Day 49, Día Gaudí

Thankfully, today was indeed much tamer than yesterday.  At the same time, it was almost less interesting.  But, you know, that’s all relative.  I mean, how often does a person get to go see world-famous, singular Gaudí architecture?!  Yep, that’s right; that’s how Ashlee and I spent the day—well, what was left once we finally left our bungalow and into the city.  Unfortunately, the bus and trains and waiting/walking time combined with leaving late meant we missed going to church and taking the sacrament.  Realizing we were too late, we opted to instead go straight to a couple of Gaudí structures near our train stop, the Casa Batlló and the Casa Mila.  We didn’t enter either, however, because they were audacious enough to demand 18.50 and 14 euros, respectively.  Personally, my top 2 must-see sites in Barcelona were the Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family) and the Parc Guell, and I later added seeing some apartment designed by Gaudí with hardly any straight lines, but I didn’t even know its name, Casa Batlló, until just now.  At any rate, my point is that those first two expensive tourist traps weren’t even my top priorities, so I was disappointed but not overly heartbroken to leave without seeing the interiors.  I can’t say the same for Ashlee.

Next, we made our way to the Sagrada Familia.  We didn’t go it because it, too, was expensive, but we quite enjoyed puzzling out the façade.  Honestly, I think it is a relatively ugly/laid/feo building overall, but it was fascinating to examine the exterior to decipher the meaning based on the images, statues, and WORDS thereupon.  From what I’ve seen of Catholic edifices in Paris, it was interesting to compare Gaudí’s perspective of religion and choices as to what to emphasize with what the typical Western European norm would be.  There were the usual depictions of the apostles and Christ on the cross, but there were also depictions of the Last Supper, the Roman soldiers casting lots, Pilate washing his hands of the matter, a couple kissing, a Tree of Life, Mary and Joseph getting married, them with baby Jesus, Jesus with Simon and Anna, someone being anointed, and someone being crowned—all just on the façade!  Also, the front, which detailed the end of Christ’s mortal life, was more geometric, reminding me of cubism, whereas the back, which focused on the holy family at different stages, was smoother and softer.

Among all the intelligent remarks and observations were a couple of choice comments from me.  The first was, “Well, the good thing about more geometric figures is--.  Nevermind.”  Let’s just say that Ashlee knew what I was about to say and what I saw that made me realize my almost-comment was false, and that the typical depiction of Christ wearing a loincloth on the cross was replaced by a vivid nude depiction.  Just minutes later, as we moved along the side of the building, I noticed frequent mentions of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.  Me, the genius that I am, commented, “Gaudí really made a big point of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.”

“Well, it is called La Sagrada Familia,” Ashlee quipped.  Good one, self.  You’re a quick one, you are.

Thus edified by such a religious masterpiece, we moved on to the Parc Guell.  I forgot it was up high!  Thank goodness for escalators!  And that place is HUGE!  We were there for probably a couple of hours and we only saw half of it. Plus, we entered from the non-monument side, so we had just begun to see Gaudí's artistic influence there.  But I think I’ll live with leaving Barcelona after having seen at least part of it. 

Door window?!

 

 As I went throughout the day, I remembered learning that Gaudí’s work was intended to reflect nature, complete with animals and curving lines to imitate the nearby sea.  From what I’d seen in my Span civ class, I thought it was different, kind of cool, and very weird.  Having now seen it in person, I still think that, but in a more appreciative way.  Here’s some trivia for you: Parc Guell was actually a failed attempt at creating a residential area.  Who would’ve known it’d become world-famous?  And I think it would be amazing if Gaudí and Dr. Seuss had gotten together to make a book or a building.