Mi corazón está en Barcelona

Today totally made up for sleeping in yesterday, but I´m pretty sure my family doesn´t love me too much at the moment. Woke everyone up around 8:30-9, saying we had to leave by 9:30. Since not everyone was ready by then, Jeremy and I left on our own. We picked up the tickets for La Sagrada Familia, walked over, went to a souvenir shop and had cappuccino. At 11 we headed over to the church and went inside. This church is like NOTHING I have ever seen before.

 

This is what the ceiling of the church looks like (taken from Wikipedia, my pictures will come soon)

 

 

Seeing this as you first walk in is breath-taking. The first thoughts that come to your mind are: OMG how is this possible, this is one of the most beautiful churches ever, and how did they build this in such early years?

 

There is a lot of information connected with the church, but here are the parts I find most interesting. Construction of the Sagrada Familia began in 1882, and they are still not completely done with it. A year after construction began the artist Gaudi became involved. He included his architectural and engineering style. Gaudi continued working until his death in 1926. Construction was halted during the Spanish Civil war, and resumed in the 1950s. There are four spires, one on each corner. The highest spire is 560 feet tall, making the Sagrada Familia the tallest church in the world. However, as tall as it is, the spire is not as tall as Monjuic since Gaudi did not want to outdo something that G-d made Himself. The design of the church is supposed to portray a forest. Some of the stained glass windows are a flower shape. The second tier, for the singers, can hold 1,00 people alone. They are hoping that the church will be done by the 100th anniversary of Gaudi´s death.

 

Like I said yesterday, we ordered our tickets to visit the church and tower yesterday online. We were able to pick them up from a local bank, or you can swipe your credit card right at the church, and they will give you the tickets. I highly suggest pre-ordering tickets wherever you go to eliminate waiting time. We entered the church at 11, and had to wait until 11:15 to join the line to visit one of the towers. I kid you not, the line was over an hour long! We had to wait for the elevator (which only held 5 people plus the elevator operator at once). I was extremely antsy since I wanted to do so much that day. We finally got up to the top of Torre Naixement (nativity). This tower faced the water, and had a pretty great view. We were able to see the city and ocean. It was an awesome experience, but I would not recommend people going up to the top of the towers. The wait was very long, and the view at the top of Montjuic is way better! Plus so many churches out here have bell towers that you can visit, so you will be able to walk up the 400+ winding stairs. Stick with just the church. Also, below the church is a museum of the church´s construction. I walked through quickly, but it looked pretty interesting, and it was pretty big.

 

After Sagrada Familia we picked up lunch and hopped in a cab to go to Parc Guell. Since we took a cab, we didn´t have to walk up the steep hill with all the stairs and escalators, but we did go in through the exit, so I felt like I was missing a lot of the park. We had lunch on some benches, and then Jeremy and I took pictures near the lizard. Jeremy has been doing the Tim Tebow all over Europe, so we decided to take a picture of us posing with the lizard. Pictures are pretty cute!
 
We walked through the park, admiring the artwork and view of the city. We we felt like we had enough of Park Guell (which I´m not sure is possible) we headed towards Montjuic. The views are unbelievable. You can see the whole city from the castle at the top.  Everyone was impressed with the view.  The only problem was it was bit chilly.
 
Once we were done with Montjuic we came back to the hotel for a little siesta.  Many places are closed here on Sundays, but we were able to make reservations at this amazing restaurant called Bar Mut.  It is all tapas, and their menu is constantly changing depending on what is fresh that day.  Apparently Anne Hathaway ate there recently!  I highly suggest people try it out.  They also have a night club upstairs every night except Sundays.  Apparently it gets very packed so you need to make reservations. 
 
I can´t believe we leave Barcelona tomorrow morning and head to Seville.  I am completely in love with this city, and cannot wait to return.  Next time I come back, I will make sure it is late spring or early summer.  It was a little chilly this time around, making it somewhat difficult to stay outside most of the day.  The sun also sets much earlier, cutting down half the day.  There are also so many more museums and attractions that I want to visit.  Who is ready to travel with me this summer?!