At some random point in the not to distant past, we took a quick trip to Barcelona for the purpose of determining if Barcelona might be a place we would like to live. We spent the first day visiting the International schools and the next three walking around the city eating, drinking and pointedly not staring at the massive naked people on the beach. The city is beautiful, the food and wine are outstanding and the naked people are a terrific education on all kinds of levels (yes, child, that is exactly why we do not allow you to have ice cream every day...no, actually, I have no idea what that hanging bit on her back is, and, no, clearly, I don't have anything similar ...).
But, we ultimately decided Vienna was a better fit for us. The notion of moving to Barcelona was driven by the value of learning Spanish as a second (or third, if we can ever get the Chinese past "beginner") language over German. Given that there isn't all that much actual Spanish spoken in Barcelona, right from the start we were at a disadvantage. It's not, by the way, that Barcelonians don't speak Spanish, it's that they prefer Catalan, Catalan is taught in the schools, blah, blah, blah. We knew this going in, but were not going to let a little cultural thing like pride of native language toss us off course.
And, in fact, it was the combination of the schools being kind of average, the city being a bit less safe than we have become accustomed to (Pickpocket Capital of the World is not high on my list of positive attributes), and that it was a bit farther to the ski slopes than we would like, that cemented the decision.
The beach was nice, but it failed to trump the Alps. Tom is going through a phase where he really hates having his photo taken. We keep reminding him that when he is 22, he is going to be all kinds of sad that there are no photos of him from age 8 to 21. So, he's trying. Obviously, trying.
But we liked Barcelona. So I'll share a bit of it with y'all.
First, foremost and, gosh, you just have to see it to believe it, is Sagrada Família. BBC Radio did a story on this cathedral around Christmas time that had me parked in the garage listening in rapt attention. It is impressive to hear and read about Sagrada Familia, but to see it in real life is sublime.
I have swiped a few photos from the internet to try to do this unbelievable structure justice. One of the things that is so striking about it, is that it is smack dab in the middle of the city. So you are strolling along, enjoying the city sites and then, holy guacamole, you are standing in front of this unbelievable structure.
Sagrada Família is a large Roman Catholic church (ha! "large Roman Catholic Church" - isn't that just how you would describe the above??) in Barcelona designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). The original structure was designed by someone else, but Antoni Gaudí took over as lead architect at the age of 31. Gaudí devoted most of his life to the construction of the church, changing the original design drastically. The neo gothic style made way for Gaudí's trademark modernist style, which was based on forms found in nature.
He worked on it tirelessly for over 40 years, living as a virtual hermit in a workshop on the site. When questioned about the slow pace, he is said to have replied, "My client is not in a hurry." Nevertheless, it remained unfinished at Gaudí's untimely death in 1926, when the artist was run over by a tram on the Gran Via.
Work on the project continued after Gaudí's death under the direction of Domènech Sugranyes but was interrupted by the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1935. The building remained intact during the war, but in 1936 many of its models and plans were destroyed by Catalan anarchists, who saw the church as a symbol of the old, conservative religion that had no place in the new Barcelona. Construction began again in the late 1950s and has continued ever since. The current director, Jordi Bonet i Armengol, began using computers for the design and construction process in the 1980s, which has sped up the complicated process considerably. Still, the final stage of the grand Sagrada Familia is not progressing much faster than it did under Gaudi. Estimated completion dates range from 2017 to 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death.
I cannot do this structure justice in this space, but I imagine you get the idea. It is an awe inspiring work of epic proportion that just takes your breath away. Go see it if you can.
And, here for your viewing pleasure, are a few of Jeff's photos.
Simply astonishing, and grand. Really, really, grand.
Tomorrow: The Dichotomy that is Barcelona.
Awesome!!! I've always wanted to visit Barcelona. Since you are not moving there, my trip there has to postpone again.
Posted by: Monica | May 22, 2011 at 05:39 PM