La Sagrada Familia and rambling

Where do I begin… Hahaa.

I expected nothing from this tour. All I knew about it was that it’s famous and that it’s designed by Antoni Gaudi. And that I can see it from my room window.

I was seriously floored by everything I saw and learned about. What one man is inspired by and how he interprets the world and then processes out into reality… amazing. Truly.

Basically the entire church is the story of Jesus. It’s especially dedicated to the Holy Family, hence its name Sagrada Familia. It was started in 1882… and it still isn’t finished. It’s estimated to finish in the 2030’s. Crazy, isn’t it? And the whole thing has been and still is funded by donations. It’s partly the reason why it’s taking forever and a day. That’s pretty cool. Like it’s built by the people. I like that. Anyway.

The entrance of the church depicts Jesus’ birth and the exit, his death. I think what really got me was how intentional Gaudi was, how much of him was poured into the work. You can’t separate who he is from his style. He is the style, the style is him, if that makes sense at all. For example, (everything I’m about to say is regurgitated from what I learned from our awesome tour guide btw) as a sickly child, he wasn’t allowed to play around like the other children. He had a lot of time to himself and I think that gave him a chance to really delve into the craziness and beauty of nature. So he’s all about that. It’s why so much of his work is so different. I don’t know. Architecture isn’t something he did, it’s something he was. Lol. Am I making sense? It permeated every part of his design.

The inner columns resemble trees rather than the standard pillars. No one “tree” is the same, since no tree is the same. And on top of that, these “trees” have branches at the top, like so:

Which supports the ceiling better, which means less support needed from the walls, which means more stained glass, like so:

And this particular wall faces the west, where the sun sets, which means in the morning, it shines brilliantly warm colors. The wall opposite this one is a cooler color, for the rising sun. I like that. It’s so intentional.

I am getting a little lazy uploading pictures on here. But throughout the entire church, you can find attributes to nature. On the entrance doors, there are beetles, worms, and such placed on a leafy background to resemble the forest floor. Even the curves and waves that aren’t typically characteristic of churches in general run along the walls and ceilings speak of Gaudi’s attention to nature. I like that.

And then, to top it off, Gaudi uses this technique to determine the shape of the spires:

You’re probably wondering what the hell is this. Let me explain. He took strings, tied them up and hung lead pellets. Gravity weighs the little bags down. Then he copies/sketches the lines on paper, flips it upside down, and voila, he has the shapes of the spires. I think that is so lovely. Such a simple way to do it, and he just used what was already there, know what I mean? Nature is inherently intertwined in his thinking and being. So cool.

And going beyond the whole nature thing, he really just does whatever the heck he wants. Let’s take this for example:

This is the exit of the church, which illustrates Jesus’ death. Here’s a closeup of upper part:

Guess who that is. It’s Jesus. Hahahaha. I don’t know why but it’s hilarious to me. Dude. It’s Jesus just chilling. In so many churches, so many paintings, works of art, etc., he’s this almighty divine being. Don’t get me wrong, he definitely is to me. But seriously, I don’t know many people who would convey him this way. It’s so simple, so humble, so matter-of-fact. There’s no fluff, no extra glorification. Jesus resurrects, and it’s a beautiful thing. And the placement! Hahaha he’s not even centered. It’s so appropriate for who he is, what he stands for. I like it!!!

Hahaha. Omg, for some reason this post was incredibly hard to write. Probably because I’m tired. Ultimately, I just want to say, Gaudi, you have mad respect from me. Lol, not that it matters at all, but once I really got to learn the little I did, I give him props hahha.

Now here are some ramblings:

– No black coffee here. Only cafe con leche, coffee with milk. But it’s pretty delicious. I even bought a pastry today. It was pretty amazing together.

– A few friends and I went to a restaurant the other day. We ordered some water. Three bottles came out, which we shared. Out of the entire bill, 7.2 euros was spent on the water. Lol. Water not only costs money but it’s expensive!!! Makes me appreciate it back at home.

– On the other hand, when you eye something you want to buy, the price on the sticker or tag is exactly the price you pay. Tax is already included. I like this.

I’m done!!!!

Happy Friday!!