Barcelona

Spanish artists. I never realized how many famous artists were Spaniards until we arrived in Barcelona which is home to the Picasso Museum. Young Pablo spent his formative years in Barcelona before heading to Paris. Salvador Dali' was born in Figures a short train ride from Barcelona. This trip, for me, was all about Gaudi.
Antonio Gaudi was Barcelona's famous Modernist artist who is said to have influenced Dali. While Dali created shocking works of art, Gaudi was an architect who produced buildings that are shocking to this day. Our first stop was to tour the famous Sagrada Familia, a church to which Gaudi devoted 43 years of his life and which they hope to have finished in 2026 to mark the 100^th anniversary of his death.


We purchased our entrance tickets online and printed them at home. We entered the church about 30 minutes before our scheduled tour, and had time to photograph the unusual sandcastle-like exterior and the wildly modern interior. My husband immediately questioned whether our slang word "gaudy" was attributed to the outlandish appearance of works of this artist. The church columns are not straight, but twisted to resemble trees. High above the altar Jesus appears suspended in mid-air beneath an adorned parachute. We quickly learned that the adornments were grapes and sheaths of wheat symbolizing the wine and bread. Throughout the church's design one can find nature, most evident by all of the light that streams through the windows. This is such a contrast to all of the dark churches I had toured in other parts of Europe. The roof even has skylights so that the stars and moon are visible at night.

The guided tour was very worthwhile. Our guide explained much of the symbolism that Gaudi and his successors incorporated into the design. She also explained that construction funds became scarce and parts of the building were damaged a result of the Spanish Civil War. We learned that today's construction is funded solely by the fees earned from visitors, since Spain separates church and state the government cannot contribute to the completion of what is undoubtedly the number one tourist attraction in the city.
After a long, hot day of sightseeing, it was so refreshing to return to the Hilton Diagonal del Mar, our hotel by the sea. We walked over to the beach for a quick dip in the Mediterranean. Back at the hotel, I swam laps in the hotel pool as part of my goal of keeping up my daily workouts while travelling. With the jetlag settling in, all we needed was a light snack and early bedtime our first full day in Barcelona.