We finally arrived at Sagrada Familia!!! We forked over the money for the entrance fees (feeling like we were also contributing to its construction) and even paid extra to take the lift to the top of the church. It was money well spent! The view from the top of the church gave us a good panoramic view of Barcelona and let us see some of the church's exterior detail close up. I'll be honest, I initially thought that the Sagrada Familia's architechture was crazy and ugly, but the more I studied Gaudi and his vision for this church (documented inside with exhibits), I was in awe of his talent. I just started feeling sorry for him, that he died prior to seeing this church's completion. So - I like the church very much, but would never get married in it still (location, religion, and logistics aside). The bridal pictures would still look crazy and confusing.
These first pictures are of the "Nativity" side of the church (the part of the church Gaudi mostly finished before his death). Notice the detail. Notice the old verses new construction (different colors!). Notice how at a distant view it looks like a drip sand castle.
These next pictures are of the "atonement" side of the church. This side of the church was completed with some of Gaudi's vision and blueprints in mind, but also under the designs and supervision of another architect.
Now for the inside, my favorite part. The ceiling was designed to look like you are in a forest. Gaudi was in love with nature. Notice the height of the ceiling. Notice the stained glass windows. Notice how the choir still resembles traditional gothic architecture.
Now for the views atop the church. We got to see the venetian fruit spire toppers up close and panoramic views of Barcelona. It was such a beautiful day!
Next we took the metro to Placa Espanya and Montjuich Hill. We were too tired from our mornings walk to the church and knew we wouldn't make the walk to our next destination with smiles on our faces. So we took the super nice and clean metro and exited in Placa Espanya square and worked our way up the hill. We toured the Olympic grounds (Barcelona had the 1992 Summer Olympics) and enjoyed the beautiful gardens covering the entire area. I was in love with this area of Barcelona and the open space for so much vegetation. We didn't go to the Castle of Montjuic or inside the Museum (which I was personally surprised to discover that the National Art Museum of Catalonia was built while our grandmothers were still alive! It looks like it could have been built centuries and centuries ago.), but we meandeared, watched the sun set, and waited for the Magic Fountain show. All the tour books raved about seeing this show, but we waited and waited and waited. The sign by the fountain said it started at 7:00. But as 7:20 rolled around and there still was no show, we began to worry. A second glance at the sign revealed that - the show is only on Friday's and Saturday's. What a bust! I was so mad that we sat around waiting for nothing, and that we missed the show by ONE DAY! UGH!!
Here is Placa Espanya
Here is Montjuic: the Museum, the olympic buildings, and a copy of a picture of the magic fountain in all its glory (copied from the internet:( ).
OK, so we decided to cheer me up by heading to Las Rambles again for the night action. We grabbed some dinner and then enjoyed the entertainers on the street. I just love relaxing, enjoying the people and energy, and making our nightly walk back to our hotel. We went and got Gelato from our same vendor (we loved him) because it was so tasty the night before.
This is the view from the mini square where we ate our gelato. It was a great day!
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