Gaudi's Dream, The Sound of Music and Tonight's Top Three.

And so we are at our final day.  Although it has been a short trip, we have seen enough of Barcelona to know that it's a city we would like to return to.  The first thing that struck us when we arrived, was how clean the city was.  The people have been very friendly, and overall the city just has a great feel to it.  

Today we had one major task, to see the Sagrada Familia.  One sure fire way to get yourself out the door at a decent hour, is to book a time at an attraction that is early, and non-refundable.  It's amazing how that can motivate you to move.  Thanks to our friendly concierge, we had our place in line, and our tickets in hand.  

Our visit to Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece started with an elevator ride up the Nativity Facade.  Like I said, the Spaniards are brilliant.  Every other church I have been to, you have to scale 600 plus stairs to get a view.  At least in Spain, all you have to do is walk down.  Easy, peasy.

They broke ground on the basilica 131 years ago in 1882.  Gaudi worked on it almost exclusively from 1915 until his death in 1926.  He was killed after being hit by a tram, he was 73.  It is estimated that work will be completed on the basilica in 2028.

This church is unlike any church you have seen, or will likely ever see.  As quoted by both Bronwyn and Fintan, "it looks like something from Lord of the Rings!"

The Nativity Facade 1894-1930, this was the first facade to be completed.

You can take a lift up one of the towers of the Nativity Facade.  From there you can see some of the detail up close.  Gaudi's vision was to have the entire exterior in colour, that is not likely to happen, but the splashes of colour  that you do see, are very unique.

When you are up in the tower, there are a couple of really cool balconies that you can walk out on.  This is the view from one of them.

View looking down the narrow spiral staircase that you walk down to exit the tower.

The really cool thing about this church is the way the colours from the stained-glass windows fill the interior.

A great example of the natural light casting the colours of the stained-glass windows onto the ceiling.

The amazing ceiling of Sagrada Familia.

Like I said, it's unlike any church you will ever see....

Very cool modern stained-glass.  There are still large portions of the church awaiting stained-glass.  They are using local artisans to complete this work.

The Passion Facade is awesome.  It is much more modern, and has fantastic modern sculptures.  Work on this facade started in 1954, and followed the original drawings and instructions left by Gaudi.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking..."

"Turn dat frown, de udd'ar way arown."

Entrance of the Passion Facade.

When we finished at the basilica, we made our way back to our favourite restaurant, Tapa Tapa for a great lunch.  We had to bribe the kids with dessert in order to get the next couple of pics.  Who taught these kids to negotiate?

"Honestly, I look good.  Just ask me."

As gentle as she appears, I think she is fuming about something Fin did.

Our final stop in Barcelona was the stunning Modernista styled, Palau de la Musica Catalana, designed by Barcelona native, Lluis Domenech i Montaner. This building is an amazing celebration of music, and it took only took three years to build (1905-1908). We just did a guided tour, as we didn't have time to see a performance.  When go back to Barcelona, we will definitely make sure that we take in a show.  The building is incredibly ornate and features some beautiful detailing.  The highlight is the astonishing stained-glass dome. 

Beautiful stained-glass and ceramic tile dominate the reception hall.

The use of colourful mosaic tiles was prominent in Catalana Modernista architecture.  We saw this to great effect in Gaudi's work.

Roadies preparing the stage for the evenings performance.

All of the stained-glass makes this the only music hall in Europe that is lit completely by natural light during the day.

The stained-glass dome is as absolutely amazing.

Note to file.  Spanish shops are closed on Sunday's.  We wandered through the Gothic Quarter until we stumbled on a few shops that are bucking the trend by being open on Sundays.

"Why are the shops closed?"

"You go ahead and shop, I am going to stand in the middle of this plaza and look good."

Every time we left the hotel, the kids would race down the 7 flights of stairs in an attempt to beat the elevator down.   This was the final attempt, it was 4:00 AM on Monday morning, and our taxi was waiting for our journey to the airport.

So that was Barcelona.  We only have 4 full days on the ground, but we felt like we saw a lot, and got a great feel for the Catalan capital.  We all really enjoyed the city, and said overwhelmingly that we would come back.  Like other great cities, there is a little something in Barcelona for everyone.  There is a great mix of big city Europe, and casual, understated elegance.  If Barcelona is on your Master Dream List, then what are you waiting for?

As we do with all of our here trips, here are our Top 3 Barcelona Events:

Fintan

1.  Football game at Camp Nou.

2.  Sagrada Familia.

3.  The food.  Loved the Tapa's.

Bronwyn

1.  Football game at Camp Nou.

2.  Sagrada Familia.

3.  The Magic Fountain light and music show. 

Stacey

1.  Sagrada Familia.

2.  The rooftop sunset on Casa Mila.

3.  The football match at Camp Nou.

Ian

1.  The rooftop sunset on Casa Mila.

2.  Football game at Camp Nou.

3.  The sunset and views from the top of Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor, on Tibidabo.

Honorable Mention:  We all loved the Mercat de la Boqueria, and all of the fascinating foods on display.

Book it Ahead, Trouble Ahead, and Giant Head's - November 9, 2013

Good intentions.  That's what today was about.  We intended to get up early and be the first ones in line at Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, but as you all well know, good intentions sometimes don't mean shit.  What is more the norm is, setting the alarm, hitting snooze a few times, lazying about, then rushing like mad to get out of the room at a decent hour.  This approach generally involves a bit of yelling, and a few threats or bribes...and then I have to deal with the kids!  I kid, I kid.... 

Annnyywho, we made our way to the Metro (Which is awesome by the way.  Come to think of it, I don't think that I have met a Euro Metro system that I don't like). We found a great little breakfast spot and sat down for pastries and 4 cappuccino.  That's right, you heard me....4.  Apparently the kids think this is the norm for every meal now.  Awesome.  Fin's a regular cappuccino drinker at 11, I seriously don't think that I had my first one until I was 23.

Oh ya..... the other thing that has happened on this trip, my tom-girl has turned into a girly girl....what the.....

"How's your cappuccino?"  "Good, what's with the pink jacket?"

I also learned that if you eat a bag of these a day, you will be as prolific around the net as Lionel Messi is.

When we arrived at Sagrada Familia, the line to buy tickets basically wrapped around half of the site.  We had been told to pre purchase tickets online to avoid that mess.  We didn't...  So, we decided to take a few pics of the exterior, and when we got back to the hotel we would buy tickets through the concierge, so he could print off the tickets for us.

Unlike any church you will see.  This is the main entrance to Gaudi's Sagrada Familia.

This facade of the church as a very modernist look to it.  The sculptures are very cool, most of the heads are big an blocky like the guys from that game "Rock'em Sock'em Robots"

"Hey, you knocked my block off!"

The Nativity facade is very different.  It like it was made out of melted candle was.

Hanging in the park across from Sagrada trying to formulate a plan.

Some girl wearing pink and carrying a flowery backpack.

Bubble boy entertains a little girl.

Ok, so the plan was to head up to Park Guell which is a massive park that was commissioned by Eusabio Guell in 1910.  He wanted Gaudi to design a prestige residential development high up on the hill above the rest of Barcelona.  The plan was for 60 exclusive homes to be built.  The project eventually died with transportation access to the hill being one of the main issues.  Only 2 of the 60 houses were built.  There are also two funky gate houses that were built.  As the kids have described Gaudi's work, think Disney meets Lord of the Rings....

Like I said before, I love the Spanish.... they are geniuses.  Who else would put in a long string of external escalators to carry you up a massive hill?

When we were at the top of Guell Park, we had to wait for about :35 before our scheduled time to enter the park.  Man, it's November and it was packed.  What's it like in July and August?   The kids were restless and they wanted to practice their negotiating skills.  They had their eyes on two pair of sun glasses.  The seller wanted 10 Euros each.  We sent them away with 8 Euros for two pair, and that is all they could have.  The following is a series of photos that capture the event.

First contact: 20 Euros for 2 pair.  They walk away.

The street vendors aren't licensed, so this guy keeps a close eye, and try's to break up sales. When they see the cop coming, they lift their goods and move into the bushes.

Kid's have offered 8 for two pair, he is finally down to 10 for two pair.  Kids are staying firm.

Trouble ahead! The heat is on the move, so the sellers move out.

The cat and mouse game continues as the vendors hide in the trees.

After the heat passes, the sunglass guy is back in business.  He just lays his mat down and the kid's are on him.  2 for 8!  He looks up and sees the police coming around the corner and ....

Two for 8 Euros!  Classic.

 Oh ya, Park Guell.....

 

Almost impossible to get a pic of this guy without someone hanging on him.

You feel like you could eat the frosting off of this one.... 

The Serpentine.  A long string of benches that are covered with mosaic ceramic tile.

Specifically built for hanging out, and showing some attitude.  Check.

Selfie with two others in the glasses reflection.  Nice.

Caught him flying solo for 2 seconds...

Not for long....

After Park Guell we took a taxi to the base of Tibidabo so we could take the DODGY tram up to the top of the hill for the most commanding view of Barcelona!

I think the Spaniards must have stolen this from the Russians during World War I.....

The church at the top, Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor is relatively new.  It was built from 1902-1911. The views are spectacular.  Again, we couldn't have timed our visit any better.....

The positioning of all of these fellows was certainly no mistake.

Big ominous fellows.

It started with some challenges, but ended amazing.