The Artsy Holy La Sagrada Familia

I know I have not been blogging much lately. I was being attacked by flu bug and then later, lazy bug. I was coughing and wheezing in my bed, like some old woman in the brink of death. It was awful but glad that I am recovering.

Anyway, I shall continue posting on my Barcelona trip, after a few interruptions.

You will probably hear and see Gaudi everywhere you go in Barcelona or Spain. He was famous and still is, despite he is buried six feet under since 1926. One of his famous masterpieces is La Sagrada Familia, a Roman Catholic church in Barcelona.

Much to my surprise, the church is still under construction and set to complete by 2026. It was only 15-25% completed by the time of his own death. The construction works were interrupted by the Spanish Civil War in 1936, where parts of the unfinished building were destroyed by Catalan anarchists and the present design is based on reconstructed versions (with modern adaptations) of the plans that were burned in a fire.

La Sagrada Familia is under construction and this is taken in December 2011.

Its facade has a lot of decorative details and some sort of storyboard along the walls. I haven't found another Catholic church that has a slight resemblance of La Sagrada. Simply impressive.

It is no wonder Gaudi created such a huge name for himself. His designs and ideas are by far the most unique I have come across. Most of his designs are magically harmonized with the nature.

As you can see from its interior, the structure of the building reflects the shape of tree branches.
It somewhat makes you feel as though you were walking into a huge tree that has a secluded church.

What I really like about cathedrals and churches is the coloured or stained glass on the windows. It gives life to the loving and holy atmosphere of the sacred place.

If my memory serves me correctly, you could take an elevator into the higher levels of the building, with a fee. A guided tour is also recommended if you are keen to know the history and story of Gaudi and La Sagrada, although you will find snippets of explanation on the walls in the museum.

Apparently, the construction of Gaudi's brainchild is not funded by the government or any official church sources. It draws fund from the purchase of visitor tickets and private donations. That explains why the ticket price is rather pricey but it certainly is worthy.

And if the circumstance permits, I would love to see the completed version of La Sagrada, which is 13 years from now.

Feasting in La Rambla, Barcelona

There is always at least one street in every city that gives a reason to feast and party. Here, in Barcelona, you get something extra - typically Spanish Flamingo dance theatres or auditoriums in the bustling street of La Rambla!

During the day, La Rambla appears to be shy and quiet. But when the night arrives, it transforms into an upbeat place with rhythmic music, delicious looking eateries and quaint souvenir stalls. It is definitely a place to feast!

Apart from the main street of La Rambla that seems never ending, you will notice many smaller alleys stretching perpendicular to the main. Those are equally happening and interesting. However, some alleys may appear quieter than others. In such instances, you may want to avoid venturing them alone. I do not know how safe it is but my instinct says stay away, if you can.

Bistros and shops along the busy street of La Rambla.

A place that you absolutely should not miss is the local market La Boqueria. There, you could find fresh local produces and get yourself lost in a flavourful gourmet tour. Needless to say, the market is crowded even during the night!

Beware of your precious belongings and wallets in such places. 

Here is a cool duo, adding a reason to feast at La Rambla. In fact, they themselves attracted a humble size of crowd. I couldn't help but chuckle when he started to cycle. The "sexy lady" next to him followed suit as he made his rounds.

We had a problem, though that night. It was difficult to decide what to have for dinner! At such precious moment, hubby never failed to unleash his secret weapon - yes, he suggested to have KFC! -.-

He is an absolute fan of KFC, for some reasons I couldn't comprehend.

I, somehow condoned to feasting on a sinful meal of fried chickens.

In La Rambla.

Unbelievable.

How about a pre-wedding photography in Parc De La Ciutadella, Spain?

Over the years, wedding planners and photographers have been introducing various creative ideas in making pre-wedding photography fun, interesting, and most importantly, a memorable one. It is no longer a pose and shoot affair but all the sessions come with story boards and cheeky gimmicks!

The recent wedding dinners had given me an idea what you could do in Parc De La Ciutadella, a mid 19th century Catalonian Park in Barcelona.

Exactly, pre-wedding photos!

The Cascada Fountain in Parc De La Ciutadella reminded me of Trevi Fountain in Rome. Apparently, the Cascada didn't have any meticulous sculptures initially. It was amended later, after receiving some criticism.
The fountain was constructed by Josep Fontsére with some contribution from the then unknown architecture student who turned into a renowned architecture of Spain - Gaudi.

Fontsére wanted Cascada to have slight resemblance of the Trevi in Rome.
Well, it did. Yet, it is beautiful in its own unique way.

When I revisited these photos, a sudden crazy idea trespassed my mind. Wouldn't it be cool if a simple wedding ceremony is held here too? Imagine the bride is waiting at the upper tier of the fountain facade while the groom walks up to her.

I know, the norm is the other way around. But aren't we always trying to be different, to be special on our weddings?

And finally, if you wish, you can give a wild African touch to the photographs. There is a monumental elephant right in the park at your service ;)

Apart from the glorious fountain, the northeastern edge of the old town where Parc De La Ciutadella is located, is also home to the famous zoo.

Perhaps, not a pretty idea for pre-wedding pictures' theme. However, certainly a brilliant idea to keep your little ones entertained. It has about 7000 animals, except the albino gorilla Snowflake, who had sadly left the zoo's family in 2004.

Ciutadella is huge but you will not realise it if you stroll the park hand in hand with the love of your life.

Nou Camp : Calling for FCB fans

Watching twelve men running after a ball isn't my cup of tea and I never feel thrilled doing so. All right, if I do, my eyes will be fixed on the subject - a.k.a the gorgeous player. In spite of that, the motivation isn't great enough for me to sit through a game for more than 2 hours.

Unlike myself, there are many football lovers out there and the sport means the world to them. Unfortunately, my other half falls into this category. Well, on a positive note, it is easy to please him when he watches the league. His attention is only focused to the game and you could practically do anything you want to him (except blocking the TV screen) without having him repel *cheeky grin*.

When the birthday boy found out about Nou Camp during our trip to Barcelona, he was excited. How could I turn down a birthday boy's request?

Nou Camp is located relatively far from the Barcelona city centre. We took a combination of tram and bus to arrive there. Upon alighting from the bus, we still needed to walk a distance to reach the place.

 

You have been warned: you will probably spend a considerable amount of time in Nou Camp.

And perhaps, some money too ;)

Getting enlightened in Montserrat, Spain

A friend recommended me to visit Montserrat when I told him I planned to go to Barcelona.

Montserrat is a monastery (more precisely, Benedictine abbey) located in the mountains of Catalonia, out of the Barcelona city.
The scenery reminds me a little of Cinque Terre in Italy. Both located on a hilly landscape and beautiful in its own uniqueness.

Here, is also where you seek enlightenment, forgiveness and aspiration. Though I am not a Christian nor a Catholic, I enjoyed my visit to the Catalonia's religious home.

Similar to Cinque Terre, you could hike your way up or take the funicular, stopping by at the designated stations - Santa Joan and Santa Cova.

Needless to say, we took the latter option :p

We arrived at the base of Montserrat in a green train. It was new, modern and clean.

The natural shape of the Montserrat mountain is intriguing. It still stands out a midst the magnificent architecture of the abbey.

From above, we could see Catalonia right under our feet. The serenity and tranquility of the sight offered a sense of unspoken bliss and joy.
There are more mountains surrounding vicinity and humble streams of rivers.

The clear blue sky, additionally perked up the day.

The museum

The sacred place was even more captivating as twilight and night slowly making its entrance.

It is recommended to stay overnight should you want to watch sunset and sunrise from the mountains.

One of the highlights of Montserrat is its basilica.

Like any other cathedrals or churches, you may whisper your prayers and light some candles with tokens of donation.

The architecture of the building was impressive. Actually, I find most basilica and cathedrals in Europe have very extravagant architectural designs. With the technology back in those days, it is amazing how people could deliver such fine pieces of art.

We took a tour inside the basilica. Not a guided tour though. There was a mass going on but it was still opened for visitors, with the condition that we should remain silent at all times.

If memory serves me correctly, the entrance was free.

In each funicular station, there was a ticket counter, waiting place and washrooms. Taking visitors into consideration, there was also a monitor that displayed the departure and arrival time of the funicular. We noticed that the same staff was hoping on and off the funicular, servicing each station as the rail system transported passengers back and forth.

As always, find out the last departing and arrival funicular so that you do not end up stranded in any of the station.

Expect to spend at least a day in Montserrat. Two days, if you want to catch sunrise, as mentioned earlier.

Next to the museum, there was a souvenir shop that sold a variety of items, which I find rather interesting. Do check it out. If you are not a souvenir-shopping person, you may of course skip that.

If you are not a religious person, I would still recommend to go to Montserrat, at least for the surrounding scenery and perhaps, photography? Unless you are totally allergic to sacred places :p