Susie sets sail

OMG what an experience......

The Temple Expiantori de la Sagrada Famiia ( the official Catalan name) was high on our ‘to see list’.

Having driven past the Sagrada Famiia on the tour bus and seen the queues we decided to start out early the next day and walk there.

The plan worked we had a short wait to get in however i would have camped all night if needs be to see this most amazing building in progress.

 It is a masterpiece of work by Gaudi and a massive construction  privately funded by private donations and admission charges.

It was started in 1883 and is estimated to be finished in 2027 . Frances del Villar was commissioned to design the  church but resigned a year later when it was handed over to Gaudi. Maybe old Franny realised he’d bitten off more than he could chew.  

Gaudi died in 1926, being run over by a tram but he worked on the project up until his death, it was his passion.

How sad such a talented man should see his end by being run over by a tram.

The work continued however under the direction of Domeneche Sugranes.

The Spanish civil war interrupted work and some damage was caused but work carried on and the building has developed fusing old and new styles.

The design is full of Christian symbolisms and while waiting in the queue i noticed a square grid of numbers, each row adding up to 33, it didn’t take long to work that one out. Jesus was 33 when he died. 

The Church will have three grand facades, the Nativity facade to the East, the Glory facade to the South and the Passion facade to the West.

The Nativity facade was built before work was interrupted in 1935 and bears the most direct influence of Gaudi.

The Passion facade is especially striking for its gaunt, tormented characters. It shows an emaciated figure of Christ being flogged and on the crucifix. It caused a whoo haa and became very controversial.

These designs are that of Joseph Maria Suubirachs.

The Glory facade was started in 2002 and will be the most monumental of the three and will represent one's ascention to God. It will also depict scenes of Hell and Purgatory.

This facade will include elements of the Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Virtues. I've experienced almost all of them at some time or another.

 

This facade shows the life cycle of Jesus from birth to death. Shame i didn't get it all in......hmmmm

Mosaics are used on the huge towers that rise above the city and they too are also symbolic.

The lower towers are surmounted by communion hosts with sheaves of wheat, chalices with bunches of grapes each representing the Eucharist.

These are decorated with mosaic tiles that twinkle in the sunlight.

 

The interior, what can i say! words can't describe the magnificence of the architecture, the feeling of space made me feel like an ant.

          

These stained glass windows cause an amazing reflection of colour throught the building.

I did try and take a pic but unfortunatly i couldn give it justice so i've found this one.

The web address is below if you want to see more.

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1c/Sagrada_Familia_interior

I could go on for pages describing the magnificent building but i won’t,  what i will say is......make it one of your life's ambitions to see it, you won’t be disappointed.

I will definitely return many times over the next few years to see how it’s progressing.

Lynn and i after leaving the Segrada meandered down the streets looking for a lamp shop so i could buy a funnel for an oil lamp. We had seen the shop a few days earlier but i’m afraid it eluded us.

Having given Barcelona a whistle stop tour it was time to move on and back to Mallorca so we could relax before i made my way back to the UK and to my son’s pending marriage to Clair. I'll spend a month at home and i'll write all about the wedding as soon as i have time.

 

 

Barcelona, Flamenco and Opera evening...

Barcelona, Flamenco and Opera............

Well it had to be done and what better place than Barcelona and what better time than my birthday.

If someone had said to me six months ago that i would spend my birthday in Barcelona watching Flamenco and Opera I’d have said ‘I wish’. Well my wish was fulfilled;

My day started by meeting Pauline, hubby John, daughter Suzy and husband and Colin, Belinda and friends for tapas and drinks the ‘YBW Barcelona strain’ of people who lunch. This mid day indulgence went on for several hours however, we dragged ourselves away to get appropriately attired for another night of culture, Flamenco and Opera.

I was taken to see this extravaganza by Bill, Lynn and Carol as a birthday treat. The Theatre was lovely and situated on the Rambla. We had ther best seats, third row from the front and a short group of people sitting in front, ideal. 

Catalan audiences are very animated and join in with cheers of encouragement and sympathy. Whoops, hand clapping and shouts of BRAVO filled the air. The evening was great, full of colour, emotion and the troupe had a good rapour with each other, they were having fun as did we.

                                                                    

We finished off the evening in a lovely little bar before falling into bed.

Barcelona City Tour...

With tickets clutched in our mitts we set out for the first bus from just outside the Marina.

The bus tours are great, with three different routes you can hop on and off at random. We took the blue route first which took us past the Olympic village and through some of the city streets. We  past the Agbar Tower very much like our own Gerkin. The Torre Agbar, or Agbar Tower, is a 38-story tower and marks the gateway to the new technological district of Barcelona,  It was designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel.

At night it's lit up and quite spectacular although rather phalic...hmmm.

 

We stopped and did a change over at Placa de Catalunyato a lovely square with wonderful statues and fountains and a hive of activity. It was now the red rout to take us to Park Guell. The Parc was originally part of a commercially unsuccessful housing site, the idea of Count Eusebi Guell , whom the park was named after. It was inspired by the English garden movement. It's beyond me to understand why this amazing site wasn't successful. I would have given my right arm to have lived in the Parc.

I was really excited about seeing it having read so much about it and seen pics in my book. I had my camera, a spare recharged battery and memory card, there was no way i wanted to be caught short, i actually took over 500 pics.

Only two houses were built, neither designed by Gaudí. As no buyers came forward, Gaudí, at Güell's suggestion, bought the house that was built as a show house and moved in with his family and his father in 1906.

The main entrance is flanked by two beautifully designed houses, you are then confronted with  the main terrace surrounded by a long bench in the form of a sea serpent.

Apparently to design the curvature of the bench Gaudi used the imprint left from a naked woman's buttocks. 

The two buildings at the entrance of the park, not a brilliant photo merge but you can at least get the idea.          

Roadways around the park to service the intended houses were designed by Gaudí as structures merging into  hillside, separate footpaths in arcades formed under these structures were made using local stone in a way that integrates them closely into the landscape.

His structures echo natural forms, with spiral columns  supporting the viaduct branching under the roadway. The  sloping columns  form  perfect compression structures. Gaudi was an amazing architect and engineer. His mind must have worked in multi dimensions. The famous seating area on the terrace was difficult to photograph as it was full of people but the curves here are lovely.

While at the Parc i had a close encounter with a star or was it? While sitting having a coffee and absorbing the sights a rather handsome man caught my eye and i took a few snaps......

Is it or isn't it, i've copyrighted it just in case so...hands off?

It's such a shame this wonderful site wasn't finished however Gaudi did some amazing work there.

The famous  lizard that synonymous with Gaudi was much smaller than I'd imagined it would be however it really drew the people in, every one wanted their pic taken with it. Again it was difficult to capture  without someone being draped over it but i did manage this one.

These columns hold up the area where the circular seating is. The area above here is the equivalent to the village green. A place where people can take advantage of the height to have a panoramic view of the city of Barcelona and there is a great view of the Sagrad Familias towers rising above the city making every thing around  it look very small.

And just so you can get the scale.

Sagrada Familia a wonder in the making.

Artists and musicians were dotted everywhere at each turn you were greeted with gentle music. Gaudi built Parc Guil as a place of peace where people could live in harmony and although his vision wasn't finished the feeling is there. People strolled along and although it was very busy it was also very calm and the music helped to give a tranquil atmosphere.

If i lived in Barcelona i would probably visit  Parc Guil regularly. I'm sure there were parts we missed and it needs further investigation but for today i had to leave it behind.

We walked back to the bus stop to find a long queue so being the canny Brits we are we walked back a few stops. We continued the bus trip around the city and up to Montjuic with it's own panoramic view.

We descended Montjuice winding our way down towards the Marina and home. There's no stopping us and it's out for drinks and tapas this evening and a working out of what we will do tomorrow. We have another day on the bus and more delights awaiting us.