Barcelona vista

We spent our last night in Malaga in the quirky  'El Cid' Hostel.  It was fun because we have had some of our missionaries stay there.  It just seemed fitting.

Our second stop on our trip home was Barcelona! Even before the mission we wanted to visit this city.  Someone lent us a book about Antoni Gaudi and his amazing architecture!  Now.. 'we know people there'.  That phrase is in quotations because it is one of Rod's favorite responses when people ask how he got something done. 

Our flight there was on a local airline with NO LEG ROOM.  We were very glad it was a short flight.

 

Our first night there I had rabbit.  It was fun, but not my favorite.

Rod enjoyed his meat platter a bit more.

We arrived early enough that we took one of those bus tours of the city which  I actually really enjoyed. You could get on and off without paying again, so we stopped at Park Guell

Gaudi was known for his 'organic' shapes and his love of nature and it's forms.  The 'tree trunks' are cement with planters atop to provide the foliage.  The 'park' was originally envisioned as a housing development, but turned into a public park. 

You can just see the iguana which is now a symbol of Barcelona.  The camera died before I got good photo.

Yes, some of the columns are tilted!

This building was originally envisioned as the caretakers home.

We also took a walk down to the Rambla.

This is one of the small booths on the Rambla.  If you can see the yellow and orange striped banner  at the top of the photo that says Barcelona, that is the  colors of the  flag of Catalonia.  This province is trying to declare it's independence from Spain...at least some of the time.  There is even a translation of the Book of Mormon into Catalan.

This is the street at the heart of the city, and a very well known shopping destination.  We really liked our hotel in Barcelona.  We had a suite and felt very 'up town'.

The next day we went back to The Sagrada Familia Cathedral. 

This façade of the cathedral was dedicated to the nativity of Christ. Gaudi was very religious.  When he died in 1926, only the crypt, apse and part of this façade were finished.

We loved this door.

Even bugs made it into his work.

The columns were designed to resemble trunks and branches of trees and the balconies  the leafy canopy.  I was entranced by the light from the stained glass and the color it lent the columns.  

 

This was the park just outside the cathedral.... I was struck by the trunks and branches.

 

The windows are very modern.. I like a bit more representational windows better personally.

The organ.

 

The spiral interior staircase gives some idea of the height.

The ceiling.

Beyond the columns is the external spiral stair we got ascend.

The evolution of some of the shapes Gaudi used (from a display in the museum at the basement of the Cathedral). 

The tower representing Christ.

Going up the stairs.

Be serious!

View from the upper levels. I loved the shape of the window.

Inside the nautilus.

This is a balcony off of the staircase.

Not real wide though.

These are some of the towers.  As you can see, the cathedral is still under construction expected to finish in 12 years.

 

Lest you feel that the towers were 'too strange' I noticed this form on the grounds too.

 

This is a model of the other façade.  The sculptures depicting the Passion of Christ were done by Josep Maria Subirachs and are much more modern looking, but still follow Gaudi's plan.

This is a copy of the upside down string model Gaudi used to design and plan the Cathedral.

This is a school Gaudi built for the children of the workers.

Inside the school

Christ's betrayal.  The rows of numbers in the box all add up to  33, Christ's age at his death.

The soldier's horse.

Christ being whipped another door in the background.

The events of the Passion progress in an S pattern across the façade, with the crucifixion visible and behind the netting and above it all, the resurrected Christ.

We had to take a break for nourishment after all our walking.  We had churros for dessert.

Then we went to the park to get this photo.  I have such an artistic husband.

 Next Madrid.