Thursday, April 4, 2002 13:15 pm
Weather: Sunny again!
Location: On the steps of La Sagrada Familia

We spent yesterday afternoon visiting Barcelona in a low stress way, strolling around the Barri Gòtic in the rain, reading newspapers in a Spanish fast food restaurant, and rambling northwards in search of a bookshop (closed for a siesta) and some Gaudí architecture (on full display 24x7). We spent some time in the shop of la Pedrera, a wavy apartment building designed by Gaudí, Barcelon´s most famous architect. I encouraged Paul to buy an exceptionally cool Gaudí chair, but he declined.

After much wandering, we finally found an Internet café just a few blocks from the hostal. It boasted cool flatscreen monitors and inflated prices: €1.80 per hour.

In the evening we went for dinner at a very cool but somewhat expensive tapas restaurant called Ciudad Condal. Well-dressed business people at a nearby table were clearly out on an expense account, looking like strategy consultants on a project kickoff (i.e. mid 20´s to late 30´s, well dressed, all from different countries and getting to know each other). The food was delicious, served by a multilingual waiter with an excellent sense of humour.

We ended the day with a few bottles of wine and some excellent cheese and crackers in Paul & Kelly´s room, and turned in for a desparately needed full night´s sleep.

At eight this morning the rain had stopped, though it seemed like it might start again soon. We packed up, in case we have to move later in the day (the hostal being apparently fully booked for tonight). After breakfast, Kelly and I headed down to the Palau de la Músico Catalana and bought us all tickets to a concert production of Mozart´s Idomineo. They were obstructed view, but the full view seats started at €60... and really we´re mainly going just to see the hall.

We wandered over to La Sagrada Familia and met Paul and Patrick there. Then we spent two and a half wonderful hours touring this amazing construction site, surely one of the most magnificent buildings conceived in the 19th century (by Gaudí, natch) and still decades away from completion. The two side facades are finished, and the tree trunk columns of the nave stretch upwards towards the open sky and the construction platforms, from where some 10 more towers will be added to the 8 of the side facades. The whole thing was breathtaking in scale, ingenuity and beauty, while the climb up the towers of the nativity facade provided a view that was breathtaking simply for its height. Before long I´d exhausted my film.

Gaudí had a great line when asked when the cathedral would be finished: ¨My client is in no hurry.¨ Hopefull it will be done in my lifetime. I can´t wait to see it.
posted by Tom at 1:30 PM | link |