Gaudi

They thought he was a crazy man in his time, but fast forward to now, and wow all of his works are so visionary, it's hard to put in words what you see.  Even his “failed project” Parc

Guell captures the imagination.

Setting off early, we bus, then metro to Sagrada Familia and as soon as we exit the metro you are met with a sea of people all looking up to the sky admiring the Basilica.  We duck into a dessert shop for coffee and ice cream before our tour starts.

The structure has changed since I was last here.  Last time I was a poor 20 something year old and couldn’t go into the basilica, but this time around we have a tour booked and I can’t find the words to express how amazing the inside is.  Of course the outside with its two sides depicting naivety and death are nothing short of amazing, but to see inside, the size of the main area, the thought that has gone into the stone used to create the “trees” to support all the spires on the roof, the stained glass colouring on each side and how it captures the sunlight at different times of the day is just incredible.  The area for a choir can hold 1200 adults and the kids choir 350 and I can just imagine the acoustics together with the natural and stained glass light illuminating the main area for a surreal experience.

The kids were very impressed with the dragon house, the market area and salamander at Parc Guell, but Sagrada was the ultimate.  Even in the way he died (hit by a tram and no one recognised him so left the “homeless guy to die in a shelter”) just adds to his legend.  He is buried in the Sagrada crypt lit up by candles which feels quite fitting having dedicated his life and money to this magnificent building.

The next day is again a beach day, and more body surfing.  Now everyone is sunburnt but it’s kinda laughable the “burn” and reminds me of NZ sun when I was young.  Having been crammed into this small cabin for days has given us a glimpse that we may be able to survive holidays at the beach in a caravan, and in fact I think we quite enjoyed it.