A couple weeks ago (sorry for the late post), I visited the Sagrada Familia because it was free!! During La Mercè, I got free tickets and I couldn’t wait to see this infamous monument in person. Unfortunately, my camera failed and ran out of battery right before and I was left with only my iphone camera (sorry for the quality).

Getting to the Sagrada Familia is super easy, they even have a metro stop named after it and when I first arrived, I was surprised and taken back by the neighbourhood. The church was surrounded by little markets and residential. It was very unusual to see and it kinda takes away from the beauty of the church. And of course, quick history on the church:

1. It was designed by Antoni Gaudí (Catalan artist) and he designed this building knowing he will die long before the construction of it.
2. The construction was first started in 1882 and still under development, but it is expected to be finished in 2026.
3. The church was gothic inspired and comparably unique to other roman churches in design.
4. The church relied heavily on private donations and the construction was once interrupted during the Spanish Civil War and it only continued around 1950s.
5. The church is in the UNESCO World Heritage Site (like a Guinness book of records) for having cultural and physical significance.

Just a note for anyone that plans to go, there’s always a line up that circles around the parameter of the church, however, please don’t be intimidated, the line moves very quickly and most people don’t stay too long in the church.—everyone just wants to take a picture.

The design is just so breathtaking and…funky (gothic inspired)? I’ve honestly never seen anything so unique. If I didn’t know, I wouldn’t even recognize that it was a church because there are parts of the building that resemble fruits, animals, nature, and human. Very organic looking and unlike most churches I’ve seen which are very structured (square, circles, triangles, and rectangles). Look back at my pictures of Duomo, right? Completely different!

The interior resembles a forest and you can clearly see this when you look up at the ceiling. Although it is still under construction, people do come to pray on a regular basis. My favourite is the glass-stained windows. They are beautiful with the light shining through in the day. There’s a video in the church that shows what it will look like after the construction. I hope to see it once again when it is finished.

My friend who studied in Barcelona long ago came to visit and brought me to a wonderful spanish restaurant (becoming one of my favourite), it is super well-priced to go as a group (3-4 or more), great tasting and very filling. The restaurant (L’Avia) is in El Raval. The owner is also the cook and he is very friendly, but the service is quite slow and there’s always a line up (small place). The food is excellent in quality and the prices are superb if you’re running on a student budget (I always forget to take pics of the food when I’m hungry). They served a mix of Spanish and Italian dishes, my personal favourite is the empanadas and seafood paellas.

I also visited the F.C Barcelona museum (inside the stadium) for a project I did in a class. I would definitely recommend everyone to go and check out this museum, even if you’re not a diehard football fan. It was reasonably priced (under 20€) and I learned so much, definitely worth a visit if you’re in Barcelona. The point was to learn more about the Spanish history, Catalan culture, and F.C.B’s significance in protecting it through Franco and the civil war. Football is more than just a sport to the Spaniards, it has always been a part of their life through thick and thin (they can turn to football, even at their lowest point). Going in, it feels like Vancouver Winter Olympic all over again. So much Barcelona pride with trophies and jerseys everywhere! I couldn’t believe how incredibly huge the stadium was. It holds up to 99,786 seats and is the largest stadium in Europe. Although, I am not a huge football fan and I don’t follow it religiously (but I’ll watch it during world cup), I still got myself a jersey. I want to make it my mission to at least see a game before I leave Barcelona.

Anywho that’s it for this week’s adventures—next week’s post is about Oktoberfest…in MUNICH!!

Cheers,

Kevin