Reus

We left Barcelona headed south, we decided on a detour to a small provincial town called Reus, this is a city where Gaudi and some of his mates who worked with him in later years were schooled and brought up, and some of the early "moderniste" work can be found here. The streets are very narrow, and parking a large campervan a bit difficult, but after a bit of extra driving, and cussing we found a spot very close into the town, had some lunch in the van and then set off. Di and Hilary had been dropped near the information centre earlier and so had some guides/maps to the buildings and routes that could be walked to admire the best examples of the architecture and design. This we did, it took quite some time in the searing heat, and so it was with great relief that we ended up back at the air-conditioned info centre and Gaudi Museum. We spent a further hour and a half looking at the exhibits, which included models, and examples of how Gaudi worked to create his designs, i.e. string structures hanging over mirrors to show form, hands on models showing various aspects/rules of physics related to strength of structures and making straight lines bend.

A selection from Reus

String model used for designing Sagrada Familia

Hands on

My peacock

We had such a good time we were well behind schedule by the time we hit the road again, with still an hour plus driving before we would reach our campsite. There were actually two in very close proximity that fitted the bill, and so we headed for the northern most one. Of course it doesn't exist anymore!!! but thankfully after a wee bit more extra driving, and a wee bit more cussing, and Di talking to a pizza delivery boy, we managed to find our spot. Just a gravel parking lot, but shower (cold) water, toilet emptying area, and power. All we needed, and in the heat a welcome oasis.