The first stop on our drive through Barcelona on our way to Tarragona was at Parc de la Ciutadella. The Parc de la Ciutadella is a park on the northeastern edge of Ciutat Vella, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. For decades following its creation in the mid-19th century, this park was the city's only green space. The 31 hectares (77 acres) grounds include the city zoo (once home to the albino gorilla Snowflake, who died in 2003), the Palau del Parlament de Catalunya, a small lake, museums, and a large fountain designed by Josep Fontserè (with possible contributions by the young Antoni Gaudí). Fontserè aimed to loosely make it bear resemblance to the Trevi Fountain of Rome.
As the location of the Parliament of Catalonia, the tensions in 2018 and 2019 regarding Catalan independence regularly led to the police closure of the park to public access to prevent crowds forming near to the official buildings.

The previous post can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-801643-1.html#14500633, while the first post of this series can be found at https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-801137-1.html.

The next post will be the final one of Barcelona.