The Sagrada Familia... and the beach!

ohhhhhhhhhh my... this cathedral litterally blew me away.. So big, beautifull and filled with details a real master piece of architectural genius that should be completed in 30 years. We promised ourselves to come back then to visit the completed treasure of Barcelona! By then, I should be 60 years old and hope to be able to make it to the top once again! =)

The first stones of the Sagrada Familia were build in 1882 by Francisco De Paula Del Villar who was shortly after replaced by Gaudi in 1883. From then on, this master piece was Gaudi's biggest project on which he worked (not only this one) until his death (1926) when he was hit by a tramway... Gaudi used many new and ingenius technics to build the Sagrada Familia (cathenaires) that was later given the name of "the church of the poor" as it was only financed by donations.

Even today, all tourist admission fees to the cathedral serve to continue its construction as Gaudi had wished it to be. The work still being done on the cathedral is largely based on Gaudis plans and "maquettes" which should give an awesome result based on what I have seen.

Gaudi once again used many elements from nature for this cathedral. The amount of details found on both faces (the nativity facade and the passion facade) are unbeleivable. A day can easily be spent just searching for elements and trying to understand its meaning. The textures, materials, shapes, lights, movements makes this monument grandiose and gives you the feeling it will touch the sky... It is so majestuous it makes you feel like a grain of sand! Really, a must in Barcelona everyone coming here should take the few hours to visit it!!

The same day (to relax from all the above emotions), we went to spend the afternoon at the beach on the Costa Brava.

Yes, we could of went to Barceloneta beach that is a few minutes from our appartment but it is filled with tourists and not so nice. We felt more exotic and drove 1h to meet with a friend that just so happen to be on this quiet and pretty beach of Canyelle! The sun was shinning and again it was 36C and the water was warm (26C)! The sand was pretty nice and so was the scenary. We enjoyed some local sangria (humm so much better than in Montreal) and many plates of tapas... Did I mention I love tapas??!! well, I seriously do =)

We relaxed for the rest of the day on this beautifull beach and planned our next day's excursion: Barcelona shopping!!! Now.. will I max out my credit cards?? You can place your bets!

To be continued...