Day 8
Barcelona, Spain
Highlights: La Sagrada Familia, Picasso Museum, Magic Fountain of Montjuïc
Though I'm far from an architecture buff, one of the things I most wanted to do/see while in Spain was La Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudí's massive, unfinished church and staple of Barcelona postcards. With tickets (for the right day) in hand, we made our way back to Sagrada Familia and collected our audio guide headsets. After spending some time admiring the Nativity facade (which is unsurprisingly dedicated to the birth of Jesus and looks to me like melting candle wax), we hopped in line to go to the top of one of the towers.
There is an extra fee to visit the top of the church, but it is absolutely worth it. Due to space limitations in the towers, there is timed entry, but that allowed us some privacy while admiring the incredible views of the city. Despite a little acrophobia on Wheat's part, we walked across a small bridge from one tower to the next and were able to view the church's famous spires from a different, up-close vantage point.
You cannot ride the elevator back down, so we took our time winding down the tight spiral staircase to the ground floor. While there, we continued with our audio guide which explained the intricate details of the inside of the church. From the colors in the stained glass to the tall, tree-like vaults that support the roof, we were blown away by the effort and planning that has gone into (and still goes into) building this remarkable worship space. Construction on the church began in 1882 and is supposed to be finished in 2026 to mark the 100-year anniversary of Gaudí's death. We'll see if that happens. Regardless, it was fun to imagine what the church will look like once it's complete.
The gorgeous fusion of faith and nature was apparent in every detail and we spent at least an hour inside, gawking at the ceiling and admiring the enormous pipe organ. The final part of our audio tour took us back outside to admire the opposite exterior, the Passion Facade (which depicts the crucifixion of Christ). Although Gaudí's plans were considered, this much darker, angular side was designed by Josep Maria Subirachs after Gaudí's death and you can clearly see the sharp contrast in style. The third and final side, the Glory Facade, is under construction now, but will depict the resurrection of Christ.
After a quick stop in the basement of the church (which serves as a museum for the construction and the final resting place of Gaudí himself), we had lunch at an overpriced place nearby that seemingly gave us free appetizers (tomato bread), but then charged us for them at the end. These tourist traps are the bane of my existence. We had some time to kill after lunch, so we decided to do another walking tour courtesy of Rick Steves. This time, we explored El Born, a stylish neighborhood with lots of boutiques, restaurants, and night clubs. We stopped in yet another market, saw more Roman ruins, and avoided rain by ducking into little shops along the way.
The Picasso Museum, which is actually housed in a gorgeous medieval palace in La Ribera, offers free admission on Thursday evenings, so we booked tickets a few days in advance. Photography isn't allowed inside, but we spent a couple hours following along with our audio guide and learning about the artist's formative years. None of Picasso's super famous works are displayed in the museum, but we left with a much deeper understanding of his childhood and his early works, including a series of paintings he did recreating and re-imagining Velázquez's Las Meninas.
From the museum, we booked it over to Montjuïc to see the famous Magic Fountains. This 15-minute water and light show set to music is basically Barcelona's version of the Bellagio Fountains, so yeah - you can say I enjoyed it. By this point, we had worked up quite an appetite, so we took the metro to Barceloneta for one last romantic paella dinner near the beach.
It's a rough life, isn't it?
Gaudi or Picasso - Who do you like more?
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