Barcelona, Spain January 2010

Escaping from the sleet and cold of Sarajevo, my team and I traveled to sunny Spain for a conference. We explored the beautiful city of Barcelona where we soaked in the care-free and colorful atmosphere of the city. The highlight of the brief visit for me was the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família or the Expiatory Church of the Holy Family, AKA Sagrada Familia. The building was commissioned in 1874 and handed over to the infamous architect Antoni Gaudi in 1883. The building still wasn't complete when he died in 1926 and nearly 136 years after it was begun, it still isn't finished. Entry fees and donations from around the world fund its construction predicted to be complete in 2026.


Blowing bubbles for Euro in a park outside the entrance to the church.


Spires at the entrance featuring sculptures telling the story of Christ's death.


"Muscular" angled columns.


Interior "mountain range" walls.


Fantastic.


Stone masons at work.


View from a spire.


I think the white domes will be skylights of sorts.


The color from this stained glass made beautiful patterns on the floor and columns inside.

Casa Batlló was the other Gaudi work we were able to see. It somehow reminds me of Bony-Legs.


Calatrava definitely got some influence from this guy.


Big stone bones and colored tile.

The whimsy of Gaudi encapsulated the feeling Barcelona gave me. More words next time.