“The Bible written in stone” is how some describe the Basilica of Sagrada Familia, or Holy Family. Antoni Gaudi spent the last 46 years of his life on this masterpiece, knowing it would not be finished in his lifetime. The current timeline has it being completed by 2026, the 100 year anniversary of his death.
Seeing the tall construction cranes overhead working to complete the 300 foot and the final 500 foot towers on the outside, I did not realize that the inside had been finished for almost a decade. Walking through the story of Christ, from his birth (the Nativity facade), to his death (the passion facade), and through his life and resurrection (the Glory facade) was inspiring. All of this is told in stone on the outside and on the inside it is bright as being outside on a sunny day. It is unlike any church or cathedral in the world. Gaudi believed God was most accessible and seen through nature and so inside he created a forest of colums that branch out to the spires, and there are curves and organic forms throughout. The doors even have bugs among in the metal flower petals. All of this inside is bathed in such wonderful light it is awe inspiring and appropriately puts one into a more reflective and spiritual state.
We could have spent all day enjoying the love and care and attention that has gone into creating such a beautiful place.
Siri and I actually did come back the next morning, on New Year’s Day, to participate in their daily international mass held in the oldest and more traditional part of the church, the crypt, which is actually a chapel under the altar. We appreciated taking part in the spiritual aspect of this place, since in the main church above can be overly crowded since it is one of the most visited sites in Barcelona and is harder to fully appreciate its true purpose. The service was a more intimate gathering with all of the familiar Catholic mass rituals. We were impressed that during the service, they spoke Latin, Catalan, (the local Barcelona language), Spanish, English, Italian, French, and German. The first reading was in Catalan, the second in Spanish, and the gospel was in English. We even sang our hyms the same way. All three of the priests spoke several languages and guests were asked to read the prayers of the faithful in their own languages which also added to the welcoming feeling. We lit a candle in front of Mary as we left.
As is often the case, no photos can fully describe the feeling of being in this sacred place. There are so many details and stories to be shared another time. It was fitting to start our journey here and convenient that our house is only two blocks away. It makes us all feel a bit more connected to this place, like we are part of this neighborhood, even if only for a short while. We can also spot the church spires from most anywhere in the city, so we always know where we need to go to come home.
We are trying to eat like we live here, so for the afternoon meal, which is supposed to be the largest, we had our first paella, a traditional rice and usually seafood dish. We enjoyed (?) the very messy process of taking the shells of the large prawns.
Barcelona is third most popular tourist site behind London and Paris. Having just left Paris, we were trying to find ways to enjoy the culture and place, and not just do the “checklist” of sites. It is hard to do sometimes since their are so many people everywhere also wanting to see and do the same things. We have found doing some free walking tours of cities is one way to often break up the notching the belt and hear from usually a local about their city.
Paulo was our guide for the afternoon and he provided a great historical background of the city, the region and Spain. We got off the main pedestrian street and headed into the windy and easy to get lost in Old City as he crammed 2000 years of history in under three hours. Found out that Barcelona was settled by the poorer, lower class Roman soldiers, so their local language, Catalan, has the same Latin roots like Spanish today, but it came from a coarser version and so there are many words which have diverged. They are proud of this history and have even recently protested to be independent. Throughout the City, the yellow and red banded flag of Catalonia is flown proudly and a slightly modified version which includes a white star on a blue triangle on top is the flag for independence. These are also displayed proudly next to a yellow ribbon to signify their support of release of their inprisoned leaders who they call political prisoners and the state calls traitors.
Afterward, we find a place on the beach for dinner and Bob is excited to try the squid,which he tells us was excellent.
After a long day, we decide to play cards and chat at our house to ring in the new year, instead of heading out to the main square. We do all eat our 12 grapes (one at each toll of the bell) and drink down the local cava (sparkling wine). Note to self, next time be sure to purchase seedless grapes.
Happy New Year to all.
Siri and David Adventures 