A great city, with the most amazing building we've ever seen!

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Port of Call: Barcelona

Friday, 4 July 2008
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

We arrived in Barcelona early in the morning, and our initial view was disappointing: an industrial port immediately outside our balcony; a modern highway just beyond the port; Castell de Montjuic topping the horizon.

The day ultimately included plenty of pleasant surprises, however, beginning with the free shuttle buses from the dock to the Monument A Colom, a huge monument topped by Columbus dramatically pointing towards the New Worlds, located at the end of La Rambla. (By the end of the trip, it was very apparent how important all these early explorers were in to the history of these countries -- almost everywhere we went, we saw monuments, tombs, and buildings marking the significance of the early explorers.)

We were also pleasantly surprised with the beautiful, clear, and warm weather.

With only one day in a town that has much to offer and is very spread out, we had to be very choosey with our itinerary: I wanted to see some architecture by Gaudi, Jay wanted to see the food market, and the kids just didn't want to "meander" through the town.

To fulfill my wish, we chose to vist "Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família" (the Holy Family Church of the Atonement, commonly called "La Sagrada Familia"). We picked this for three reasons. Firstly, it is the Gaudi site closest to the port. Secondly, la Sagrada Familia is still under construction. (Someone likened seeing this church being built in our time to seeing Notre Dame being built in the Middle Ages. Considering the grand scale of the project and the length of time devoted to construction, I wonder if this is the last opportunity to see such a monumental endeavor. Certainly it is in my lifetime.) Finally, although I didn't expect to like it, it was a site thought we "should" see.

This last reason is proof positive that one of the keys to a good trip is low expectations. Since I didn't expect to like the church, I agreed with Jay that once we cabbed up to the church, we'd spend about 10 minutes looking around and then head down to the areas where we wanted to spend a lot of time.

Boy, was I wrong! This is an amazing and awesome (in the sense of "inspiring awe") place. Words can't begin to describe the grandeur and magnificence of this structure. As I read more about this church, it is described as:

"...the last great sanctuary of Christiandom."

"...nothing short of a Bible in stone, a gigantic representation of the entire history of Christianity."

We ended up spending over two hours touring the inside of church. The highlight (literally) of the tour was the trip up inside the spires on the east facade. I had read that going up in the spires is amazing, but was turned away by the several hour long line for the west spires just inside the entrance to the church. In the interests of time, we opted to not wait and proceeded to tour the construction site that is the inside of the church. What a great surprise at the east end of the church to find those spires open for tours, and the line only 30 minutes long!

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Photos

La Sagrada Familia -- Nativity Facade
Is this just a mess of sculpture that appears to have been thrown onto the building, or is it amazingly detailed and symbolic? Look closer and decide for yourself....