The Sagrada Familia:
Spain is a
crazy place. Today we had a lot of fun, and it was the first day Matt Collins
was with Max and I on the trip. We started our day by sleeping in to wait for
Matt, then grabbed a bottle of red wine to walk around the city with and enjoy.
We decided to first find some of the buildings designed by famous Spanish
architect, Antoni Gaudí. These buildings are extremely unique because Gaudí was
the father of modernist architecture, and all of these buildings are profoundly
modern in design.
Casa de las Punxes:
We walked through Plaça de
Catalunya on our way to the Casa Batlló, Casa Milà, and Casa de las Punxes.
While each of these buildings are beautiful and unique, we decided to skip the
long queues to go inside them, and instead admired them from the exterior. I
should also mention that we stopped for some lunch at a Tapas restaurant near Plaça
de Catalunya. Here we sampled a range of Tapas, including Veal, Grilled Baby Octopus,
Fried Chicken Strips, Sausages with varied Sauces, and Meatballs. It was quite
the feast, but not as filling as it may sound like listing out all of those
foods, as each serving is quite small.
The Front of the Sagrada Familia:
After some
more wandering around this massive city, we found ourselves standing in front
of the masterpiece of Gaudí’s life, and the center of Barcelona, the Sagrada
Familia, or the Basilica of the Holy Family. We finished up our wine and waited
in line to go inside this massive structure while admiring the still-unfinished
exterior of the church. Unfortunately, Antoni Gaudí died in 1926, and the
project has yet to be completed. The church is scheduled to be completed near
the one-hundred year anniversary of his death. Fortunately for visitors,
tourists, and religious communities, the interior of the church has been
completed, and is used as a tourist site and for religious activities.
The Interior of the Sagrada Familia:
The
interior of the Sagrada Familia is unlike any other basilica I have ever seen.
It is profoundly modern, and built on an incredible scale. The ceiling measures
close to one-hundred fifty feet above the floor, and the entire nave mimics
branches of trees. The entire room is also filled with literally thousands of
colors coming through the multicolored stained glass windows that coat the
sides of the nave. It is truly a site to behold, and the three of us spent over
an hour inside just staring at the ceiling. This is one place I will have to
return to, especially if it is ever completed to the full extent of Gaudí’s
plan.
Some of the Beautiful Stained Glass Inside the Sagrada Familia:
Following
our visit to the Sagrada Familia, we stumbled upon an Irish bar that happened to
be named Michael Collins, also the name of Matt’s father. We popped inside to
discuss the coincidence, grab a Guinness, and eat a few snacks. After lunch we
made our way back to our hostel to change into bathing suits and walk across the
city again to the beach. We spent the afternoon sunbathing, swimming, and
watching Collins clumsily chase after pretty Spanish girls. I think the beach was called Barceloneta Beach, and it was very pretty but very weird how close it was built to some skyscraper hotels, kind of like Miami. After a long
afternoon in the sun we were pretty tired, so we headed back for a nap but not
without grabbing a quick dinner. We again stopped at the Cervezaria Napoleon
for some more Estrella with our food. I ate some Salami and two small Flatbread
Tapas Pizzas.
The Modernist depiction of the Crucifixion of Christ on the Exterior of the Sagrada Familia:
We napped
for a bit after dinner to get some energy for the night. When we woke up, we
enjoyed some more drinks at the bar located in our hostel basement. The
bartender was very friendly, and they had a special on Spanish Sangria, so we
sampled a fair amount of that before heading out back towards the beach towards
the big, crazy Barcelona clubs. Along the way we stopped at a couple of bars
here and there, and before we knew it, it was getting very late. We eventually
decided to save the crazy club night for the following evening, so we could be
completely rested and prepared, and we spent some time in one of the smaller,
less trendy clubs. This also saved us from having to change our clothes and
spend money on cover charges. Tomorrow will be an intense night, though.
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