There are, in my opinion, very few things in this world that cannot be captured in photographs. Before coming to Barcelona, I had read about La Segrada Familia, the Gaudi church that stands in the center of town, and had heard people rave about it. But I had figured, that, like the Statue of Liberty, it would be an impressive landmark worthy of a couple of photos and a postcard. I was in for a surprise! I woke early this morning, with the intention of spending the day sightseeing. I made my way to the plaza where the tourist buses are, bought my ticket for 29 Euros, and hopped on the top of the Blue Line. I was kind of unsure if the bus was a good idea or not, but several people had urged me to do it, so there I was. After waiting for a while, off we went. Initially, the bus was a little frustrating. Although I was on the top level, all the sights that we passed initially, we passed so quickly that I couldn't really snap any photos. Soon, the streets got tight, and the traffic got congested, and the narrator told me that the next stop would be the famous La Segrada Familia. I remember coming along the block, and I was sitting on the right side of the bus, and for a split second, as we passed an intersection, I saw it down the block. WOW! I'm really at a loss for words for even describing it, other than to say, it looked as though Salvador Dali, Walt Disney, and the Vatican had all gotten together to build a church. We pulled up to the building, and I was anxious to get off the bus, the sight was just thrilling. 4 HUGE towers pointing way up towards the sky, and a magnificently overdone entryway with figures and patterns. Unfortunately the bus stop was on the other side of the building, so I had to wait as we inched through slow moving traffic. I was even more shocked, when as we drove around, I realized that the 4 towers that I had seen were only part of the building, and to the other side were ANOTHER 4, equally as impressive towers. The whole thing just got better and better from there. I hopped off the bus, paid my entrance fee and got the audio tour headset. Immediately, I became engrossed in Gaudi, the designer of the building. I just couldn't stop staring up, noticing new details every moment, snapping photos, looking at more details. I took over 50 pictures before I even went inside. Upon entering, I was immediately enchanted by the stained glass windows. It was quite a sunny day out, and the rainbow of the stained glass cast a magnificent glow of color on the inner workings of the cathedral. It's impossible to explain what was inside, but I'll try. A huge cavernous building with pillars made to look like trees, ceilings with intricate patterns, it just went on and on. A real treat for the eyes. I kept taking photos, and then looking on the screen at the picture I had taken, and thinking that no photo would adequately capture what I was seeing. At best, the pictures would just serve to remind me in the future. I debated for a couple of minutes whether or not to wait in the line to take the 2.50 Euro lift to the top of the tower, but I was so into it, I decided I had to. That was the best decision all day. If I thought I had seen beauty at ground level, it only got better and more impressive up in the tower. The building is under construction, it has been being built for 100 years, and will take at least another 20 to complete. So I found myself several stories up in the sky, in the tower of a half built cathedral, overlooking Barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea. This was one of those unforgettable moments I will carry with me all my life, I'm sure! The trip down, unfortunately, was not via lift, it was down several spiral staircases, all of which were very scary and narrow, but the last was the worst. The last maybe ten stories, the staircase got very tight and narrow, and there was nothing in the middle, no handrail, nothing, just a hole. I have never gotten vertigo in my life (and I've gone skydiving), but walking down these stairs, I was CLINGING to the handrail, and very happy to be on solid ground once I got to the bottom. I spent another couple of hours following the audio tour, studying the facades, really in awe. After a few hours at La Segrada Familia, I grabbed some lunch, and hopped back on the bus. Next stop, The Park Guell, another Gaudi creation. The park was amazing, no doubt. I must say, though, I was so amazed by the church, that it was a tough act to follow. I walked around the park, and was blown away to see how Gaudi's designs had been used to integrate nature. I got some great photos, and then sat and relaxed, and just enjoyed it for about thirty minutes, and then headed back to the bus. It was cool standing at the bus stop, and being on the tourist bus, listening to all the different European languages being spoken. I didn't hear any english! The bus took us all over Barcelona from there, and I just stayed on it for a while. We drove past the big mountain, and the soccer stadium that can hold 100,000 people. Very impressive. By the time I hopped off for the Modern Art Museum, it was already late in the afternoon. The art museum, sadly, was nothing special. Actually, the highlight of the museum wasn't anything inside the building at all. Outside the museum was a very large Plaza, where there were about 50 guys skateboarding, so I sat and watched them for a while. There were some guys that were REALLY good, doing some impressive tricks. Today has been amazing, I feel like i've seen something beyond my wildest dreams or comprehension, and I'm so happy to have been there to experience it all. Tonight is my last night sleeping in Barcelona. I will have the day here tomorrow, and then it's back to Amsterdam tomorrow night. I'm very excited about Amsterdam, I just bought tickets to the biggest horse show in Europe, Jumping Amsterdam, and will be attending on Sunday afternoon. Should be amazing. So Las Ramblas tomorrow morning, and the famous market, and we'll see what else there is time for. I wish I had more time for Barcelona, but Africa is calling! I can feel it! In less than a week, I'll be leaving the developed world behind....
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