Piece of Gaudi, Lizards and Frogs Souvenirs from Barcelona

Continuing with my souvenir series in this post I have a souvenir from Barcelona Spain. It is a lizard (may be a salamander) keychain. I am not particularly fond of lizards, in fact I am dead scared of them, but this one was so colorful I had to pick it up.

Piece of Gaudi Souvenir Barcelona from Pakistani Vendor

I spotted it while on my exit way from Park Guell. A roadside vendor sat selling several of these. Seeing his dress I assumed he would be an Indian, as I kneeled down to scan through his collection he asked me if I was an Indian.

Feeling more at ease now I asked him to which city he belonged. His answer took me by surprise. “I belong to Karachi in Pakistan” he replied. For few seconds I froze. India and Pakistan are known for their not so friendly ties.

Piece of Gaudi Souvenir Barcelona – Lizard key chain

He sat just at 5ft distance from me, for the first time I was seeing a Pakistani face to face. I am sure I had the look of shocked surprise on my face because he said, “You can choose not to buy anything didi (elder sister in Hindi).”

That brought me back to senses. It would be rude not to buy anything just for this reason that he is a Pakistani. “No no… nothing of that sort”, I quickly recomposed myself and continued my conversation. “How long are you here?” I asked. “It is just four months now” he replied.

That explained why he was selling the small souvenirs in this manner. A piece of cloth spread on the road with fridge magnets, key chains and other small stuffs.

Piece of Gaudi Souvenir Barcelona – Salamander ceramic fridge magnet

I then asked him if I could take his picture. He refused to pose. “I am not here with legal documents. What if your picture gets circulated and I get caught” he said. Such a tough life, I thought wondering how it must be to live in constant fear of being caught in a foreign country. He has left his dear ones behind to etch out a good living in an honest and not so honest way.

Poverty can make one do this; I concluded my disturbed thoughts in mind, at least he has not picked up guns. We parted exchanging 20euros for 4 key chains, 2 fridge magnets and priceless smiles.

Piece of Gaudi’s Work

Antoni Gaudi, who was considered a weird architect during his time, is the most celebrated architect in Barcelona today. His work is scattered all over the city.

Seven properties built by the architect Antoni Gaudi (1852–1926) in and around Barcelona are included in UNESCO world heritage sites. These buildings are a proof that he was exceptionally genius. He contributed immensely to the development of architecture and building technology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These monuments are different from the common thinking pattern, very artistic and decorative. One among those seven monuments is the Park Guell.

Once you have seen his work the next bursting urge would be to take home a piece of his work to brighten up a corner of your room, you fridge or table top. I placed the frog in my lily pool of my balcony garden.

Frog from Park Guell Souvenir Barcelona

Lizards and Frogs Souvenirs from Barcelona – their Significance

Don’t get me wrong, Barcelona is not full of lizards and frogs. But these creatures very bold statements of Gaudi’s work. Those of you who have been to Park Guell in Barcelona these creatures will look familiar.

Ceramics, bright colored ones, are omnipresent in Gaudí’s work. This inclusion makes Gaudi’s work stand apart and also indicates his signature on his works. While I am writing this I am reminded of the use of ceramic pieces by Nek Chand in Rock Garden of Chandigarh.

See here: Rock Garden Chandigarh

Gaudí’s Park Güell is the work with the highest ceramic content. All zones of the Park are studded with bright ceramic pieces with more concentration in the entrance and main stairway. The animal forms like the serpent, frog, and salamander bring in a magical fairy tale like atmosphere.

Frog from Park Guell with colorful ceramic work

Animal Figurines

Moreover I have a fascination for small animal figurines and those with stories are more sought after like the Merlion of Singapore. Here in Barcelona I picked up two of them, a gecko lizard in metal and ceramic and a ceramic frog.

For those travelling with family and young children, a visit to Park Guell is highly recommended. The sight of frog and salamander sculpture fountain at main entrance covered with pieces of colorful ceramic tile is unforgettable.

The mosaic salamander is also known as el drac, meaning ‘the dragon’ in Catalan. El Drac’s scales are broken shards of mosaic tiles, a style known as trencadís, which Gaudí helped to pioneer. The miniature version of it is more popularly called a lizard or a gecko by all souvenir sellers in Barcelona.

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Souvenirs from Around the World

In these times of no travel I look back pieces of memories I have collected from the various cities I have travelled to. Yes, I am talking about the souvenirs I have collected during travels. Allow me to transport you to another part of our beautiful world, another era, through the stories of origin of these keepsakes!

Souvenir, in simple words is defined as: a thing that is kept as a reminder of a person, place, or event. First recorded in 1775 as meaning “a remembrance or memory,” the noun souvenir stems from the French souvenir “to remember, come to mind.” A few years later, it took on the sense of “a token” of an event or experience. Opposite is Castaway. Do you collect souvenirs? Do you have a theme for collection? Let me know in comments below.