We had a late afternoon flight, and took a take to our apartment on Calle Valencia. It was another great set up - two bedrooms, a little kitchen, a living room and a sun room. For dinner we went to Mulet, a very nice restaurant down the block, and then got a good night's sleep.
It was in a great location, too. Our first outing the next morning was to walk over to the Sagrada Familía, Gaudí's still-unfinished masterpiece of a basilica.
Of course it's a world-famous landmark, and it's surrounded by entrepreneurial businesspeople. A common type of busker in Spain's big cities is the "human statue". Some of them are amazing, like the guy we saw imitating Ganesh, the elephant god, with a rig that made it look like he was levitating (sorry, no photo). The guy we saw at Sagrada Familía was much less technical, but a nice idea - a headless mannequin. After Eero put the coin in his top hat (why does a headless guy need a hat?) he switched from sitting perfectly still to two big thumbs up!
Part of the story of the Sagrada Familía, of course, it that it's been under construction since 1882 and is still not complete. You could see that from a distance.
There was a big crowd already in line, even though we got there relatively early. The tickets for adults are not cheap, but, as at many attractions in Spain, kids were free.
It's a beautiful structure.
The west side is the front entrance, and its facade is known as the Passion Facade. The sculptures on the facade were designed by Josep Maria Subirachs. They are striking, both on their own and in contrast to Gaudí's organic forms.
The main doors on this side are covered with words from the Bible in various languages. This is the lintel above the doors.
These other doors are also on the west side, and include a multitude of cryptic symbols.
Gaudí designed the interior to feel like a forest, and looking up, it really gives that impression. This is looking towards the main altar (towards the north end).
The kids were very impressed. The light that comes through the windows illuminates the whole interior softly.
Cielo took this picture of part of the ceiling. She was taken by the colored circles.
You can go up one of the towers, but you have to buy the elevator ticket at the entrance when you come in. We didn't buy them there, and we weren't willing to go back outside to get them since the line when we got there took thirty minutes. You're not allowed to climb the stairs yourself, which is a pity, as they are really cool-looking.
Cielo was being grumpy about something (lack of ice cream, maybe) and took a seat on the floor, leaning against this column. Almost immediately a security guard came over and told her she couldn't do that. Alison took this picture (by putting the camera on the floor) before he got there, though.
For all the pale colors of the stone in the basilica, there are some very striking stained glass windows that hold nothing back in terms of color.
Alison took this picture of Vernon, as he took the previous picture of the stained glass window. You can see how it's painted him and the kids with its light.
There's a museum attached to the Sagrada Familía where artifacts of the design and construction are on display. It has some great bits, like a construct with ropes hanging down and a giant mirror below, to produce an image of thin towers thrusting up. There's also this model shop, where they are reproducing the models created in the design process.
The east side is called the Nativity facade and was designed by Gaudí.
