Day 27 Picasso Cathedral

What a busy day we've had, despite our late start. Joan had been concerned about our ability to fit all the sights important to us into our five days and around the complex opening days/times, as well as to optimize for the weather and location. In Barcelona, this is a formidable task. However, we got off to an excellent start with three must-see attractions - Picasso Museum in the morning, the Cathedral and Sagrada Familia in the afternoon. As a bonus, we learned to use the Metro effectively and did a twilight tour of the waterfront.

We are not great fans of Picasso, but found his early works, some dating from his mid-teens (!), delightful. Apart from several notable exceptions, the other works did not appeal to us. No photos allowed, so we can't show you.

Barcelona's old cathedral was a real treat after the over-the-top extravagance of the Andalusian variants. We found it to be much more graceful and appealing and not marred by too much kitsch. Many of the windows were very good. There even a compound reserved for geese in the courtyard. We went up to the roof using a lift. From there we enjoyed outstanding views of the city's landmark structures, of which there appear to be many. There was a tremendous amount to maintenance work going on and this was particularly evident on the roof. Walking on the roof made you pause to think about the deep void beneath your feet.

We walked to Plaza Catalunya to get directions to Sagrada Familia from the Tourist Info there. They suggested an optimal Metro route (Barcelona has an excellent, extensive network), which worked out very well for us. The first thing that struck us at SF, after a quick glance at the façade, was the number of construction cranes dominating the skyline over the cathedral - there must have been half a dozen. Plus a lot of safety netting. At almost every significant site we've been to, there have been cranes and maintenance/construction work to marr the view. However, we've now learned to filter those out of our vision.

The SF is like nothing we've ever seen before. At times it is difficult to appreciate that this is meant to be a serious building, because of the proliferation of "unconventional" forms and decoration. The only façade completed by Gaudi is totally encrusted with biblical scenes and animals. Straight lines are not much in evidence here. All of which of course is what gives it such impact. Here too we took the lift up one of the spires. You have to pay separately for this service, but quite unusually, in the lift itself. You don't get an unobstructed view, as you have to peer through holes and slits in the masonry, but you do get close-up views of parts of the cathedral such as the spires, and the in-process construction. 

The design theme is based on forms from nature - animals, trees, crystals, etc. Most surprisingly, the construction work is only just 50% complete, and this after 120+ years!! This highlights how amazing medieval builders were, with their techniques, to complete cathedrals in much shorter time frames. Even though unfinished, the interior is very impressive with forms and lines suggesting a forest canopy soaring high above. At one point, with the massive amount of construction work in progress, we were worried that we wouldn't even get to see the interior, so were relieved to be able to appreciate what it will look like one day. In our life time??