Barcelona Day 2

Barcelona continues to be hot. We continue to enjoy our laziest part of our trip by exploring the city by bus! The hop on-hop off has been a godsend and Barcelona is so spread out that they have two, east and west. Today we explored the west of the city including the old Olympic village and the mountains of Montjuic.

Sagrada Familia

Afternoon of Day 2 took us to La Sagrada Familia. I'm sure you've seen pictures of this church but until you stand at the bottom of it and crane your neck to look at the top it's hard to grasp how immense this structure is. We queued to gain entry but it was moving fast and pretty soon we were inside the grounds after a super quick dash to the bank when we realised they don't take credit cards for entry fees.

Unfortunately the towers were full so we couldn't take a lift to the top but to tell the truth I don't think Sarah was too concerned! We picked up our audioguide and started the tour.

We've been to the Sistene Chapel, stepped inside the Vatican and in their way they were lovely. This church is something else. Firstly it's huge, that's clear enough from the outside. What is hard to imagine is how much thought Gaudi put into every single aspect of the church. The columns are symbolic; each wall tells a story; each facade to the church is full of the tiniest details; the doors are carved with the most intricate patterns. By far the most amazing aspect for me was the windows. Stained glass, in the afternoon light - they are simply magnificent. I felt totally peaceful here. Luckily it wasn't too crowded so we had a good view of the architecture and the audiguide added to the information scattered around the church.

We sat outside the Nativity facade the only one Gaudi finished himself and just looked at all the detailed stonework. It tells the story of the Nativity and includes the journey to Bethlehem, the witnesses to the birth and the marriage of Joseph and Mary. Gaudi went into so much detail that the animals and plants carved into the stone were true to what you would find at the time. The columns supporting the structure are dedicated to Joseph and Mary. Both are supported by turtles representing stability and strength, Gaudi's attention to detail again - the column closest to the mountains has a tortoise and the one closest to the sea has a turtle!

I think you could sit outside La Sagrada Familia every day for the rest of yoru life and still find detail in the carving that you hadn't seen yesterday. The church is testament to Gaudi's art; his craftsmanship and his faith. I loved it more than I can say.