Barcelona

The best thing about Barcelona is the architecture and art history. The worst thing about Barcelona is the cost of being here. I have spent more money in 3 days in Barcelona than in the other 17 days I've been in Spain! The thing is, they are actually crooks about it. You order a simple meal and they bring bread and olives. As in many places in Spain, this is included in the meal. In Barcelona they have the cheek to add 7€ to your already inflated bill! Lunch one day was a small bocadilla at a sandwich shop, off the main tourist drag. The guy asked me if I wanted cervesa, cola cola or sangria. Naturally I chose sangria. When I got the bill, the sandwich was 8€ and the sangria (glass) was 12€!!!!! I was disgusted and told him so to which he just shrugged nonchalantly.  Anyway, moving on...... Barcelona is a fabulous city, just like everyone said. I booked myself a very small and simple room just off Las Ramblas and it was perfect for what I needed. I met a woman from Denmark on the bus and she ended up staying there as well. The first thing I wanted to do was see the Sagrada Familia and it was even more spectacular than I had imagined it to be. It stands magestically, its 4 spires reaching high to the heavens. I managed to figure out the metro and get myself across town to the Basillica and found that there was a queue of more than an hour. I wavered for a moment, then decided I would do it. Most of the wait was sunny and the wait was so worth it in the end. I stood and stared in awe at the entrance, the Passion facade. In contrast to the highly decorated Nativity Façade, the Passion Façade is austere, plain and simple, with ample bare stone, and is carved with harsh straight lines to resemble a skeleton if it were reduced to only bone. Dedicated to the Passion of Christ, the suffering of Jesus during his crucifixion, the façade was intended to portray the sins of man, provoking a dramatic effect. Gaudí intended for this façade to strike fear into the onlooker. He wanted to "break" arcs and "cut" columns, and to use the effect of chiaroscuro (dark angular shadows contrasted by harsh rigid light) to further show the severity and brutality of Christ's sacrifice, facing the setting sun, indicative and symbolic of the death of Christ. The columns of the interior are a unique Gaudí design, besides branching to support their load, their ever-changing surfaces are the result of the intersection of various geometric forms. The simplest example is that of a square base evolving into an octagon as the column rises, then a sixteen-sided form, and eventually to a circle. Essentially none of the interior surfaces are flat; the ornamentation is comprehensive and rich, consisting in large part of abstract shapes which combine smooth curves and jagged points. Gaudi designed the columns to resemble trees and branches and it really felt as if I was walking into a forest. Constructed between 1894 and 1930, the Nativity façade was the first façade to be completed. Dedicated to the birth of Jesus, it is decorated with scenes reminiscent of elements of life. Characteristic of Gaudí's naturalistic style, the sculptures are ornately arranged and decorated with scenes and images from nature, each a symbol in their own manner. For instance, the three porticos are separated by two large columns, and at the base of each lies a turtle or a tortoise (one to represent the land and the other the sea; each are symbols of time as something set in stone and unchangeable). In contrast to the figures of turtles and their symbolism, two chameleons can be found at either side of the façade, and are symbolic of change. The façade faces the rising sun to the northeast, a symbol for the birth of Christ. It is divided into three porticos, each of which represents a theological virtue (Hope, Faith and Charity). The Tree of Life rises above the door of Jesus in the portico of Charity.  On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudí is said to have remarked, "My client is not in a hurry." When Gaudí died in 1926, the basilica was between 15 and 25 percent complete. The halfway point was marked in 2010, and the church was consecrated by Pope Benedict and is now used for religious service. I went for a bike tour of the city and the day, fortunately was sunny and warm. We started out at Plaza St Jaume where we collected our bikes and met our guides. It was a very good experience as I got to see a lot of the city stopping at various architectural points along the way and ending up at the beach for a drink. A funny thing happened. About three hours into the ride, one of the people in the group rode up beside me and said she had heard I was from BC. She asked me where I was from and, since nobody ever knows where Nelson is, I always say in a small town east of Vancouver. It turns out, she is from Nelson too and I actually know her husband! She was travelling with friends and I did not see her again but it was an interesting encounter. Night bus to Madrid and flight back to Liverpool. I had left a small case at the office of the English immersion program and when I went to pick it up, the office was closed because of a bank holiday and I could not get in. My case is still in Madrid!