Sagrada Familia - The Inside Story: Part 2

After the busy, ornate exterior, the main church body seems almost spare in comparison, with much interplay between the stonework and the light admitted by the windows. It is still very much a building site, but nonetheless there is a feeling of deep peace within.

These glorious pillars are clearly built to resemble tree trunks, so the nave is like an avenue of trees, the ceiling a canopy of branches and leaves in the abstract. Not surprisingly, Gaudi was very much influenced by nature and there was a fascinating exhibition on this theme below in the crypt but sadly it had closed by the time we got down there. However, I think I get the general idea....

The jagged forms you can see above remind me of the palm leaves I saw in the park over the orad, and indeed all over Barcelona, but the lines are so clean and essential, a masterpiece of design and stonemasonry.

I love the golden flowers cast of the ceiling by the low, late-afternoon January sunlight: so simple but so wonderful.

Sagrada Familia - The Inside Story: Part 1

Before we enter the Sagrada Familia, let us reflect upon the ornament of the exterior, as reflected in the pond in the park across the road. This has plenty of benches for the weary to rest their legs and feast their eyes - although some had chosen to take a nap on theirs.

I love the pattern on the ceiling of the hallway where we queued for the lift to the roof.

I also like this window there - a potential design source for shisha work or cut work in the style of broderie anglais, perhaps?

Fortunately, the queue was not long, but long enough to appreciate another facet of this small area of the building.

By the Cathedral

The Cathedral in Barcelona dominates the Gothic quarter and is quite glorious and awe inspiring, with wonderful ornament and lovely golden stone that picked up the January sunlight and reflected back its warmth.

 

I was fascinated by the spires, which are not solid as in the UK, but hollow and holed, which would reduce their weight and their wind resistance. My first thought was that I could see where Gaudi was coming from with his Sagrada Familia, which we visited later on but which I knew from photographs and books.

 

Here's a lovely angel:-

 

I love this metalwork and how it seems to relate to the delicate leaves of the tree in the foreground, both providing delicate tracery silhouetted by the pale blue sky.

 

Here I am, in front of one of the Cathedral outbuildings, which now houses a museum and sometimes doubles as an art gallery. We thought that these modern sculptural doors were interesting.

 

Santa Anna, Barcelona

 

We happened across this lovely Byzantine church as we walked down the Passage of Angels - somewhat appropriately! It was peeking above the rooftops in the street of shops, so we diverted to investigate. Sadly, it was the wrong time of day to be able to step inside, so we must return one day. However, we enjoyed seeing its spare beauty, sharing a small Placa with a flower-seller's stall.

Being in Barcelona I

Last week, we went to Barcelona to celebrate our wedding annivesrary. It's somewhere I've wanted to see since discovering Gaudi during my City and Guilds course. I'm glad to say that it did not disappoint.

We rented an apartment and it proved an excellent choice, having a central position (in the old City), comfort and privacy, plenty of space and facilities, and letting us have complete freedom for doing what we wanted when. It also came with dishwashing machine, a living room looking out onto a public square and a quiet bedroom at the back, just a couple of minutes walk from La Ramblas. All in all, an excellent location for a restful city break.


This is the square - in fact, a triangle - taken from our balcony on the first morning of our visit. It was unusual to see all these vehicles - making deliveries and collections to/from the bakery and other businesses, plus a street-cleaners' van is there. Dotted around Barcelona are houses with these amazing painted frontages, very picturesque. In the square (Placa George Orwell)are a couple of café bars, a delicatessen, a "corner shop", a bakery, a sex shop (in which the only customer we saw was a teenaged girl, being ejected), a pizzeria, plus some funky clothes shops along the lane to the next street, across from the School of Fine Art.


These are the luscious plants on the balcony next door: a glorious sight. The pavement is wet not, as I first thought, because there had been rain, but because the pavements in this part of town were washed down every morning, as well as being swept several times a day.