When you say you are going to Barcelona, the first thing people say is you HAVE to see the works of Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi is considered to be one of the very best architects of all time. Most of his work was done in Barcelona and the most famous is the Sagrada Familia. Gaudi took over as chief architect of the project in 1883, a year after the project was started. Gaudi transformed the Sagrada to his style and continued work on it until his death in 1926. Now, almost 100 years later, the project is still not completed. It is hoped that it will be done by 2026 - the hundredth anniversary of Gaudi's death. The work is hard to describe other than saying it is typical "Gaudi". Unfortunately, my pictures don't do justice to the work.
Whatever plans and notes Gaudi had for the Sagrada Familia were lost after his death. A lot was lost during the Spanish revolution. Apparently Gaudi worked primarily from models he created. Many of these have been restored and provide the basis for the current work.
The picture on the left shows one of the models. The picture on the right shows the workshop where the models are reproduced and/or created.
We were told that Gaudi took his design inspirations from looking at nature. The pillars in the left most picture remind me of trees. There is a larger trunk and then branches protruding near the top. There are also a number of "decorative" objects that appear to have pictures of animals on them. These can be seen on the "tree trunks" just below where the "branches" start.
Even the windows are done so they have the desired affect when the sun shines through them.
The main altar is unusual. I have never seen anything like the "canopy" or "baldachin" over the figure of Christ. Very dramatic.
A couple more pictures of the outside of this incredible structure.
Following our Sagrada Familia excursion, we went to a small "cheese" shop where we were treated to a sampling of Catalan cheeses. The shop is tucked away in the Gothic quarter and you have to know of its existence to find it. The owner, a Scottish lady, was exceptionally nice and we had a wonderful time.
Pictured below left is Granny being helped into her transport chair by Katherine, the shop proprietor, while Kirsty, our Gourmand Breaks rep holds the chair steady. The center picture shows our selection of cheeses.
Today's lunch was at Vila Viniteca - a gourmet wine and food store. Although primarily wine, we indulged in a sampling of charcuterie and cheeses. Of course we had wine also.
