So the last day we were in Barcelona was the only day La Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's famous unfinished church that the Pope had come to consecrate that weekend) was going to be open for us, so we headed straight over there. Looks like a lot of people had the same idea because the line literally took up 3 full sides of the church. It was also freezing outside and we were very under prepared since the weather had been in the 60's the day before. There was no way we were going to miss this though so we toughed it out and after an hour wait we finally got in and it was totally worth it. This church is probably one of the most amazing buildings I have ever seen in my life. Every part of this church, from it's exterior facades to it's breathtaking interior, feels unique and refreshing to someone who is so used to seeing church after church in Europe and not being able to pick out big differences. There is no way I can lump this church into any other church I have seen before.
The church's construction was first under the direction of another Catalan architect who planned on it being a more traditional gothic style. Gaudi was then put on the project the next year and he drastically changed the design. The church's construction was taking a very long time, but Gaudi just responded to concerned people by simply stating, "My client [God] is not in a hurry." When Gaudi died, only 15-20% of the church was complete so other architects have taken over and tried to continue creating Gaudi's vision.
Because I am trying to be thorough with my posts so I don't forget everything I have learned I'll give ya a break down on the most important parts of the church.
The Facades
There are 3 different facades on the exterior of the building: The Glory, The Passion, and The Nativity.
The Glory facade is going to be the grandest facade of the 3, but I believe there is still a lot of construction going on with it so we didn't get to see it (or I don't remember seeing it...). The construction on it began in 2002 and apparently Gaudi knew it would be one of the last things finished so he only made a small sketch of what he wanted it to be, knowing that ultimately other architects would be finishing it and using their own style. This facade will represent the road to God - Death, Final Judgement, then Glory (or Hell if you don't follow God's will, yikes).
The Passion Facade is meant to portray Christ's suffering during his crucifiction and ultimately depict the sins of man. The figures are made with very course lines and the facade itself is very simple and unadorned (unlike the Nativity facade). Apparently Gaudi wanted the figures to be angular and dramatic to realistically portray the brutality of Christ's sacrifice. Once you see the Nativity facade you will really be able to tell the huge difference in the characters and the background.
 |
| Passion Facade |
 |
| Nativity Facade |
The Spires
There are 18 spires - 12 for the apostles, 4 for the evangelists, 1 for the Virgin Mary, and the tallest of all represents Jesus Christ. They aren't all completed yet, but once the tallest spire is completed La Sagrada Familia will be the tallest church with the tallest spire in the world.
The Interior
My favorite part of this church is the interior. The construction of the columns is pure Gaudi with the various geometrical shapes and natural elements making them look like large tree trunks. The columns in combination with the bright stained glass in the ceiling make you feel like you are standing beneath a blanket of trees. Since this is my favorite part and I'm not doing a great job explaining it I'm just going to show you through pictures...
 |
| Yes, I know I posted this already but probably one of my favorite pictures ever so enjoy it...twice. |
So...our first stop was Starbucks to get a giant coffee and/or hot chocolate. This was the first time going to a Starbucks since I've been here (well mainly because there aren't any in Florence and that would be terrible to go to a Starbucks in the land of cappucinos), but yea we gave in a went there for a nice, to-go cup of coffee. And you know what? It was nice and comforting. Although I got over zealous and ordered a venti latte. A venti??? I really did not need 20 ounces of liquid, especially one containing probably 3 or 4 shots of espresso, but I just was too excited... Now here is where you will probably judge us, and by us you can judge me since it was mainly my idea. We then headed to KFC for a good ole meal of chicken fingers, fries, and biscuits. But the joke is on me though because not only did they not have potato wedges (just stupid regular fries), but they also didn't have biscuits!! Caroline even asked the lady about them and she had no idea what we were talking about. What kind of world do we live in where a KFC doesn't have their glorious biscuits on the menu? I mean, I used to go there and order a 4 piece set of biscuits when I needed some comfort food at home (ok I realize I am slightly wavering on the line of obsessed and/or obesity talk, but those who know me know how I love my KFC) and I just couldn't believe they had no bread product to offer us. It was a huge let down and I just ate my fried chicken and regulars fries while sipping on my fountain soda and my GIANT coffee and tried not to think about all that was missing... Ha ok so that was over dramatic, moving on :)
Since the weather had turned to blue skies and a little warmer we decided to do some more exploring before taking the bus to the airport. We headed to the Arc de Triomf, which apparently doesn't really symbolize a win in a battle or anything, but it was still pretty. It was actually built for the Universal Exhibition in 1888.
We continued on to the beautiful park, Parc de la Ciutadella. There is a giant fountain (designed by Gaudi of course), a zoo, a lake, and a giant mammoth (not really sure the significance of that one...). It was really beautiful and a nice way to say good bye to this fascinating city.
 |
| fountain |
 |
| ...mammoth |
We headed to the hostel that night to sleep over in airport for an early flight in the morning. The airport is about an hour away from downtown Barcelona so this was basically our only option since there was only one Ryan Air flight that next day. It was an interesting night, that is for sure. We played cards, slept, listened to music, had heart to hearts, ate copious amounts of airport food, everything you could imagine doing overnight in an airport. Everything was going relatively smoothly until it was time to board. Now I think I mentioned this in a prior post, but my backpack is a strange size...short and fat. Ryan Air has some strict guidelines for bags in that they need to fit in a certain shaped container...it doesn't matter if your bag obviously would be smaller than that shape if you could make it that shape, it just matters if the bag fits, which mine doesn't. It didn't matter on the way over since no one checked, but at this airport they made everyone test their bag before boarding the plane. So while I'm freaking out, on 2 hours of sleep no less, Caroline being the fast thinker she is, ran and bought this 1 euro bag that is the exact shape of what is allotted. I guess people can buy them when they are in the same situation as me, and luckily she had seen someone carrying it on our first flight. So I scrambled and took everything out of my backpack and shoved it in this bag and thank god they let me on without too much of a fuss. Crisis averted. The flight was fine and I got to see a beautiful sunrise (the other girls had passed out) and we made our way back home.
Yay Barcelona posts are done and I can move on to our other trips! It is the first snow in Florence and we are heading out for a fun night with the girls (and a hair cut for me from Jess...it pays to have a friend who can cut hair!!).
Here is the view from our window:
No comments:
Post a Comment