November 13th - 14th

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We took our time getting moving this day. Jacob is trying to establish a structure for school work and we were tired from the walk. By afternoon we were ready for the beach. On our way we found a perfect pastry shop with excellent ham and cheese croissants. It's hard to pick a shop, there are so many; this is something I wish we could import to Saskatoon. Christie's is good, but I'd rather have more competition and not in the guise of muffin shops. The beaches are long and even here there is architecture. At one end of the beach there is a huge bronze/copper (?) fish. I want to get closer to it to see just what it is. At the other end of the beach is a sky scraper with interesting design and lots of glass. The sand is pretty soft, but the breakers are bigger than we thought. Jacob played at the edge but found the under tow too strong for fun. We did watch lots of people on boards riding the waves. They aren't huge waves but enough to get a ride. Here the walking pedlars are selling pieces of fresh coconut, beautiful lengths of fabric as beach blankets and instant pressure point massage on the beach. Walking home, we got more pastries, this time sweet.

Next day, we went to the Sagrada Família. This is a church designed by Gaudi. It is not finished yet. Mom saw it without a roof and insides. We saw it with a completed roof and incredible insides. Gaudi has designed a church that reaches for the heavens and pulls in the light. Most of the the large impressive churches that we have see so far, are quite dark, Gaudi's sings with light. The columns arch up narrow and high, the arches of stained glass windows spread the entire length of both sides of the building with more at either end. There are spiral staircases at all four corners that mount to the top. There design made like lace to allow light to pass through the stairs as well. When we were there, the afternoon light hit the windows full on and sent sheets of colour drenching the rest of the building. People walking downs the aisles looked like they were drowning in colour. I've never seen such height, such grace, such amazing light. That is only the inside, without mentioning the organ and the nooks and crannies. Outside the marvel is just as mind blowing. Every inch is carves and spiralled and arched unexpectedly,but with so much beauty. The nativity scene is carved in full figured life at one entrance, and with a much more modern style of carving, the scene at the crosses is carved at the other entrance. Before you leave the church, you can go underground to the workshops/museum. There, the process is explained for how the ideas left Gaudi's mind and arrived through drawings and plaster models to reality. They are still making plaster models for the next sections to be made, with the aide of high tech measuring machines. There a still cranes and loud machined working on further sections. Instead of ruining the feel, I felt that you truly got to understand the organic growth of this building and as a tourist paying a fee, I became part of making the vision real. When we left, we went to sit in the nearby park since we'd been on our feet for at least 4 hours. There we got one more arresting image of playing with light, the street pedlars were making magic with bubbles, lighter than air.

Good Night and Sweet Deams

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Comments

[jean]

Barcelona
Oh Gilly - how great, now I wish I would have gone inside the church! What memories of the park and all the architecture. It's like being an architect is a real job in Barcelona! I loved all the different shapes and sizes, the modernism beside the old. It is a really big fish down by the beach and I think its beside the natural history museum. One of your pics from an earlier blog was taken from the National Gallery up on the hill and looks almost identical to one of mine. Glad you're both having a great time. Looks like a blizzard here today. . . . J

[GillStrange]

It was when I was inside that the true glory came to me, bit of an expensive touch though for walking around inside a church. I'll think warm thoughts at you, although he has begun to rain here now.