Barcelona, Spain Dec 22-23 2007

Barcelona, Spain Dec 22-23 2007

Barcelona, the Catalonian capital is quite a lively city, way warmer than the rest of Europe. It has this old world Spanish charm (all gathered form movies!) with great old buildings.

La Sagrada Familia, the chruch of the Holy Family was my first building to visit. This is an unfinished church, designed by architect Antoni Gaudi in 1884. Gaudi passed away in 1926 when a tram hit him! But construction has been continuing to this day. 8 of the 12 towers (representing the 12 apostles) measuring over 100ft are done. Several other Christian theme based designs/towers are still under construction. It is estimated to be completed in 2026, Gaudi's 100th death Anniversary. I went up the elevator (2 euros) to the top of one of the towers. View of Barcelona with ocean to one side, the stark shiny buildings to the other was magnificent.

sorry abt my face! But that is La Sagrada de Familia -church behind me....

View from La Sagrada, more urbanized Barcelona

A walk along the Barcelona port was quite refreshing. Several street performers (beware of pickpockets!), roadside cafes, vendors selling food, pets-hens, rabbits, birds etc was quite a sight.

Next we headed to the Monujuic Park. The Tibidabo mountains lines up one side of Montjuic. We didn’t go up the funicular ride (1600 ft), although the mountain offers a panoramic view of the city. The Montjuic park comprises of several Olympic (1992) stadiums, Montjuic palace and a museum.

Id love to go back to Barcelona and spend more time in museums and other landmarks.
Next stop, Nice France. France, here I come.