Lastnightstony

Ok, getting up took a bit, but once I did, the wheels were going smooth. The photo above is from where I am staying. The Ramblas, which is smack dab in the middle of Barcelona, Spain.It rained like hell in the middle of the night last night. So to get my bearings, I went down to ocean at the end of the Ramblas. This statue is much like the one of Admiral Horatio Nelson in Trafalgar Square, London. Only this one is of Christopher Columbus.“Bicing” is the name of the bikes that are available for public access. Again, like in Paris, I have not been able to rent them. There is a couple of rental companies though that may hook me up for a day.So I walked around the Raval area to try and get an idea of the area. Quickly I found the MACBA- Museu d’ Art Contemporani de Barcelona.It was nice to be in a Museum for once when the kids are there for a school outing. The place was not crowed at all and I could even poach some shots. Probably not cool, but it’s all not worth a thing if people have no access to it. There was other exhibits that had all kinds of photography. One of them was about railroads in America. Funny how what is foreign for one is normal for another. I won’t bore you with images of that stuff. Living in Portland we know what a train looks like.This building was cool though and really close to a University. The skate kids outside all sounded like they were from the states. They most likely were.Later on I jumped on the tube to go see Sagarda Familia. Now my impression of Barcelona so far has been that it is a really chilled out town. Having the ocean near by will do that. Much like Santa Cruz, Brighton and Manzanillo. Another thing that lowers the volume on the vibe of a place is the adverts. Checkout the above shot of a tube stop in the middle of the city (Passeig De Gracia). Barca is not as extreme as Sao Paulo, but it does seem to calm things down. ————————————————Sagrada Familia———————————————————Welcome Sagrada Familia. My friend Beanie told me some thing the other day that really seemed to resonate while I was at this church. He said that we cannot confirm weather or not there is god or heaven, but what we do know is there is faith. If there is ever a time to believe, this is it. This temple/monument has been under construction for 120 years. It may not be completed in our lifetimes as well.From Wikipedia - Originally designed by Antoni Gaudí (1852 – 1926), who worked on the project for over 40 years, devoting the last 15 years of his life entirely to the endeavor, the project is scheduled to be completed in 2026. On the subject of the extremely long construction period, Gaudí is said to have remarked, “My client is not in a hurry.” When I arrived at the front of this place, there was a mob of teenage guys on some kind of guided tour. I got lumped in with them and my admission was free. Fitting that my old ass gets in with the kids. Once in the gate I went straight inside.This is the ceiling, designed after a the way a crustation is formed. Evrey aspect of this building is designed from something found in nature.I waited in line for a half hour and caught one of the last elevators up to the top.Looking these images is nothing more than some pictures of a church being built if you do not understand the cultural and historical significance of D’Antonioni Gaudi and his numerous architectural achievements. Not only did he invent the Art Nouveau movement, he started several of his projects that he knew he would never have the satisfaction of seeing completed. Humbling considering some of the things we do today are turned around in a matter of days. Gaudi was working on the Sagrada Familia up to his death in 1926.Here are some links to learn more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaudí

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Família

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona

After such a massive day on the feet I was ready to head back downtown and have a siesta. When I got to Catalunya tube stop, I was rewarded for the effort.