Barcelona...I heart you!

This is my second trip to Barcelona. I was here about 7 years ago and was super excited to come back! Ragan doesn't understand why I have such an affinity for this city because it parallels NYC in many ways and I HATE NYC. There are so many wonderful aspects about this city. The architecture, the culture, the rich history and warm people.


We had a great urban apartment rented here! Oh how wonderful it was to go to a grocery store and buy our own food! I found peanut butter. This country could greatly benefit from having some choosy mothers choosing Jif I were to lend my two cents. But it beats the jamon y queso I've been eating for the past two weeks. We had cereal!! I am a cereal addict and I was having some serious withdraws, but we couldn't find milk. I mean, we found something like milk that came in a box that was on the shelf next to the cereal. Uhhhh...I am of the strong belief that milk is from a cow and needs to be in a large glass case that's kept cold. Ragan came up to me at the market across the street with a huge smile on his face and said, "I found milk!" I said, "the kind that comes in a plastic container and has to stay cold kind of milk!?!??! Please tell me yes!" We went and stood over the milk case like we were admiring a new baby.


I've been on the mend with the remnants of the cold, well both of us have. This is one of those good lingering kind Goody. Ragan said, "we haven't left a lot in Europe, but we've left A LOT of snot." True dat babe...true dat. (My Mother is DYING that I just wrote that) This apartment has been so awesome to come back after a long day out and feel kind of like home. We were rained in Friday night and we only have one TV station that might have American shows in English on. Our other option is a channel that plays American music videos. We aren't here much, but since we only on occassion get the TV shows, we've seen more music videos in the past few days then we have collectively in our lives. So Friday was a cozy night in with American music videos and crossword puzzles. Sexy. But, in all honesty, it's been one of my favorite nights of the trip. There is just something so cozy and secure doing silly crossword puzzles together after eating some PB&J's. 

Passion Entrance at Sagrada Familia

Close up of  the center of The Passion entrance. This side has sculptures that represent the last days of Christs life. Gaudi wanted them to be raw so their design influence was the structure of bones.

 We took a tour of Sagrada Familia on Friday. It is a cathedral that has been under construction for over 100 years. It was designed by Antonio Gaudi, who is a god in this city. I toured it 7 years ago and it was really fun to see how much progress has taken place over that time. It's a profound piece of architecture. Gaudi was a devout Catholic and one heck of an innovative architect. There is so much symbolism in the architecture you really have to keep you eyes open and have some guide you through all of it. Luckily, they've created a museum nd walk through to show you where his inspirations came from for certain details in the church. The central nave is also around 44 tall, quite modern in an organic kind of way, and the stain glass is stunning. Especailly considering that is was designed in the 1800's. It will be so specatular when it's completed! I can't even begin who you'd have to be, besides the Pope, to get into the opening mass of the cathedral! Actually, I'm not sure he pulls enough weight to get into this one, it's going to be BIG deal!


Center Nave at Sagrada Familia. The base of the columns are the trees with the round parts being the knots found in trees. From there branches carry the weight as the become the leaves at the top. These "branches" were a great advancement in architecture because it allowed the weight to be carried inside rather than the flying buttress you normall see on cathedrals built at this time or before.




This is a mathematical puzzle on the Passion side of the cathedral. There are 313 different combinations that will all equal 33 once completed. Obviously to represent the age of Christ when he died.

  

 

There will be 3 different exteriors on the Sagrada Familia once it's finished. This is the set of doors at the Passion entrance. The doors are heavely carved with words and occassionally they have a word in gold.

Sunday we headed to Parc Guell. Guell was a wealthy tycoon here in Barcelona, but the park was designed by none other than, Antonio Gaudi. It was a garden and planned community meant for the city's elite. It is home to the world's largest bench all designed with mosaics. It was covered with people so it was pretty hard to see more than a foot or so at a time. It has great views of the city from the park!

Ragan found a little blurb about the market here in Barcelona, which I am always up for. What he didn't tell me was it read like this, "for those hard to find animal parts you've been looking for." Awesome. We walked in and it was produce visual heaven! Row after row of the most beautiful and vibrant fruit you've ever seen. It didn't even look real. But when we explored futher, buyer beware, I got more than I bargained for. I went from visual heaven to visual hell. Ugh, the body parts! Mostly internal could be found in case after case. Seriously, it was just too much for me.





No no honey...the heads. The goats heads. They're right there in between the testicles and the tongue. Geez, if it were a snake it would have bit you! Gene Simmons aint' got nothin' on those tongues.

Ragan admiring what he had eaten just a few nights before. Tripe. That's right kids, that's what your intestines look like when they are all cleaned out and your flora looking all spongy. He's so happy at the sheer thought of eating this!

Update while you were sleeping: We had to vacate our great apartment at 10am, our flight isn't until 7:30 tonight. We're hauling our luggage all over town and it's threatening to rain. Currently we are refugees at McDonald's. Thankful for the WiFi Gratis and shelter. There is a little feeling of being parasitic, but then again, we are working our way through the menu as the day goes on. So we aren't that parasitic. Right? Still pretty pathetic though. I think management is onto us. McFlurry please?