{Spain} Antoni Gaudi’s Basilica of The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona

{Leap Day Edition – #RTWdinnerparty}

Not only is today a leap day (February 29th), it is also special because we’re having a virtual get-together with some of our awesome travel friends through a concept known as #RTWdinnerparty, hosted by our friends Ted & Bethany over at Two Oregonians. We basically publish a post introducing ourselves – “Meet and mingle”, share a little about what we’re bringing to the digital dinner table – “dinner specialty” and share stories from the road – “table talk”. We hope you enjoy our contribution of the dinner party this time around. Read on…

{Meet and Mingle} For those of you who don’t know us, we’ve been traveling together as a couple for many many  years now. We both have day jobs (we are engineers in the software world) and we squeeze every drop of vacation days and public holidays we get in a year to travel the world. We started Idelish because we wanted to share our travel experiences, inspire others to travel and share our photography with our readers! More about us here.

{Dinner Specialty} For dinner, we are bringing a main dish of piping hot Genghis Khan style mutton grilled on charcoal! This cuisine was mentioned to us by our cab driver in Sapporo, Japan through our broken Japanese conversational skills! Check out pictures of the food here!

{Table Talk} With the end of the holiday season, we’re now in a long slog of public holiday-less weeks and months until May! So today, we’d like to share and reminisce on our recent trip to Barcelona in January. Our highlight of the trip was our visit to the Sagrada Familia. So we thought we’d share our experience, photos and thoughts below. Enjoy!

Antoni Gaudi.

If you don’t already know who he is, you will undoubtedly be in awe of his work after a visit to Barcelona!

He is today considered one of the most talented architects in history and his works – seven of which have been made World Heritage Sites by UNESCO – are hailed as one of the greatest universal architectural masterpieces the world has seen.

Antoni Gaudi dedicated 43 years of his life to the creation of his last and greatest work of art – the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia.

Antoni Gaudi – nicknamed “God’s Architect” envisioned and designed an architectural masterpiece that has been under construction for 130 years. It is expected to be complete in 2028 (funded through donations and ticket sales from visitors).

Look at the top! Is it not true that it seems to unite Heaven and Earth? This burst of mosaics is the first thing sailors will see when approaching Barcelona; It will be a radiant welcome. ~ Gaudi

He knew he wouldn’t see the completion of the Sagrada Familia, so he left behind detailed designs that would ensure the structure could be completed after his death. During the last years of his life, he moved into and lived in the study of Sagrada Familia that was not yet completed. That was how dedicated he was to the project. Sadly, he was run over by a tram in 1926 and died 3 days later, 15 days short of his 74th birthday.

Till today, the construction of this church has yet to be completed. It has been going on for more than 130 years and is expected to only be completed in the year 2028.

The Nativity Facade

We were in a bus when we went past this structure for the first time. I remember thinking, “the front of this church looks like it’s melting!”. Later we learned that we were looking at the Nativity Facade of the church that represented life. It is this side of the church that you’ll see the more human and familiar side of Jesus.

The Nativity Facade facing East is the first glimpse of the church that we got as we passed by on a bus. I remember thinking to myself “the front of the church looks like it’s melting!”

Closeup of the front of the Nativity Facade. It was windy and cloudy on the day we were there, so we weren’t allowed to go to the top (stairs were closed).

Needless to say, you’d be among the thousands of visitors at this site when you visit. So be patient as you take turns to take photos of the structure.

The Passion Facade

In contrast to the vitality, joy and warmth portrayed by the Nativity Facade that represented Life, the Passion Facade conveys feelings of sadness and suffering. In 1911, Gaudi was recovering from a serious illness himself. Inspired by his own pain, he dedicated this time of his life to planning this facade.

The Passion Facade (located at the opposite end of the structure, facing West) conveyed feelings and representations of sadness and suffering, in contrast to the Nativity Facade which represented life, joy and vitality. Here, Pilate – the Roman prosecutor – is shown sitting next to Ecce Homo.

The Passion Facade is devoid of ornamentation. It is plain, simple, bare and carved with harsh straight lines – dedicated to the Passion of Christ, the suffering of Jesus during his crucifixion and to portray the sins of man. Here, Peter’s Denial is depicted where the apostle sorrowfully hides his face after having denied Christ 3 times.

The Flaggelation of Christ.

The Sudoku-like columns and rows of 4 contains numbers that adds up to 33 (horizontally, vertically and diagonally). It’s known as “Subirachs’ Square”. 33 represents the age of Jesus Christ at the Crucifixion.

The Inside

As you walk into the church, it feels like you are walking into a futuristic forest. Pillars resembling trees, lights and skylights resembling sunlight breaking through the forests’ canopy. Only way to describe the feeling is “surreal”!

Inside Sagrada Familia in HDR. It was like walking into a futuristic forest. The pillars resembled trees in a forest. Lights and skylights resembled sunlight peeking through the forests’ canopy!

With so many tourists, it will be difficult to take pictures without having people show up in your shot. A tip is to angle your camera up slightly above everyone’s heads so you get a shot of the structure as shown above!

We just couldn’t get enough of this view!

Don’t forget to look straight up! There are numerous amazing views no matter where you’re standing!

Unfortunately, it was too windy so we were not allowed to go up the spiral stairs you see here to the top. So plan your visit accordingly if you want to go to the top (e.g. check at the ticket counter and check the weather).

Intricate details adorn the inside of Sagrada Fanilia.

Completed stained glass windows

To be completed stained glass windows.

There are still incompleted sections of the structure inside the Sagrada familia. Here, you see the unfinished stained glass windows.

The Sagrada Familia is a MUST visit when you are in Barcelona.  See it under construction and then see it again after it is completed in 2028. Even if you are not catholic, not an architectural enthusiast, you will still be awed and inspired by this masterpiece.

We leave you with a quote from Gaudi himself…

There is no reason to regret that I cannot finish the church. I will grow old but others will come after me. What must always be conserved is the spirit of the work, but its life has to depend on the generations it is handed down to and with whom it lives and is incarnated. ~ Gaudi

Have you been to Sagrada Familia? What did you think of it? 

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