Front of Sasrada Familia.

Today is all about the Sagrada Família, a church started in 1882 and still under construction, It has been given Basilica status.

Antoni Gaudi is the architect and his influence can be seen throughout the entire building. He spent most of the last 43 years of his life on this project. It is spectacular beyond belief and so astoundingly different from the gothic style you would expect from the outside and what we are so used to in Europe. It is also probably the most difficult building to photograph and to portray the scope and space of the building This is certainly worth coming to Barcelona for but book early. The crowds are stupendous.

It is the tallest church in the world at 172.5 metres and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

When you enter the church the first thing that strikes is the light. It is full of colour and light from every angle from all the stained glass windows surrounding the building. The second thing that strikes is the modernist construction in true Gaudi arches style. The third thing is the space. It is massive with its main columns reaching 60 meters to the vault.

That metal screw descending from above is a staircase down from the main tower you can visit.

Where all the blue and green light has come from.

You can’t help but marvel at the creative genius behind the way the stained glass windows have been coloured and positioned to light different areas of the church and the use of light coloured stone in the construction to make the most use of the light.

After the very worthwhile guided tour of the church we visited the museum which you sort of have to do but its mostly about the history of the church, Gaudi’s involvement , and the involvement of subsequent popes.

This is an original bell from the carillon bell tower which houses 84 bells.

Amazing detail in the stone work.

We finally got to go up one of the lesser towers. The main tower was booked out and had a huge line up. Fortunately there is a lift up but it is stairs all the way down. There are a few good views at the top bot overall we found the tower experience underwhelming.

The stairs down are very narrow and single file only with little ventilation. It seemed to take forever.

At least you get a closer look at the towers.

Ceramic decorations atop all the towers.

Finally going down. Single file stone stairs that went on forever.

That’s the last from Barcelona. Tomorrow we head back to the country to a town called Lleida.

I can’t say Barcelona has enchanted us. There is certainly a lot to see and do and mostly we did, but we didn’t find a warmth or connection. Most of the wait staff in both restaurants and shops were disinterested at best. We didn’t see a uniqueness from other major cities. There was no vibe to the place that we could find or experience. Maybe it was the heat, maybe the time of year, but whatever, we are glad we came but probably won’t be back.

David & Collette