Our guide was a bubbly, round man with a great warm smile. Our bus took us through Montjuic, a gorgeous hillside that staged the 1929 International Exhibition and the 1992 Olympic games. The grounds are very large and hold the facilities of the games along with museums and parks. One facility is the Olympic diving center and it was built into the steep hillside so much that the divers dove off the high platforms over the city skyline; very cool. We also got to see the city and the statue of Christopher Columbus from afar.
From there our scenic drive took us the through the heart of Barcelona. Barcelona is busy and stunning with quant historical buildings lining the streets. The most fascinating part was learning of and seeing the unique works of Antoni Gaudi.
Antoni Gaudi became a genius architect in the late 1800s. He is best known for his creative, unique and eclectic work. We were able to drive by two homes he built. The lines of the homes are round, uneven and random. Our guide says that he was inspired by nature. One of the homes has been dubbed the "dragon" home. The most fantastic piece of his we got to see was the Sagrada Familia Basilica.
This basilica is HUGE!! It is gorgeous, extraordinary and monumental. Gaudi's work is so random to me -- there is catholic intention in his design and what I see as a Christmas tree actually is a representation of the tree of life and the doves represent the eternal spirit. There are also random fruit baskets on top of pillars which represent the rain of fruits of the Holy Spirit that falls upon man but to most are just random fruit alongside a Christmas tree. But, that is what makes this basilica awesome, it's intentional story!
The basilica construction began in 1882 and won't be completed until 2026. Yes, that is correct. The basilica's size, detail and Guadi's fanatical drive for perfection has delayed its completion. Gaudi died in 1926 and since then controversy whirls around the architectural choices that are being made, are they what Gaudi would've wanted?
The basilica was moving and beautiful but of all the cathedrals and basilicas we have seen, its unusual spirit and flare makes it my favorite. We tried to get more photos but our battery died -- oh well.
We got some free time before moving on and we were enjoying sitting on a patio when an old woman approached me (we have been warned about beggars and thieves). I wasn't sure if she wanted money or what but when we couldn't communicate with her she got ANGRY. She yelled all sorts of, what I assume, where expletives and hit my chair with her cane and hobbled away. We didn't know what to make of it but looking back on it, it was kind of cute and funny (I am sure not for her). She was grumpy!
Our day continued and we got to visit the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and St. Eulalia. It was, now what I would call, a typical yet, nonetheless, stunning cathedral but what made this visit unique was the celebration in front of it. Every Sunday a band gets together in front of the cathedral and hundreds of people come together. They form circles, clasp hands and dance the Sardana, the traditional folk dance of Catalunya (Catalonia) some even wear special white, lace-up shoes. My mom would have loved this and it made me smile!!
We saw more of Barcelona and headed back to our ship. It was a fantastic day in Barcelona, Spain and definitely warrants more time but we are now headed to an island of Spain, Palma De Majorca to see the world's largest unground lake.
As always, to be continued...
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