In Barcelona, Spain

 July 8-11 and July 24-27, 2011

     That empty airport carousel was a harbinger of the "adventure" in our first five days in Spain--sans luggage.  We met new friends, the Formans from SLC, and felt the Lord was mindful of us no matter where we were in the world. One of my favorite sculptures was this pop art work, Cap de Barcelona, by a familiar American artist, Roy Lichtenstein. Walking La Rambla for the first time, we passed garish mimes, tapas cafes, street vendors and peddlers of all kinds. On the double-decker bus tour, we rode around the city for hours for an overview of same famous sites, for example this view of the 1992 Olympic Torch. It seemed to me that Barcelona was most characterized by amazing architecture through time, and most recently influenced by the modernista style of Antoni Gaudi.

Best Dining near La Rambla:  Mediterranean at Les Quince Nits  and Catalan at Cafe de L'Academia both in the Barri Gotic.

The ultimate farmer's market, La Boqueria (AKA Mercat de Sant Josep), was bustling when we arrived to pick up fresh bread and fruit for lunch, but the stalls actually opened before dawn.

 To get more familiar with the Mediterannean Sea, we visited L'Aquarium de Barcelona at Port Vell on our return visit to Barcelona after the cruise.

The Monument a Colom at the waterfront was one of our first stops and the Maremagnum on the pier was one of our last.

La Sagrada Familia is Gaudi's most famous building, to which he dedicated four decades of his ambition.  He envisioned 12 spires to be built in the future to complete what he expected to be the world's largest cathedral, a project bequeathed to several future generations.

The interior pillars were designed in the form of trees.

The symbolism in his architectural form and his use of light were truly beautiful.

The exterior facade was densely packed with scenes of the Nativity and other Biblical elements. It was fascinating to me to note similarities and differences  between our religious perspectives.

  

     We saw many cathedrals but this "temple" by Gaudi was my favorite because of his extensive use of scriptures and symbolism, and the lack of sculpture dedicated to the remembrance and worship of popes and canonized saints. Every religious building we visited in Spain and Italy was dedicated to the worship of Mary, however, and it seemed to me that she was more prominently featured

 in paintings, sculptures, leaded glass, etc., than Jesus Christ.