Spain: Barcelona (Sagrada Familia)

Our motives for going to Barcelona--besides visiting childhood friends, former coworkers, and family--included seeing one of the most-visited attractions in the entire world: the Sagrada Familia. Construction of this enormous architectural marvel began in the late 1800s and continues to this day, with hopes to be completed by 2026. 

Designed by Antoni Gaudí, the architect only lived to see the completion of one of the church's three facades. We took an elevator up one of the towers on this side of the church--the Nativity Facade--and captured some incredible views of the city below with the sea and mountains in the background. I'm not the biggest fan of heights, so I didn't dare to take a step out on the observation platforms scattered throughout the descending staircase. Emi told me the views were spectacular, and his word was enough to satisfy me. 

The exterior of the Sagrada Familia features sculptures representing three important times in the life and resurrection of Jesus. Scenes from Jesus' birth and childhood are found on the Nativity Facade (the oldest of the three facades), and on the opposite side of the church is where the Passion Facade is found. This side tells the story of Jesus' death through more sculptures. Both the Nativity and Passion Facade have four towers and tourists can go to the top of them. The Glory Facade is still under construction and will be the grand entrance to the church, complete with ten towers. 

The details on the exterior of the Sagrada Familia are enough to keep one in awe for hours, and can even be overwhelming. The interior seems simple, comparatively, and yet is still stunning and most importantly, inviting. Upon entering the basilica, we found a concrete forest of massive columns surrounded by walls and more walls of stained glass windows. It was nothing less than amazing, especially the balconies which house the choirs...no fear of heights allowed if you're going to sing there!

As we also perused the items in the museum underneath the grand basilica, we learned about the original design of the church and how it changed with Gaudí's influence. The architects who continue to work on the church's completion still implement Gaudí's methodology in using models and making well-thought measurements. Many of the models that Gaudí had left before his premature death in 1926 were later destroyed by anarchists in the 1930s. Completing the church has therefore involved lots of investigation and piecing together of model remains in order to stay true to Gaudí's vision. In what has been an extremely long construction process, eight more years until it is fully completed seems like nothing.

Check out the rest of our photos from the Sagrada Familia here