Barcelona Dreaming

In March, Ann-Marie and I took our first real vacation together.

We travelled to Barcelona on st. Patricks day, and we were only there for a long weekend, but I think that's perfect for a city break. We rented an airbnb in the centre of town and spent our days there wandering around, enjoying the spring air and taking in the sights.

We walked and walked and walked for hours each day, fitting as many sights as we could into each day. The architecture was out of this world. I had never seen anything like it. I remember when we studied Gaudí in art class when I was in school. I was mesmerised immediately. I was used to Scandinavian design. Everything was simple, clean, even sterile. But this was the opposite. Everything in Barcelona is rich and organic. Each building seems to live a life of its own, all kept alive by the blood flowing through the city. 

But nothing, nothing could prepare me for La Sagrada Família. I'd seen photos, I'd read about it, I thought I knew how it would make me feel. But I didn't. When I was in Rome in 2013 I had convinced myself that St. Peters Basilica would make me feel something. I convinced myself that I would have some kind of spiritual revelation or be overcome with emotion when I looked up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. But I was merely impressed. I could appreciate the beauty and the richness, but it didn't make me feel anything. It wasn't like Picasso's Guernica, which nearly brought me to tears when I saw it in the flesh, even though I had seen it countless times in books or on photographs. 

La Sagrada Família made me feel that way too. As we walked slowly through the church, I couldn't imagine anything could be more beautiful. Not only was it architecturally masterful, but it was alive. Photos in no way do it justice.

I'm already itching to go back. We will someday, but there's something about exploring a city for the first time. You never quite get that feeling back when you visit it again. Every other time, you are just confirming or disproving your original impression of the place. But I will definitely be going back to La Sagrada Família. I just hope the masterpiece will be finished in my lifetime.

Until next time.