Fiestas de Gracia - You Won't Believe What You Are Seeing

For one week in August the neighborhood of Gracia (where we lived for the first few weeks in Barcelona) throws an amazing street party. Various streets in the neighborhood get together in January to start preparing the elaborate decorations. Streets host dinners, have live bands, puzzle competitions, activities for kids, and of course, outside bars that server beer and mojitos. The decorations cover the ENTIRE street and are so spectacular that you have to see them to believe them. So without further ado (sorry there are so many pictures)...

(The next post will include the famous Castellers--human towers--from the fiesta and is not to be missed!)

Welcome to the great fiestas of Gracia.

Into the sea with fishermen and mermaids

A fisherman and a mermaid 

Mozart Street! (Tabitha's favorite)

Mozart's orchestra.

They made a papier mache piano!

Opera ghosts

Music notes floating in the air.

More awesome ghosts.

And fabulous masks.

Some of the balconies were also decorated.

Into the jungle.

A wild jungle animal?

Keebler elves?

One of the many live bands.

Amazing!

The whole street felt like you were walking through a
mystical flower garden.

More amazing.

A Catalan donkey?

Coffee anyone?

The Jungle Book jungle.

King Louie.

Gob's street (for the Arrested Development fans out there).

Apparently "farts" in Catalan means "tired"

This street received the 1st place award and told the story
 of Peter pan as you walked down the street.
Here Peter and the kids are flying off to Neverland.

Transitioning into Neverland. 

Tinkerbell!

And the big fight.

Aliens!