May 12th

I've realized I will only know what day it is because of this blog. Today however I know is Sunday because everything is closed which is fine with me cause I could use a break. The last few days have been intense (in a good way of course). Yesterday, after sleeping in a bit (I had a long night out on the town, when in Spain...) Amy and I had a long brunch and went to La Sagada Familia (The Sacred Family) Church designed by Antoni Gaudi. Construction started in 1832 and has continued ever since (with a break during the Spanish Civil War) and is still not done! It is 50% complete and they expect it to be completed by 2026. The fee for visitors pays for the cost of the remaining work to be done. The tallest tower will be 180 meters, 1 meter less than the hill I climbed in the previous post because Gaudi believed he work shouldn't surpass God's.

I have been lucky enough to see a lot of amazing things in my life: The Great Wall of China, lions in the wild, glaciers in Antarctica, and this church is definitely on that list. The magnificent architecture, engineering feat, and awe-inspiring beauty is hard to describe. Amy and I almost didn't go due to the extremely long line but I can't tell you how happy I am that we stuck with it. From the outside it looks a little weird and on the inside my jaw dropped. The magnitude and detail on every single piece is unbelievable. I have pictures below but you may just have to make a trip to Barcelona to see it for yourself :-)

Light was a large part of the design for Gaudi, he planned for the perfect amount of light to enter and there are unique stained glass windows surrounding the whole thing. Gaudi didn't live long enough to design the windows himself but left detailed instructions which the current artist uses when constructing them. He was hit by a tram when he was 74 I believe and is buried in the church.

In the basement of the church they have a museum with Gaudi's original models and a ton more information. Gaudi came up with an extraordinary method for determining the correct angle for each of the leaning columns. He made a hanging model of the church, using string with a small weight to represent to columns. Then he turned the model upside down and gravity did the math. 

Detail on one side of the church

One side, this is not the entrance,
the entrance used today will not be
the main entrance once construction
is complete

I know this is a little hard to see but the darker beige areas
have been completed, the lighter still have to be constructed

The Passion Facade, fully designed by Gaudi,
there will be three facades once completed

Ceiling

The columns are all built of different material chosen for the
weight each one must hold. Each base is in the shape of a star
with different sides and extend up to look like trees with branches. 

Amazing use of light and color

What the completed building will look like

The arc

After the church we went to Park Guell also designed by Gaudi. Of course another interesting a beautiful piece of art. It's huge and has a ton of paths running through it, we could have spent all day. We were both very exhausted and didn't even see half. If you find yourself in Barcelona I highly suggest you plan an entire day in the park.

From the park we could see our hike from the day before

Looks like Candy Land!

Today Amy and I picked up a car which is a very welcome change! We need a break from trains. It's a Fiat and super cute! I drove (Amy doesn't drive stick but I love it so I don't mind!) to Zaragoza and we really enjoyed being able to see the country side however tolls are horrendously expensive (we spent 37 euros)! Tonight we are staying in a B&B that's a converted apartment. We walked around this smaller city (again a very welcome change) and relaxed! Tonight we plan to splurge a little on a nice dinner, we've made up for it by buying sandwich stuff in the markets for several of our meals.

FIAT!

OK, one last part of this post. I've made some observations of this culture and Spain in general that I feel like sharing:

- The cab drivers are VERY honest and super nice. We've only taken a few but when we walk up to one they always point us to the front of the line! I'm not used to that in foreign countries! Also, they ALWAYS put on the meter, I'm very used to fighting with foreign cab drivers to put their meters on

- In Catalonia they put toothpicks in their tapas, you take what you want and bring back the toothpicks, they count them and you pay, I like this

- They eat A LOT of bread here, every tapas I've seen served comes on a ton of bread, how are these people so skinny?!

- Tapas are usually pre-made and out on the counter for you to see, I wasn't expecting that and it makes it easier when you don't speak the language just to point.

- They all love to eat outside at restaurants, and you have to pay more to eat outside! My guess, they want to smoke since that's still very common here and you can't smoke in restaurants. 

- Albondigas is my new favorite Spanish word, it means meatballs. Once Amy leaves at least I'll be able to order meatballs!

- Penny would definitely fit in here, EVERYONE has a Yorkie, which is a little sad cause I miss mine so much. Also, very few people walk their dogs on a leash, just an observation.

- The other day at our walking tour in Barcelona our guide told us the unemployment rate for the population is 25% (ish I don't remember the exact number but it's in the 20s) and 50% for the younger population. Explains why there are so many people selling knick-knacks on the street and a lot of beggars.

- We have seen several very well dressed beggars. 

That is all for today. It is now 9:30pm, Amy is in the shower and we still haven't gone to dinner, I guess we're getting used to this culture!