la sagrada família: revisited

so i went back to la sagrada família on tuesday with my friend natalia. we met at about 10:30am, in la plaça catalunya, as always. from there we took the metro to la sagrada família and waited in line for 20 minutes. it honestly wasn't that bad. 

in the early moments of standing there, in the oven and the sunlight, with the sweat flowing down our backs and faces, we thought that if the line didn't move quickly enough, we'd just have to give up. but why...how could you give up on something after waiting for it for a while? after suffering such torture, you can't just give up. 

thankfully, we didn't need to endure much because the line moved quickly. we got the tickets, and gladly waltzed inside of the sacred family. and it was SO beautiful. and so different. 

most, if not all, of the cathedrals i've ever been in have been really old. they have had a lot of history. westminster abbey type history. and i really appreciate that. there is so much to think about, to feel, and to soak in when one is in such a lovely old place. 

at the same time, new cathedrals are almost equally amazing. they are big, spacious, and new. there is no history there yet, but oh boy there probably will be! just think...when it's completed princes and princesses, dukes and duchesses will be wed there. famous people will be interred there. hundreds of thousands of people will visit it during any given week, or month, or whatever. i almost feel, since i was in it before it was even completed, that i kind of own a part of it. i've seen it as a young child getting it's feet on the ground. or getting it's feet wet? which ever it is. 

so, without further ado, here are some pictures and infos (sic). 

firstly and secondly, get a load of the pillars and the roof. natalia and i didn't read any of the signs, so we just made up meanings for things. i think we were dead on. 

we noticed that the pillars were different colors. then we noticed that the deeper into the cathedral they were, the darker they were. the more obscured they were. the more forest-like it was. knowing that gaudí was inspired by nature, we readily assumed that the pillars were like a forest (or in spanish, un bosque. all this talking and hanging out was done in spanish, don't forget). once we paid more attention to the ceiling, it made even more sense. 

the ceiling

see how the pillars branch off and become smaller, and more spread out? i know, it's gorgeous! it is kind of elven as well. i could see galadriel wanting to live here for...a few hours. maybe. she may want to pull a kate on us and plant some trees in there to nature-it up a bit. also, notice how the ceiling is bright, and has openings to the outside world, letting in the sunshine? it reminds me of when the dwarves and bilbo are lost in the forest near legolas' daddy's house. sorry to wax to tolkien-esque on you all. my point is, it was pretty. 

stinking. 

awesome. 

the stained glass was also awesome, but in a different way. it wasn't old and crumbling, but rather fresh, vivacious, and modern. it wasn't ornate, but simple. see....i love this paradigm of the old and the new.  

staircase

the new entrance. the writing is the passage about the passion of Christ, written in catalán. 

one of the doors

sculptures depicting Christ's death...

...and surrounding events.

i liked, to a certain extent, how this entrance portrayed so much in the carvings, the statues and the writing on the doors. it was nice to see. also, i kind of like this style of architecture. it looks a little like oven bake clay, that someone bent into forms but still managed to keep some of the squareness of the edges of the clay. it's also nice and clean, and opposed to....

a different side of the church, designed by gaudí. 

this, by gaudí. this is so ornate, crazy and intriguing. 

at the end of the day, i'm not sure which style i enjoy most. possibly the newer one. but i could see myself getting tired of it, while the older stuff would stay interesting for a lot longer. it may be creepy though (sorry, i'm imagining living there!). moving on. 

well, after la sagrada família, we went and ate a somewhat early lunch...natalia chose, and so we went to mcdonalds. i got a big mac...i never eat those, but it was great. also a coke. but get this: the big mac was about 6.45 euros (that's more than $10). 

yeah, food can be expensive here. 

well, i leave terrassa for my flight home in about four or five hours. i think i'll try to get some rest! 

parc de sant jordi

awesome building at the park

el parc de sant jordi is just two or three blocks from the house here. i have only been there twice, but when i went on monday, i made sure to take a few pictures. the boys and i ate breakfast there (yogurt and oatmeal digestives), then we went to play. unfortunately, pablo was jumping off of a step and cut his hand, so i spent an hour occasionally rinsing it off in the fountain and sitting with him while daniel was playing around. eventually ximena came and meet us there and we went back to the house for lunch and a lazy afternoon. here are some pictures of the building and park :)

it just sits there, looking stately

the sun was so bright...

josh

ah, yes. 

whenever i see statues, like the one above, i think of my brother josh. he was all over england, and in a few places here in spain. i can't explain it, and it doesn't make much sense. but there it is. there is my brother josh. he is noble and strong, like the statue. my other brothers are too, but not in such a historic and classical sense.

la playa y paella

last friday we all headed to the beach. let it be said that it was a huge ordeal. we left home around 11:30 or 12. if we had gone by car (which we couldn't have) it would have taken less than an hour. we went by bus and train, so it took about 3 hours. then, once we were there, we had to eat some more. so we stopped somewhere and got some paella. i am glad i tried it, but honestly, it's too seafoody for my tastes. i prefer the non-seafoody seafood, such as squid, scallops and non-fishy fish. anyway, i did get a kick out of the restaurants' menu: it translated boquerones fritos as "fried kinds of anchovy", and sardinas plancha as "sardines it he irons"(it should have been like, fried sardines or something). obviously, they couldn't decide who was ironing the sardines, so they put both "it" and "he". 

funny menu-english

paella 

after we ate, we went down to the shore. it was a really pretty day, but just not quite hot enough to want to swim. it was nice and breezy. the water was...cold. i felt like a floridian saying that it was cold, but i guess when florida is the place you know when it comes to beaches, you can't help it. it felt good to wade in the water though, and feel it's saltiness on my legs. it reminded me of when we'd swim in the mediterranean back in the mid 90s. i mostly sat and chatted with rubén's cousin, laura. i really don't remember what we talked about it, but we talked about it for close to an hour. then we packed up, ximena did some shopping, and we headed home. we got back around 1 am, grabbed random food for supper and went our separate ways.

train ride from beach to barcelona

i think i'm running out of things to say. good thing i'm going home tomorrow. yes, i leave at seven in the morning to catch a metro and bus to the airport. i just weighed my almost-packed bag and it's only 44 lbs. this means that i can go buy something that weighs up to 5 lbs. YES! 

what, what?

this morning, i arrived at the breakfast table dressed for church, feeling good.......

then i looked at my plate.

there were about five or six shaped pieces of what looked like meat on my plate. they were almost shaped like three-dimensional triangles. i tried to primly pick up my knife and fork and proceeded to cut one of the specimen in half. it looked like funny meat to me. 


then i ate it.

then i knew that it was definitely not beef. obviously not chicken. possibly pork? the test came back negative. after a few more moments, a crazy thought struck me. what if it was...liver? GULP. 


then i realised that it was.

i had never seen liver before. i'd never eaten liver before. but it had a distinct taste about it...as if it were saying, "hey lady, i'm not meat. i taste funny. you don't like me, do you? and i have a funny shape. do i remind you of an organ?"

then eating that breakfast on the beautiful sunday morning got harder. much harder.

i managed to get through it though, mostly due to the fact that i had a big mug of a cold chocolate milk type drink by my side, waging war with me most wonderfully.

then i googled a picture of liver, just to be sure.

and yes. i ate liver. a bunch of liver, for breakfast, here in spain.


my world has changed forever. and no, i don't like liver.

"i'm feeling very olympic today"

and so, here come my favorite pictures of my favorite places so far. actually, one place is my favorite. only one, folks. this one:

palau sant jordi (saint george's palace)

: the olympic park built for the 1992 summer games in barcelona. the two pictures above and below are from there, and so as you can see, if you have any eyes, this place is stunning. below is the olympic stadium, where the track and field events were held. also i believe soccer, and other sports like long jump were there. i'm just guessing though, so don't take my word for it. inside the stadium was pretty cool...it was mostly a sea of empty white seats. i think i loved it so much because the whole place seemed to be remembering all the athletes that had been there years ago. it was dead quiet. besides natalia, carolina and i there were only a couple of people. as we were leaving i saw an asian lady standing by the railing, having her picture taken. as it seemed rather special, i found my mind suddenly imagining that she was a former olympic athlete who was returning to barcelona to relive her glory days, to relive the moment when she crossed the finish line first. the fastest lady in the world. 

but she was probably just a tourist. 

so yes. there were hardly any people there. we walked outside, sat by the water, took pictures, the whole nine yards. and we saw maybe one or two people. funny, because one of those was in my way when i was trying to take a picture. in all that space out there, the one person i ran into was in my way. hilarious! 

after hanging out, seeing a view of the city and whatnot, we went back to catch the bus back down to la plaça espanya. ah yes, remember, this is part two to the previous post, "in the shadows of tall buildings".

estadi olimpic

once we were there, we went to las arenas, the former bullfighting arena. it was recently converted into a shopping and eating mall. we went inside, up the escalators, and walked around the outside top of the building. basically, there was a pretty good view of the nearer parts of barcelona. i saw joan miró's park, from afar. i think i have a picture, so that kind of counts as going there.
one thing i like about barcelona is that on three sides of the city, there are views of mountains, usually with a church on top of them. the other side is the sea, so no mountains there.

once we went back into the mall, we walked around for a while before getting an ice cream. there were so many good looking flavors, and the heat of the day was begging me to get the lime one. but i went for the nutella and coffee. it was great! i eat nutella ice cream at home sometimes...it's just kind of the thing to do, i'd say.

la plaça espayna

then we went outside, and walked up all the flights of stairs to el museu nacional d'art catalunya. carolina and i were talking about "the office", so we tried to explain it to natalia. "it's about daily life in an office...with a boss", "he's always joking and mean to people", "but he really likes them all", etc. it's kind of one of those things you need to watch for yourself. words don't work.

museu nacional d'art de catalunya

we arrived at the top rather hot and sweaty, but alive for all that. we sat down and enjoyed the view. during the night on thursdays-sundays there is a marvelous fountain and lights show here. unless i stay in town tomorrow to hang out with people, i'll not be seeing that. but it was pretty enough in the daytime, i'd say.

view from the museum 

after that, we went back to las arenas, to buy some snacks, and then catch a metro and bus to the beach. we found a bench and sat and ate and drank for the next little while. we headed out at eight o'clock, met the family in la plaça catalunya at nine, and went home. during the metro ride, "cathedrals" was stuck in my head, and playing on my ipod. it seemed to sum up by day nicely. by the time we arrived, i was tired, my feet sore, and my shoes worn thin. i think we grabbed some food and showered and headed to bed. which for me, means staying up reading, talking to my parents and friends, and watching something until two or three in the morning. so that day, my dearies, was probably my favorite so far (maybe because starbucks was included, and olympics. can't go wrong with those two).

statue-guy and i 

barcelona beach

in the shadows of tall buildings

el barrio gotico

natalia and carolina in la plaza reial

on wednesday morning i caught the metro into barcelona to meet some friends at 9:30 in la plaza cataluña. natalia is the daughter of one of the pastors here, and carolina is her cousin and lives in canada. first we walked down las ramblas (one of the main streets), then turned off into el barrio gotico. there we just walked, took pictures, and went inside several gorgeous cathedrals. after a hour or so we stopped at a starbucks to get some refreshments. it was so hot out, and i was so in need of caffeine that i got myself a nice mocha frappuchino. i've had barely any caffeine here, so that frappe tasted delicious. after that, we went back to the walking. we went to the cathedral of barcelona, the cities most famous cathedral. unfortunately, the sun was sort of behind it, so it was difficult to get a picture. the inside was really pretty...it was like any other of the cathedrals we had seen that morning, only more so. 

cathedral of barcelona

i love the amount of awe and humility the vaulted arches and ceilings instill in me. this was cultivated in england last year, and has grown over the winter and spring. now when i leave a cathedral i feel something intangible tugging me, trying to keep me inside. with the peace of the silent stones and stained glass.

cathedral of barcelona 

here are some random cathedral pictures...either i don't remember or i didn't hear the names of these cathedrals. the names aren't too important though. they are all gothic period, in el barrio gotico, and gorgeous.

after finishing up with the cathedrals, we made our way through some more streets. we went to a few more plazas. we stepped inside a few more stores. actually, we spent quite a bit of time trying to find a barcelona soccer shirt/jersey for my nephew. the men in the stores would, of course, name ridiculous amounts for little imitation shirts. i finally got one though....it may be official, it may not be. but i have it and it's worth the peace. i hope.

one of the plazas we went, la plaça de sant jaume, was where the government buildings are. on one side is someone's house and offices, and on the other side is the other persons. i don't remember who they are though! maybe the city and province "mayor" type people? something like that. in that plaza, as in many around spain, there were protestors.

after that, woo-hoo, we walked some more! we went towards the mediterranean sea, away from the mediterranean sea. we walked into gardens and out of gardens, past colleges, and finally arrived at the arc of triumf. the arc (below) is a copy of the arc de triomphe, in paris. and no, it's not quite a copy...the one in paris is white. it's bigger. it's different. the same thing happens all the time with other buildings. there's the original bridge of sighs in venice, italy, and then there's the one in oxford. there the real parthenon in greece, and there's the copy in nashville.

anyway. so after we took pictures--oh, by the by. since about noon that day my camera's almost dead battery light had been coming on and off. once it even turned off after 2 seconds and said "replace batteries". that camera lasted me through parks, through the arc, and through the rest of the day. 8 more hours of taking pictures with it, as it continually threatened to die on me. i don't really know why that happened, but it was amazing!

arc of triumf

after the arc of triumph, we went to natalia's house for lunch, because it was just a few blocks away. they live in about a 100 year old apartment building. it's pretty cute, and i think rather spacious considering the location. walking up all the flights of stairs reminded me of living in the apartment in israel when i was 5. i'll never, ever forget those stairs. they. never. ended. and if you were carrying something, maybe a stuffed animal (a lamb for example), it was worse. 

so, we arrived at the house, washed up a little, and ate a nice lunch. the family is...surprise surprise, colombian, so it was colombian food. i seem to be a colombian magnet. the food was yummy and for postres (dessert) we had fruit. the dad comes home for lunch, so after we'd eaten he went to have his siesta. the wife soon joined him and we set out again. this time, we took the metro up to la plaza españa, and i'll leave you there now, contemplating...oh i don't know, contemplate something. i'll post some lyrics, that may help. hmm....ok, "cathedrals", by jump little children. here's a video too, if you want to hear it. thanks, cheers, bye. 

______________________________________

In the shadows of tall buildings

Of fallen angels on the ceilings

Oily feathers in bronze and concrete

Faded colors, pieces left incomplete

The line moves slowly past the electric fence

Across the borders between continents

In the cathedrals of New York and Rome

There is a feeling that you should just go home

And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is

In the shadows of tall buildings

The architecture is slowly peeling

Marble statues and glass dividers

Someone is watching all of the outsiders

The line moves slowly through the numbered gate

Past the mosaic of the head of state

In the shadows of tall buildings

Of open arches endlessly kneeling

Sonic landscapes echoing vistas

Someone is listening from a safe distance

The line moves slowly into a fading light

A final moment in the dead of night

a gaudí day

view from the upper part of park güell

on monday, ximena and the kids and i went to barcelona, to park güell (or parc güell in catalan). it is a big area that count güell wanted to convert into a housing site. i think he got his idea from the english garden city movement, but it wasn't successful. there are only three houses there now; none of which were built by gaudí. i thought they were though, so i'll have to research a bit more, because it's not really making sense. at any rate, gaudí did design a huge, double terrace and a long walkway around the park. i really enjoyed seeing everything there, even though it was a hot day. and actually, here in spain being in the shade probably shaves 10 degrees off of the "feels like" temperature, so if we were in the shade it was lovely. 

park güell and barcelona and the mediterranean sea

throughout the park, there were people selling things. it's actually really funny. these guys, usually african, lay out pieces of fabric and place their items on them to sell. however, since that is illegal, they are always ready to high tail it if a cop shows up. often times things like purses, movies, etc are tied onto the fabric so they can just grab it and run. in a shady section of the park, there was a band playing some music. i think they were pretty good, but we didn't stop to listen to them. there were also random guys throughout the park playing guitar, with their own cds sitting on their guitar case so people could but a cd. way towards the top of the park, where the view is excellent, there was a guy playing christian song that he'd written. 

some of gaudí's mosaics on the upper plaza

in the upper plaza, it was hot and sunny, but breezy. it was packed with people contorting their bodies to get just the right picture. i guess that i don't quite have a picture of the upper plaza. with good cause: my camera was dying. in fact, it's been dying ever since. it may very well be part cat, considering all the lives it seems to have. 

in the lower plaza, it was cool, shady and breezy. it was very crowded there as well, though thankfully the people didn't get into these pictures. the ceiling was all mosaic, with brighter, more colorful sections every so often. the columns in the plaza made it feel like a big hall or cathedral. almost like the mines of moria, but not quite so grand. since nature was gaudí's inspiration, maybe this plaza was inspired by a honeycomb. when i look at this, i just think "honeycomb". the next thought is "locusts", but john the baptist doesn't really have anything to do with this park. 

the mosaicked ceiling of the lower plaza

lower plaza

below are a couple of pictures of the walkway. it almost looked like a retaining sort of wall, but i was told it was built just to cover the walkway. i love how natural it looks and how it provides shade. if you're into rocks and that sort of thing. personally, i'd prefer tree covered walkway with some flowers or something. it would be a neat running path though, considering the shade-factor. 

pillars over walkway

walkway

below is the gaudí museum. although it was his house, he designed the furniture inside only, and not the building. unfortunately, we didn't go inside. the outside is nice too though...it is called "la torre rosa", the rose tower. it has a couple of precious little balconies, plus the tower. who wouldn't want balconies and towers in their house? 

gaudí's house

haha, not gaudí's work, but God's

la sagrada família

la sagrada famíla

the sagrada familia is the most famous thing to see in barcelona. and that's because it is infamous for taking so long in being built. it was started in the 1880s and still is unfinished. there's no telling how much longer this project is gong to take, because it is being paid for by the public, so if there aren't funds, there isn't progress. the part on the right, which is also darker, was designed by antoni gaudí, a native catalan (like mercedes from the count of monte cristo). he left fingerprints all over barcelona. there are many houses, gardens, and random things that he designed. he took most of his inspiration from the natural surroundings.

yes, the water is an ugly green. 

so anyways, after church on sunday the family and i went to see la sagrada família. i didn't know we were going to go, so i didn't have my camera ('weep with those who weep' queue). the family had theirs though, so i have a few pictures to share. i really liked the building. it was so big and different. i was in england last year with my sister and saw some amazing cathedrals and buildings. they were all very proper and i loved them. la sagrada familia is crazy. it has fruit on it, that's painted. it has hunks of rock that seem to just stick out in all directions. it has at least a few distinct architectural designs and influences. it may not be proper, but it is pretty. from the hills on the outskirts of the city, one can see it's steeples jutting up out of the sea of neighborhoods and streets (pictures of that, by the way, are coming soon). i didn't get to go inside of the building, but it's not done yet, so hopefully i'll be back in the future...when it's finally done! i have a feeling that it will be quite a big deal when it's completed, after who knows how many scores of years.  


we walked around most of the sides of the building while we were looking for somewhere to eat. we went down a street and after 10 minutes or so arrived at a...*drumroll*...colombian restaurant. i looked at the menu, and as good as it all looked, i just wanted a cuban sandwich. it was lunchtime and by george, i was gonna eat a sandwich. it was a good choice--one of the best sandwiches i've ever had. the bread was perfect. then there was chicken, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a garlic sauce. i may try to replicate that once i get home! to drink i had fresh passion fruit juice. the waitress, who was british, could tell from the few words i'd said in spanish that i was american and so she put a couple of ice cubes in my juice (none of the others had ice). i thought that was funny.

after we ate, we walked back to la sagrada and let the boys play in the park for a while. then we "saddled up" and went to the oldest hospital in barcelona. it was closed though, and there was a lot of scaffolding up on the building. so after walking all that way we didn't see much of it. we took a few pictures and headed towards the metro to go home. by this time i guess people's stomachs were growling for the in between meal. so we stopped at a...*drumroll*...colombian cafe for drinks and some bread. i just got a "fanta naranja" (orange fanta) and tried some of the bakery goods. they were fine, but i wasn't near hungry yet (we'd eaten 2 hours earlier) so i had to keep insisting that i just wasn't hungry. that has been a constant undertone here...they say that i hardly eat anything. they may feel that i don't like their cooking. but really, i tell them, it's just that i'm not used to eating 5-6 meals a day. during the school year i usually only eat 2 meals a day. to each stomach it's own.

pablo, me, and daniel outside the hospital.

ximena and i 

after that we went home, ate, got ready for bed. i think i skyped a few friends and family and then i was out.