you're visiting the park by metro be prepared for at least a 20 min walk. The last 200 m walk is up a steep hill. If you have difficulties going up steep steps then a taxi or bus may be a better means of transport. You'll find bus information at the tourist information office at Placa de Catalunya.

Park Guell was commissioned by Eusebi Güell who wanted to create a stylish park for Barcelona aristocracy. Park Güell is skillfully designed and composed to bring the peace and calm that one would expect from a park. The buildings flanking the entrance, though very original and remarkable with fantastically shaped roofs with unusual pinnacles, fit in well with the use of the park as pleasure gardens and seem relatively inconspicuous in the landscape when one considers the flamboyance of other buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí.

Gaudi enjoyed creating shapes that were natural to the environment.  It's a must see landmark in Barcelona!! In several other pictures above, you'll see the color contrast between the nature like buildings, some shaped like a bird's nest, along with plants like the palms and agaves. The plants used were very much of the Mediterranean variety.  His use of mosaic tile is breathtaking as the colors make everything POP!!!

Other areas in Spain that we visited were the famous Atocha station in Madrid.  Inside you'll  discover a tropical rain forest before you get on that subway ride.  They have little restaurants inside for you to sit down and enjoy this inside garden.  Around the center of town, you'll see formal garden surrounding water fountains using the traditional reds and yellows that make up Spain's colors.  The tulips are placed in mass plantings of red and yellow around their parks.

Finally, you can see the old.  Toledo, Spain is located about an hour from Madrid.  Here you can see great paintings done by the famous Greco.  You will also see some really cool older gardens mixed in around the plaza and on the outside of the city near the river.  My recommendation is to see Barcelona first before you see Madrid or Sevilla as the parks and the city themselves are much more fantastical like something you would see in a dream.  Don't forget to check out the tapas bars there!!