Good-bye to Barcelona and a Great Trip!

     

A toast for a great trip!

  On our last day in Barcelona we got up early to get in line to see the fantastic Sagrada Familia Basilica.  I had the good fortune to tour the cathedral last year when I came to Spain with the Bay Chorale.  I was now eager to show John this fabulous basilica.

           We made our way west on  St. Joan street.  Along the way, we stopped at a pastry store and bought a bag of goodies to munch on the way.  We turned to the right on Carrer Street and headed for the basilica.   The spires were so tall we could see them four blocks away.  As soon as we got near the block, we saw a line of people extending all the way down the street.  There was another line with equal length of people who already had tickets.  They were slowly going in.  So we circled around until we found the line without tickets and joined the line.  We were moving nicely for the first fifteen minutes as we made conversation with a mother and daughter from Denmark.  They had been spending a month touring all over Spain, and now they had a few days in Barcelona.
   We arrived at the window and paid for our two tickets which included earphones and a guide pack that we hug around our necks.

John adjusting his earphones.

 We then began our tour at the front face of the cathedral.  The Cathedral was begun in 1882 and Antoni Gaudi was asked to take over the building of it in 1883.   He transformed the architectural and engineering style into a Gothic Art Nouveau form that was unique for its day and even today. The floor plan is similar to other Gothic cathedrals in Spain, but is more complex in that it has five isles including the center isle, seven chapels, three portals and eighteen towers. The front is known as the Nativity facade.  It is filled with decorated scenes of Jesus as he is growing up.  Also Gaudi included symbols of nature. For instance at the base of two columns, he placed two turtles to represent land and sea. He also placed two chameleons to symbolize change.  The Tree of Life rises above the door in the portico of Charity.  Four towers in the front are dedicated to these saints: Saint Matthias, Saint Barnabas, Saint Jude, and Saint Simon.

Nativity Facade

Tree of life and four towers

Turtle under the pillar signifying earth.

       We stood back while we listened to the audio explanation about the building of the church and the Nativity Facade.  John searched around and pointed to the different scenes as he recalled from his Catholic school training when he attended St. Joseph's Military Academy as a child. 
       After a thorough scanning of the facade, we entered and followed the numbered stations around the church as we listened to the instructions in our headset.  The church is in the plan of the Latin cross with five isles.  The central vault is 150 ft long and the isles are 100ft. in width.  The transept has three aisles.  The four center columns support the great ceiling reaching 200ft and the apse is capped at 250ft.  When finished in approximately 2028, the building will be the tallest church in the world.
        My jaw drops when I enter this church and look at the amplitude and beauty that surrounds us.  The place seems like you have shrunk in a garden and all the trees and branches are huge as you stand and look above. Not even Disney could have imagined the scene of huge pillars that look like plants illuminated by multicolors coming from the stained glass windows.  It is the natural beauty of the earth that Gaudi had in mind for inspiration, and it fill you to the brim with awe and reverence.

The colors from the window give a garden appearance.

The flowers above appear to blossom

Gaudi created a scene of trees, branches and blossoms in this spectacular nave that seems to burst with life!

We continue to follow the audio directions and John makes a comment that it is like doing the stations of the cross on Good Friday!  We finally get to the center altar and observe how different it is from other churches we had seen.

The Central Altar

We exit through the back entrance that has the Passion facade.  This part is all about the death of Jesus and his resurrection.  The Passion Facade is quite austere in that the sculptures are carved with harsh straight lines.  The construction began in 1954 following drawings and instructions left by Gaudi to future architects and sculptors.  He died in 1926 knowing that this project would extend beyond his life.  The towers were completed in 1976.  Joseph Maria Subirachs began the sculpting of the various scenes and details of the facade in 1987.    He and his team  aimed to give rigid and angular form to evoke a dramatic effect to the passion of Christ. Gaudi wanted this facade to strike fear upon the viewer.  It faces the setting sun to indicate the symbolism of the end of life.  The large columns are designed to be sequoia trunks.  The four towers are dedicated to the four apostles:  Saint James, Saint Thomas, Saint Philip, and Saint Bartholomew.

The Passion Facade

       Again we stood for a long time observing the sculptures of the last scenes of Christ on earth.  It is all very solemn and most overwhelming when you think of all the work that has gone on for so many years to come to still partially built basilica.  It is to be completed in 2028 but with the use of computers, the process might come to a more rapid conclusion.  I am sure that everyone in Barcelona would love to see the awful cranes disappear.  They seem to detract from the magnificent church like praying mantis in the background.

      After exploring the museum below, we were now ready to head for the beach and to have some lunch. We walked down St. Joan street again because we were familiar with it, and did not want to get lost.  On the way we found a bakery that was selling empanadas from Peru. I got in a conversation with the owner, and he said that he had come to Barcelona five years ago and decided he would open this bakery and add saltenas or empanadas.   We bought two, then went next door to a market and got some orange juice.   We were on our way again munching along.
     We went by the Arc de Tromf where  an EcoRalley was being held.  The cars were fueled with everything other than gas.  Most were electric cars, but some had other kinds of fuel.  Europe is very much behind finding alternative energies.  When I was here last year there were windmills everywhere using the wind as a resource.  Also on our travels we noticed the use of photoelectric cells on multitude of panels using energy from the sun.  The use of electricity is common in cars here as well.  The roads are narrow so smaller cars are used as well as vespas and motorcycles.  There are lots of thoroughfares that are pedestrian only, but allow for bike use.  So bike rentals are everywhere.  You simply use your credit card at a bike rental and drive it until you find another site to turn it in and it automatically bills you for the time you have used the bike.

Arc de Tromf and the Eco Rally beyond.

Bike rentals below the Hostal Nuevo Colon

We continued walking past the arc into a park area called Parc de la Ciiutadella where many people were having picnics.

 We were delighted to see the other side of the Three Dragaon Castle.

The Three Dragon Castle turned into a museum.

 A lovely fountain was refreshing to see.  There were other places where you could fill your water jug in the park.

Fountain to fill your water jug.

Refreshing fountain in the park

Playing music and lounging in the park.

The park also had a lovely lake where people could rent canoes and paddle in the lake.

People enjoying the lake in canoes.

The park had statues of prominent people and events in Barcelona's history.

El Cid with friend on top!

Fighting the Arabs

We passed by the zoo and got on the main promenade by the beach.  There were lots of young people walking by with many outdoor restaurants long the way.

     We looked up and saw the California flag hanging from one of the balconies.  That brought a sense of nostalgia back when we had this flag in our classrooms growing up in Northern California over fifty years ago!

We crossed the street to find a restaurant near the beach.

We found one that was doing great business but was not too expensive.  Next door was one where the servers were in fancy tuxedos, a sure sign of high prices....tuxedos on a beach?????

Casual Dining!

We were delighted with the menu, and we ordered a chicken salad.  Our waiter brought out sangria and fresh bread.  We were delighted and we did some serious people watching!

Our waiter, Javier from Colombia.

The sangria was great!

Chicken salad with lots of surprises...Yum!

These guys were heavy smokers....We were glad the wind was blowing away from us!

Guys waiting for their sangria....Where is Javier?

On going love affair while she checks her e-mail!

When we were done, we decided to walk to the beach and take relax like the rest of Barcelona was doing on this Saturday afternoon.

Playing soccer at the beach.

We looked for a good spot to settle into.

Is this a topless beach?

We found a place near the water.

The sand was soft and the water was refreshingly cool.

There was enough wind to propel a windsurfer with a large sail.

Down the beach there were two paddle ball players who held our interest.

Of course there are always lovers on the beach.  They held our interest as well!

It had been a lovely day on our last day of our trip.  We were reminded that love makes the world go round and people all over the world are just like us going through life, enjoying the simple things that make life interesting and full of adventures.

So now we return home at sunset and keep on looking for fun in all the right places!

Leaving Barcelona at sunset!