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Published: August 26th 2007
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Sagrada Passion Facade
Sagrada Familia - closeup details of the passion facade Our flight from Toronto to Amsterdam was relatively short, but felt much longer due to the group of 40+ teenagers who felt no need to be quiet or even sit down during the red-eye flight. Luckily, KLM’s entertainment system is fantastic and we were able to catch up on several movies each while trying to get a little sleep. We transferred planes in Amsterdam - nice airport, but since smoking is allowed at their restaurants and bars, our gate area was filled with smoke.
Once we landed in Barcelona, we claimed our luggage quickly and found the train station. The train took us directly from the airport to the centre of the city… but of course, it couldn’t be that easy! We were rather directionally challenged and turned ourselves around several times before finding the right way to our hotel. What should have been a 20-minute walk was a good hour and a half with all our luggage!
Our hotel was tucked away in a small side street, just around the corner from Barcelona’s historic cathedral. After a shower and a nap, we headed out to Las Ramblas - the tree-lined, pedestrian centre of Barcelona. Tourist shops, florists, pet stores,
Temple de la Sagrada Familia
Temple de la Sagrada Familia - Passion Facade outdoor restaurants… all along this beautiful walkway. Of course, there is a busker (or two) between every shop or restaurant - the variety was incredible - great entertainment all along the one kilometre walk down Las Ramblas. One other site that Tom caught (but I missed)… the man walking down the tourist-filled street wearing nothing but a tattooed pair of shorts… and a rather large piercing (ouch!)
Day 2 in Barcelona began with brunch on Las Ramblas - where we watched the buskers seting up for the day. The props and makeup involved in some of their performances is incredible - I really wonder how much they make in a day. Our base for exploration today was the tourist bus - one ticket gave access to three different routes and we got off and on throughout the city. We found the key to skipping the long wait in the queue - take a seat inside on the bottom level of the bus instead of on the open upper level! We got on the first bus once we realized this trick, leaving several hundred others waiting for an open-air seat. Our major stop for today was La Sagrada Familia
Sarah and La Pedrera chimneys
Sarah and La Pedrera chimneys church (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Familia for historic details.) Construction began in 1882 and it still continues today. Antoni Gaudi was the designer and architect (what an incredible artist and mathematician!) and he spent the latter years of his life so engrossed in his work, he lived in his workshop at the church. The work on the church continues today, and tours only access part of the interior. We spent hours exploring the church and the museum below. Parts of the church are wide open to the outside and likely will be until the final, 170 metre-tall spire is in place. Architects and builders hope to have the church finished by the centenary of Gaudi’s death (2026). We spent just as much time exploring the outside as the inside of the church. The detailed statues and carvings on the two completed façades were absolutely fantastic. The “nativity” façade is incredibly intricate and detailed and contrasts with the “passion” façade on the opposite side of the church which is much more sparse and angular with a very angry feel to it (however, the magic square on this façade was quite interesting… OK, maybe only to us.) The mathematics and science behind Gaudi’s designs is
Sagrada Familia - main door
Sagrada Familia - main door details fascinating - what a brilliant man! A lot of details are presented in the small school-house which is on the same site as the church.
After taking a break to admire the church from a nearby park (with shade… it was awfully hot), we walked up a pedestrian street and found ourselves at Saint Pau Hospital. Now… this is not a hospital as we know it! The buildings were old and ornate, decorated with mosaics and gothic details. It was a beautiful grouping of buildings - we just don’t have this kind of architecture and history in North America.
We jumped back on the tourist bus and spent the remainder of the afternoon exploring Gaudi’s Park Guell - originally designed to be an English garden community. The mosaics throughout the park are fascinating - I can’t imagine how many tiles were broken just to cover the immense, curving, serpentine bench around the perimeter of the upper terrace. Even though the entrance and first few sights are impressive, Gaudi’s true genius is more apparent when you walk through the park and explore his work with rock and stone. He created pillars, arches, covered walkways and fully decorated viaducts that
La Sagrada composite
La Sagrata Nativity Facade made from two composite photos. almost blend into the natural surroundings.
Now that was a long day!
We slept in a little on our third day in Barcelona - but managed to get up in time to order the recommended “Catalan breakfast” at a restaurant in front of the Barcelona Cathedral. The breakfast was light and good - prosciutto, cheese, and toasted Calabrese bread with tomato. Unfortunately, the bill came to nearly 30 Euros ($45!) Note to selves - don’t order whatever the waiter recommends when you’re in a hurry! After breakfast, we explored the cathedral. Unfortunately, the exterior was fully covered in scaffolding as it is being restored. Inside, the architecture is beautiful (the high stone, gothic arches are mesmerizing), but the layout is a little strange - you come in the main door and there is a small area for seating - then the choir area (which you can’t see past if you’re sitting at the back) - then more seating - and finally the pulpit area. There is very little seating where you could actually see a service (although the choir members have a great view.) The cloister area to the right of the church-proper was a beautiful outdoor square
Sagrada Familia - Nativity Facade
Sagrada Familia - Nativity Facade as seen from the Placa de Gaudi complete with fountains, ponds and geese!
To catch the tourist bus again (we had a 2-day ticket), we made our way through the heat up to Catalunya Square. Once again, we jumped the queue by taking a seat inside - hey, it was air-conditioned! We made our way up Montjuic and explored around the national art gallery. We then continued up the mountain using the outdoor escalators (!) and explored the area outside and around the Olympic stadium. Huge, wide-open spaces! Once again, we didn’t see the outside of the actual stadium - it’s encased in scaffolding too. We continued to walk around and up the mountain through several gardens and eventually to the top. We sat outside the Castel (now a military museum) and admired the incredible views. Looking one way, you could see out over the entire city. Looking out the other way, you had a full view of the port and the Mediterranean Sea. There were several cruise ships docked at the port and we had fun using the long lens on Tom’s camera to see what people were doing on board! We enjoyed the later part of the afternoon back on the tourist bus, exploring
Barcelona from Mount Juic
Barcelona from Mount Juic the third and final line out along the waterfront.
It was a busy few days - next stop… Venice!
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