Spectacular Trip to the Sagrada Familia #TBEX

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Sagrada Familia - DownshiftingPRO

It was my first trip to Spain and there were so many things that I enjoyed (and few that I didn’t).  Barcelona was spectacular: the markets, the food, the museums, the architecture, the street art; it all had a very special, warm, almost magical feel to me.  The Sagrada Familia was no different.  If you are unfamiliar, the Sagrada Familia (Spanish for Sacred Family)  is a very large Roman Catholic cathedral in central Barcelona designed by local Catalan/Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí.  Despite Gaudí’s many works around the city (Casa Calvet, Park Güell, Casa Batllo), the Sagrada Familia is by far his magnum opus and reflects his unique style combining both Gothic and Art Nouveau forms of architecture.  Though he did not live to see the completion of the cathedral (it isn’t set to be completed until approx. 2026, 144 years after the groundbreaking), his dreams and creativity continue to live on through the work of hundreds of workers throughout the years.

Upon arrival to the Sagrada Familia, you will first notice its sheer size.  This is no ordinary cathedral!  With eight enormous spires (and ten more in the works) reaching 170m, the cathedral towers over its surroundings and is surely visible from anywhere within a 15 km radius.  With its size, it’s difficult to get a full picture without an aerial view.  Next, you start to notice the strange, almost-alien like shapes that make up the building.  This is Gaudí’s unique style with his preference of organic, flowing and soft shapes over sharp, concrete lines that are commonly associated with structures of this size.  The Sagrada Familia looks as if it was carved out of an enormous tree in the middle of the city.  This gives it an almost whimsical feel, similar to many others of Gaudí’s works.

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