Wednesday, 12 Feb, St.Eulalia Day-First big Gaudí day for us
Lots of walks and cabs today. The major works of Antoni Gaudí were the two places we went. We started out with a cab to Cathedral de la Sagrada Familia, but first decided to walk over to the Casa Batlló, a house that he had built for a rich friend. It is fascinating in many ways, with curved stairways and central open area which provides light to the whole house and amazing designs.
After this house, we had a relaxing lunch at La Cuina D’en Garringa and then took a taxi back to the Cathedral. If we had planned it better, we would have walked to the Casa Batlló first (only half mile or so). Anyway, we arrived back at Sagrada Familia and relaxed in the park and then when over to meet our tour guide. We had an English language tour with only four people, us two and two from France. The guide was incredibly knowledgeable. The Cathedral has been being built since it was started around the turn of the 20th century and is slated to finish by 2026. It is designed to be nearly as tall as the nearest nearby mountain, but it was to be shorter so that man would not exceed God. The outside portrays early life of Jesus where we enter and goes on to the crucifixion on the rear. The final planned sculptures will describe the resurrection. Anyway, here are some pictures from the outside and inside of this most impressive church.
The plan is to finish it in time for 2026, the anniversary of Gaudí’s death and the expected time of his canonization. It was alway envisioned as a multi-generational endeavor and had a few setbacks, such as the Spanish Civil War.
We took a taxi back to the apartment, had a bottle of wine and relaxed before taking a taxi over to a Venetian restaurant, Xemei, where I had a pasta with octopus dish that was quite nice. FIrst time I have had pulpo since the Camino!
PS Taxis – I have the “FreeNow” app in my phone and it knows where our apartment is, has my credit card in it, and we just ask for a car and one is sent, with a note of who your driver is and where he is. Then when the ride is over, he tells his phone that the drive is complete and you swipe the “pay now” and it is done
