Grand Africa Cruise Day 3/96 - Park Güell and Sagrada Familia
It's amazing what 11 hours of sleep can do for you. We made it to 7 last night but that was all she wrote. It was close to 8 by the time we climbed in bed. I got up around 6 for the usual but went right back to sleep until 8:30 or so.
We got up and went for breakfast and then got ready for the day. We needed to head out by 10:10 to get to the meeting point for our tour. We opened the Uber app. It said we could get a car in about 10 minutes - perfect! I booked the ride, at which point, it changed to a 25-minute wait. Hmm... We still had time so we waited. And waited. The time for arrival wasn't getting shorter. In fact, the car was going the wrong way. Then, the app said the driver was wrapping up another ride. We canceled and had Uber book us a new driver. That driver was more than 15 minutes away. We canceled altogether and got the doorman to hail us a cab. She said it was a 10-minute ride - perfect. That was until she said that Barcelona had rezoned several areas and taxis can't do drop-offs there, or as it turned out, anywhere nearby.
She got us as close as she could and we started hoofing it. It was about five blocks, all uphill, to the meeting point. We made it with time to spare, so travel frustrations aside, we were in the right place and on time.
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| Our meeting point |
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| Arlona, hanging with Gaudi |
The rest of the group arrived and we headed out, walking to Park Güell. Park Güell is named after Eusebi Güell. Güell was a rich entrepreneur and a huge fan of Antoni Gaudi's work. He supported the construction of this park with gardens and interesting architectural elements designed by Gaudi. The park was built between 1900 and 1914 and was officially opened as a public park in 1926.
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| The exit |
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| Gaudi's religious influence - you can see how he used tile pieces |
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| Those are upside-down coffee cups used to add texture |
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| The park entrance |
Gaudi was fascinated by nature, so many elements have connections to animals, plants, water, the sky, and so on. He was also deeply religious so that ties in as a theme as well.
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| There are three houses in the park |
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| Like the house yesterday, this one's chimney is a decorative element |
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| Such interesting architecture - note the tree at the end |
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| This carob tree was in the way during construction |
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| Gaudi adjusted so the tree could grow out from under the structure |
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| Parakeets nesting in another tree in the park |
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| Sagrada Familia in the distance |
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| Arlona tried out an ergonomic bench - it was surprisingly comfortable |
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| Casa Trias |
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| More parakeets |
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| Unusual elements were at every turn - this is the washerwoman |
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| The gargoyle is a rain outlet that drains water from the benches above |
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| Yup, an octopus on the ceiling |
After touring the park, we boarded a bus for the ride to Sagrada Familia.
Once there, our guide showed us the tour start point and said we would meet at 1:55 to start this part of the tour. That gave us 50 minutes to grab a bite. Since there wasn't enough time for a proper lunch, we did the American thing and went to McDonalds. We just wanted a quick snack, and that worked well. We tried their potato wedges (not anywhere near as good as their regular fries) and chicken bites (smaller than McNuggets and tasted about the same, but cheaper). It was just enough to hold us over until we had time to really eat.
The best part was that there were no seats available. As we walked around, a woman and her son said we could share their table. They were from California and he, a fifth grader, was offered a spot to train as a soccer player at an academy in Barcelona. They were very nice and interesting to talk with. It made for a very enjoyable time.
At the appointed time, we returned to the meeting point and joined the group for the tour. Sagrada Familia was started in 1882 and "will be completed in ten years", for the past 50 years or so. It just keeps going. The final facade that documents the Glory is still under construction. The initial plans for another park and pod face challenges as there are buildings there and opposition to tearing them down.
We made the short walk to the entrance of Sagrada Familia and went in. We started the tour at the northeast-facing facade - the nativity. This facade documents the birth of Christ and everything associated with his coming into the world.
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| You could stare at this facade for hours and still see something new every time you shift your eyes |
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| A magpie, hanging out |
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| Sure - let's add a chameleon |
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| And a turkey - the closest we would get on this Thanksgiving Day |
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| Turtles? Got 'em |
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| Wise Men? The trio |
We proceeded inside and through the building to the southwest-facing facade - the passion. I'll save all the interior photos for now and put all of them together below. This facade documents everything leading to the death of Christ and his ascension to heaven and resurrection.
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| Amazing doors |
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| Cool floor |
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| The entry |
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| Last supper - you can see Judas on the right, hiding his hand and the 30 pieces of silver |
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| A magic square where all groups of four digits add up to 33 - Christ's age when he died |
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| Christ, ascending to Heaven, on the bridge between the spires |
We re-entered the building and took the elevator up 65m to the top access point of one of the spires.
We then proceeded to walk the narrow spiral staircase down. At one point, we could access the bridge between the spires, right behind the statue of Christ ascending to Heaven.
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| At eye-level with some of the tile work |
We continued down the narrow staircase, eventually coming to an even tighter spiral staircase.
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| The narrowest part of the stair down - looks like a nautilus shell |
We spent time inside, looking around.
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| It was impressive to see how Gaudi used light to paint the interior |
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| Cooler colored windows are on the morning sun side |
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| Warmer-colored windows are on the afternoon sun side |
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| No lights were shining - the colors were all sunlight filtered through the stained glass |
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| Interesting ceiling design |
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| Again, no lights are lit - this is all sunlight |
With our tour completed, we started walking back to the hotel.
We decided to find a place for dinner along the way. As we were walking, I got a message from a friend we met on a previous cruise. She and her husband are in Barcelona. I called her and as it turns out, like us, they will be at Montserrat tomorrow, so we hope that we will meet up with them there.
After that call, we settled on a place for dinner and continued walking there.
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| We settled on Bella Venezia for Thanksgiving dinner |
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| Arlona had the traditional Thanksgiving calzone |
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| I dined on spaghetti carbonara |
We got back on Google and found another gelato shop and stopped for dessert. Then we started making our way to the hotel. The street was packed with people.
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| Barcelona has interesting architecture everywhere |
As we were walking, the major road our hotel is on appeared to close and people filled the street. Many folks were holding their cameras up, pointing them and the dangling wires that were hanging all up and down the street.
We asked somewhat what was happening and they said the Christmas lights were going to be turned on at 6:00. We continued walking, but nothing happened. We eventually gave up and went back to the hotel.
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| The hotel was nicely decorated |
When we checked in, they told us we should go to the terrace for a great view of Barcelona. We decided to do that and went up to the 10th-floor terrace to get a drink.
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| We enjoyed a drink |
There was a lovely view of the city.
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| Looking back at Sagrada Familia |
We talked to the hostess and she said that she thought the lights were supposed to go on at 6:30, not 6:00. A couple of minutes after 6:30, fireworks started at the sound end of the streets and finally, the lights turned on. They were lovely.
Casa Batlló was also brilliantly illuminated with ever-changing colored lights.
We returned to the room for the evening. Tomorrow will be an early morning as we have to be at our tour meeting point by 7:45. It will be about a 20-minute walk and it should be 45°F as we head out. Brr. Montserrat tomorrow.
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