Barcelona Trip - Barcelona with the group (April 13 - 14th)

After the morning bus ride, we arrived at Barcelona where the group was going to spend the next two days touring the city. I met up with Janey and Katelyn at the hotel and we decided to just walk down the famous Las Ramblas, a pedestrian street with shops and cafes. I was in Barcelona 3 years ago as one of my port of call within a Mediterreanean cruise. I loved the city a lot at the time and bookmarked in my mind it to come back. Las Ramblas was very much responsible for giving me that good vibe on my first visit. This time around, it seems more crowded than I had remembered it 3 years ago. But seeing the pedestrian friendly shops and people taking in the full European patio culture is always a welcome sight.

At the rooftop of Palau Guell

A trip to Barcelona is never complete without a visit to Sagrada Familia. For those of you not familiar with it, it is a cathedral designed by Antoni Gaudi, the famed spanish architect who is best known for the Catalan Modernism movement in architecture. Interestingly, the word gaudy also had roots from him and if you know his style, you can see how that could've originated.

One of the earlier completed facades by Gaudi

A newer part finished after Gaudi

Newer tower still under construction

The Sagrada Familia was a cathedral that was dedicated to the holy family of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus (hence the Sacred Family). This is probably going to be the last cathedral ever built in the world, since it's taken over 130 years already and is still not complete. And personally, I think cathedral building is a dying art. This cathedral was started in 1882 and although wasn't initiated by Gaudi, he took it over very early on and dedicated a lot of time to it. Within the last 12 years of his life, he actually lived on the construction site so he can focus only on this one project. He only retained sundays as his day off to leave the premises to attend mass. Gaudi was a devote catholic and wanted this to be the tallest cathedral in the world but also believed that no man made structure should be taller than that of God's. So he designed the cathedral to be the 170m, beating all other cathedrals, but still shorter than the nearby Mount Juic at 184m. When the project first started, he had to pitch the idea to the Vatican because you can't build a cathedral without the Pope's approval. That would be like not consulting with the town sheriff first. Unfortunately, Gaudi did not get the approval he wanted but was determined nonetheless. Without funding from the Vatican, he resorted to what he did best, and that was designing buildings. Fortunately, he attracted many wealthy clients who afforded him the project fees which he then used to fund his "side" project. Since there is no formal approval from the Vatican, he can't call it a cathedral, so instead, it was referred to as a "church" or a "temple" up until 2010 when the Pope formally recognized it as a Cathedral. I wonder how much of this was due to the overwhelming popularity of it as a tourists site? I guess the pope owes Gaudi a thank-you and apology.

Katelyn and me inside

Janey and I inside doing the audio tour

Gaudi was a holy man and very absorbed in his work, He really didn't take care of himself or his appearance in the final 12 years when he was working solely on the cathedral project. In 1926, on his way to Sunday mass, he was actually hit by a tram and not having any identity on him, people assumed he was a beggar so checked him into the "poor man's" hospital. Yes, there were different hospitals for different classes back then. He was finally recognized by the Chaplain of the Sagrada Familia but unfortunately it was a little too late. The city honored him by burying him in the crypt of Sagrada Familia. He is very much loved by the Catalonians and there is even talks right now about given him a saint hood. Since Gaudi, there has been a group of Architect's trying to finish the Cathedral. This explains why the older parts of the cathedral is stylistically different than the new ones. The city has a goal to complete the construction by 2026 to commemorate the 100 years since Gaudi's death. This may or may not be possible considering how the Spaniards love their holidays and siestas.

The ceiling of Sagrada Familia

Beautiful stained glass

Janey and Katelyn

Inside one of the towers

Looking down on the city

Going down one of the towers

At one of the view balconies

We ended off the night at a local restaurant. It was the last dinner together as a group before everyone went on their separate ways. It was a great trip with a really fun bunch of people. I think to commemorate this, the girls managed to find a stuffed pillow in the shape of our new found friend, the Iberico Ham. It was passed around the table and everyone had a little fun with it. For some, it's back to Vancouver the next day and maybe back to some lighter meals and healthier salads.