Written by Kim
We visited Sagrada Familia which is an amazing unfinished mini basilica. The artist, Antonio Gaudi, began construction of the basilica in 1882. He died when it was about 30% complete in 1926. The project is expected to be complete in 2026 but we will see!
The basilica is full of meaning. It chronicles the life of Jesus Christ. The front starts with sculptures of Mary & Joseph going to Bethlehem, the nativity, JC as a child
Even the colors in the stained glass have meaning – blues on front showing hope on birth of Christ – warm oranges & reds in rear – passion of Christs death and resurrection
The rear of the basilica depicts Christ’s death and resurrection (well stops at Christ on the cross as most Catholic Churches depict). there was even a sculpture of the Roman guards playing dice for Christ’s robe.
Every part of the design has meaning.
Gaudí’s original design calls for a total of eighteen spires, representing in ascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, the Virgin Mary, the four Evangelists and, tallest of all, Jesus Christ. Nine spires have been built as of 2021, corresponding to four apostles at the Nativity façade and four apostles at the Passion façade and the Virgin Mary spire.
The Sagrada Familia is a must see if you ever visit Barcelona.
After our visit to Sagrada we took a 35 minute walk up to Las Ramblas. Here’s a few food pic
Las Ramblas was bustling as usual
In the afternoon we went back to our hotel to retrieve our bags and take the high speed train to Madrid. We had more bags than we could easily manage on the train but survived. The high speed train flew at nearly 200 mph – smooth as silk
We are staying near Santa Domingo square off Gran Vie in Madrid at a boutique hotel. Hotel Indigo for the next few days.
I will post again in a few days. Until then…..
Love Las Ramblas & the food at Boqueria!