This first day after the tour we also went down to the beach. It was great weather while we were there, about 75 and sunny. Unfortunately we all forgot our bathing suits but we enjoyed a walk in the water anyways. Here are some pics!
The Roman acquaduct
A tribute to the pillars in the community that support the children. Modern art.
We were on the coast after all! (mussels in balsamic vinegar)
Beach! The sand was actually imported from the Sahara Desert before the 1992 Olympics were held here, and they spend lots of money every year to make sure that the beaches stay nice and sandy as it is now a main attraction. Water wasn't so bad!
The second day we took advantage of another great tour with Chris on bikes. This allowed us to move outside of the old inner city and out into the newer modern areas. Gaudi was the focus of many of our stops for he is responsible for the most incredible works of architecture I've ever seen. The most remarkable piece we saw by him was the Sagrada Familia. Words can't really describe the majesty of this cathedral! The crazy thing is that its not done and may not be for another half a century. Although some have hoping-ly projected that it will be finished on the 100th year anniversary of Gaudi's death - 2021. Here's his works and more from the bike tour!
La Sagrada Familia
There are 3 facades of the church covering the Jesus of Nazareth (his birth/life), the passion (crucifixion), and the glory (depicting heaven, hell, judgement day). The first picture is the life, this side is the passion.
Notice the change from organic shapes to very sharp cuts in the stone. They are all part of the design by Gaudi.
This is part of the glory, still under construction.
When Gaudi came up the idea for the church he went to many people in search of funding and no one was interested. So in order to fund the construction of the Sagrada Familia he designed these luxury apartments and the residents paid for his work. Now the Sagrada Familia alone attracts 3 million visitors per year plus those who come to see his other works.
Another apartment complex by Gaudi to fund the Sagrada. This one is made of human bones, see the skulls in the balconies also?
Okay Gaudi didn't design this, but he laid the duct work for it when he was still studying in the university. Awesome fountain in the park.
Alright just one more thing: the Magic Fountain. This might have been the highlight of the trip for me. If you go to Barcelona, this is top 3. Apparently the times change through out the year but we went around 7pm right when the show was starting and stayed about 2 hours til it was over. Basically the fountains in front of this massive castle are all lit up at night and they play music and change the fountain to it. After a long day of biking and running around, this was just what we weary travelers needed. I'll leave you with these pics. Ciao.
One love,
VA
