Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Barcelona!

Hola everyone! We just got back from an exciting trip in Barcelona, the center of Catalonia, a North-East region of Spain. In Barcelona, the main language is not Spanish, but Catalan, a similar variation of Spanish. In Barcelona, the food was incredible! We ate lots of Spanish tapas, which are small dishes that you order multiple of. Also, like in France, we ate enough bread and cheese to last us a long time.
 At the heart of Barcelona lies the Sagrada Familia, or Sacred Family in English. Designed by Gaudi, it is one of the most modern cathedrals in the world. (You will hear more about Gaudi in a later post.)  Did you know that the Sagrada Familia is still being built, and wont be finished for another 2 decades?! Surprisingly, the above and below pictures are both of the Sagrada Familia. It is very different depending on which side you look on. The picture above is the Passion Facade, depicting Jesus' death. Behind the tree are many sculptures, very plain looking, showing the passion of Christ. Here is a closer look...
The picture below is the Nativity Facade, showing Jesus' birth. Unlike the Passion Facade, the Nativity Facade is very ornate and decorative.
The picture below is of the inside of the Sagrada Familia! Amazing, right! It is just so different from any other cathedral we've ever seen. Gaudi designed the inside columns to appear to be trees in a forest, branching out from one another. The central nave vault goes very high, 150 feet into the air! The columns are placed in a grid, and are angled. 
 In Barcelona, we also saw a very large monument to Christopher Columbus. At nearly 200 feet tall, this monument is very visible at the lower end of La Rambla, a busy street, and not far from the sea. It was constructed to honor Columbus' voyage to the New World, and for the Exposición Universal de Barcelona. You can actually go up to the top, and get a great view of the city.
 Also in Barcelona, we saw the Arc de Triomf. The Arc de Triomf was built as the main entrance for the 1888 Barcelona World Fair. It contains many sculptures and ornate decorations. It was built by many different people. This structure is very similar to others found in London, Paris, and New York, and many others.
In our opinion, Barcelona is EXCELLENT.

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