We had bought tickets online for the Sagrada Familia before we came to spain. Our guided tour kicked off at 9.15am, so we got up early, headed out for a coffee and pastry at a local bakery, then caught a taxi to the Sagrada Familia. We got there about an hour before our tour started, so we walked around outside taking photos first. The heat of the day hadn't started so it was quite pleasant..
The sheer size of the cathedral blew us away...(I coudn't fit it in on my cellphone!)
A bit of perspective trying to fit a person in and the cathedral as well!
Inside was incredible. The light reflected through the stained glass windows was intense and so beautiful I simply didn't know where to look next! Everything was a work of art, the design the work of a genius.
The stained glass windows were beautiful in their blues, golds, greens and reds...
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The ceiling...
The back of the cathedral...
The altar...
The side view...
We were there for three hours, the guided tour took about an hour, and then we wandered around ourselves. As the sun came around to the west, the light through the stained glass windows got very intense...
This was in the school house also designed by Gaudi. Nikki sitting at the desk taking a break from religious studies and architecture!
Someone kindly took our photo. It was very difficult getting us in, and the background as well.
Weary, hot, footsore tourists taking a break..
After finishing at Sagrada Familia, we caught a taxi to Barceoneta on a friends recommendation and found Can Ramonet. Nikki and I shared a Seafood Paella which was delicious.
It consisted of Prawns, clams, mussels (which were smaller than ours) and some other shellfish I couldn't identify. All washed down with a bottle of spanish Rose.
It was washing day in Barceloneta, which made great photograhy...
We wandered down to the beach, put our feet in the ocean. I couldn't get over how crowded it was all along the coast. My phone battery was dying so couldn't take a photo. We then taxi'd back to the apartment for a siesta as the heat was getting to us all. I charged my phone and worked on a few photos. We then decided to go out for Gelato and coffee. However we never got there. Instead we went to the Gaudi Museum Exhibition next to the cathedral. It was fascinating learning about Gaudi and the genius he was. What blew me away was he way he was able to work out the weight bearing of the columns inside cathedrals by tying weighs on the end of strings, then inverting it. We spent a couple of hours at the museum - the audio gudes not only had headphones, but also a text version one could read - perfect for our hearing loss!
After the exhibition we wanted to see Gaudi's apartment Casa Battlo, but thought it would now be closed. I asked what time it opened in the morning, and we found out that it was open 9am to 9pm. So a split second decision and we caught a taxi up to Casa Battlo as it was only 7pm.
Casa battlo was amazing. I want to live there. Every corner you turned was interesting.
At the end, I sat outside waiting for Nikki and Steven to finish, found the wifi worked, and got a message from Amy, a friend I've corresponded with for many many years. I hadn't realised she was living in Barcelona, so as soon as we finished, we jumped in a taxi and met her outside our apartment. We all then went to dinner at a local restaurant nearby and chatted for a few hours. It was great to see her.
Barcelona has been great, interesting and fun. Two days wasn't enough so I'll have to come back to explore some more sometime in the future. We're picking up our rental car shortly and heading north
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