Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Go Big or Go Home, I Guess...

When someone makes the commentary about something being "Gaudi", generally they are implying that something is tacky, or a little out there, and usually not used to mean beautiful or appealing.  I never really understood until this very moment as I type this that "Gaudi" is referring to the artist and architect famous for his VERY interesting and unique designs and art forms.  Turns out apparently, that one simply cannot visit Barcelona without visiting some Antoni Gaudi masterpieces.  And considering he seems to have impressed his influnence in most of the city, it's hard not to see his work even if you're not trying.  That being said, there are 2 especially important architectural feats that are so impressive you pretty much need to schedule your visits in advance just to get in.  Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia.

Not very familiar with Barcelona history or culture, we have no idea who this Guell fellow is and aside from having read about it in the latest Dan Brown/Robert Langdon novel, Origin, La Sagrada Familia just sounds like another "big Church".  Not that we don't love visiting parks and churches, definitely do, but just not sure what all the fuss is about.  Even when we checked in, the first question the front desk clerk asked us was if we had pre-scheduled/ordered our tickets to Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia.

So today is the day we see both.  Morning at Park Guell (with guided tour) and Evening at La Sagrada Familia (also with tour guide).  We did notice that La Sagrada is visible from many high points/vistas around the city.  And like most European cities, not a lot of high rises, so she does stand out considerably.  She must be big.  The other churches we seen yesterday, 2 in particular were quite large and impressive, with big towers, etc... But this one, at least from a distance seems to stick out more than anything else.

The Park is situated in the "newer" Barcelona.  Very different from the centre/core of the city of "old" Barcelona.  This part of the city feels just like any other big city.  Wide streets, grid from, very residential.  Park Guell is situated way up on a hill (took the metro and then a complimentary shuttle bus from that station up to the park).  Glad we didn't walk it UP, it was quite a hike (and we're going to do enough of that next week).  There are 2 parts to the park, a "free" section which is made up of paths and stone steps and viaducts, with obviously lots of vegetation and places to sit and views over the city that are just stunning.  The other part is the "monumental area" which is a paid entry as it is a UNESCO heritage site and is being preserved.  A limit of 800 people per hour are allowed in this area.  

You can't see what's in the monumental area from the free area because of the landscaping, but paying to go in and getting a tour is well worth it.  What you find inside is almost impossible to describe with words.  The Park was originally planned to be a "Garden Community" for the Bourgeoisie/very rich families of the late 1800s by Guell, one of the richest men in Spain and Europe.  He owned the land, had a house built there and wanted to build a compound of 60 or so residences overlooking the city.  He hired his friend and famous artist/architect Antoni Gaudi to design/develop it.  Unfortunately for Guell, the "rules" of the plots (house size, requirements for greenery, fence heights etc etc) were too strict for the wealthy of the time and the plots never sold and therefore the community never came to be.  Gaudi did however do a lot of work with the park and was an absolute genius with urban planning.  The ideas, infrastructure and designs that make up the park are mind blowingly innovative for the time. Everything revolved around his love for nature and integrating nature into everything he did. 

From the Park, La Sagrada is about a 30 min walk away (downhill, YAY).  We're already tired from being on our feet so we find ourselves a watering hole and grab a bite, and more sangria, before continuing on.  

Walking down the street towards it, it's interesting because it's very normal.  Again, just a regular, residential community, you can't see the building from there and you're thinking to yourself, where is it?  Until... HOLY JESUS MARY AND JOSEPH - THERE IT IS!!!  You get to the corner and it just comes into view and words simply cannot describe what you see.  We've seen many churches, important ones (St Peter's, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, San Marco, Duomo and on and on and on...) but this... This is something on a scale never before seen.  It is THE BIGGEST, most INSANELY OVERWHELMING building I've ever seen.  It took me a few moments to catch my breath and then pick my jaw up off the ground.  Hopefully the pictures help, but I know for certain they cannot do it justice and cannot even give you a hint of how big this baby is.  It's like a castle out of a faire tale, like the Beast's castle in Beauty and the Beast... Or Hogwarts!  In the middle of city.  Not the old, gothic part with all the churches, no, in the middle of the "new" Barcelona, surrounded by apartments buildings and schools.  

I'm not going to go into detail about all of it, there is simply too much detail and it was a 2 hour tour just to give us a glimpse of what this building was designed to represent.  And from seeing the outside, you know that the inside is going to be something akin to magic.  

I"m not sure what blew my mind and took my breath away more, the outside with the sheer majesty of it and detailed carvings, or the inside with the breadth and brightness and colourfulness of it.  The stained glass is simply stunning with the sun shining through, the vaulted ceilings are so high you get a sore neck from looking up.  Every inch of this building has a purpose and a meaning.  EVERY INCH.  It is truly one of the most impressive things I have ever seen.  Some of the artistic choices are...interesting...and perhaps subject for debate, but that in it's own way is fitting in this buildings that has so many styles and influences incorporated throughout.  The fruits on the roof however remain a mystery.  Why fruits?  On the roof?

Gaudi was the major architect on this project early on.  To date they have been working on it for approx 150 years and it's still not done.  They are pushing to have it completed by 2026 which will be the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death.  Seeing how much work they still have to do, it's hard to believe they will get it done in time, but miracles can happen and I really hope they can pull it off.  When all is said and done, they will hold mass there regularly and at full capacity they expect it to hold 8500 people.  That is NOT a typo.  

La Sagrada Familia means the Holy Family - Jesus, Mary and Joseph.  This architectural and artistic masterpiece is dedicated to their story.  And whether you are Catholic or not, this is a testament to what man can do when the passion and purpose is there.  Yes it is a building covered in religious symbolism, but in a way it's almost secondary, it is the majesty of the creation itself that brings people from all over the world to admire and enjoy it.  It is truly one of the most impressive man made things I have ever seen.  Dad would have loved this day and probably would have exhausted the tour guide by asking a million questions about how it was built.

Also there was a tower climb... It was very very VERY high and a very narrow and windy decent.  Even having done many, it was a little unnerving.  It was an elevator to the top, but lack of railing and a hollow centre made for a very nerve challenging decent.    Also, serious props to the people who are still working on this and making it even taller.  Someone has to dance around up there and keep building it up.  Just the thought of it makes me queezy...

And an interesting footnote - we coincidentally did our mandatory Gaudi day on the 93rd anniversary of his death - June 10th, 1926.  As a result, I have a new found appreciation for this man's interesting art and architecture and it creates a new meaning for me now when I hear or use the phrase "Is that ever Gaudi!"