As it wasn't even 8 pm, the night was still young. I realized we had been in Barcelona for three days and had not yet seen the world famous Sagrada Familia (the church designed by Gaudi in the 19th century). We had a reservation for a tour on Tuesday, but I had a feeling this was something we should see more than once -- as a bonus we'd be able to see it in the dark.
Oh, Google Maps, tell us how to find Sagrada Familia. And so we walked for over an hour. Finally a few blocks before we found it, we decided we should stop for dinner or risk starving that night. I had a terrific salmon salad. Don had a so-so burger (we get such good burgers at Firkin Tavern in Ewing, it is hard to find one as good anywhere else.
Duly fortified, we continued our stroll to the church (Sacred Family in English).
The big question is always which side do you prefer: Nativity or Passion? Once finished, there will be a third side (the Glory) or maybe there won't be. We later learned when funds ran low to build Sagrada Familia they sold off land where the their side would be built at a much later date. Don't know the full story or why someone thought building homes on that property and then asking them nicely to leave in a 100 years or so was a good idea (other than being able to get money today and pass the problem on to a date long after the decision makers would be dead), but there it is.
The Nativity side was build during Gaudi's lifetime.
The Nativity side was created in the 1970s.
It was good to see. We had heard was it still under construction, but seeing the construction crane in the middle really brought the point home. Looking forward to our tour on Tuesday.
We took the metro to Av. Parel-el -- one stop up from where we are staying. To get to our exact stop would have involved transferring lines. This was easier. We saw plenty of people still eating outside at 10 pm on a Sunday night -- encouraging we'll be able to find dinner after we see "Pretty Woman" on Tuesday night.
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