Using our metro cards, the girls in my apartment and I took the metro over to La Sagrada Familia to meet up with our group and start our tour. We didn’t have to meet until 2, so we had plenty of time to get ready and make our way to that area of Barcelona. The metro let out right in front of the beautiful, massive cathedral and at first we couldn’t take it in because of how busy the area was!
If you don’t know about La Sagrada Familia, it’s a giant, unfinished Catholic church that began construction in 1882, and is set to be completed in 2026. It has around 15,000 visitors a day, and is considered a minor basilica after it was consecrated by the church in 2010. It embodies gothic architecture, and is full of beautiful colors from the surrounding stained glass windows.
We met our tour guide and made it through security, and we were given headsets so we could listen to our guide and walk around this incredible sight. On the outside, sandstone statues depict scenes from the bible and elements of nature can be seen carved into the stone. The architect, Antoni Gaudi, precisely designed this entire structure to embrace nature and have it intertwine with these historical scenes. The architecture on the exterior was so beautiful, we could’ve spent much longer walking around it, but we didn’t know how much better it was going to get.
Entering the cathedral was breathtaking. You’re greeted with natural light through the stained glass, and columns that hold up the building that are designed like trees. The columns branch out at the top like a forest, and open up to the beautiful ceiling. Gaudi’s designs were very specific, and figures from the bible were placed in certain points around the room. Our guide did a great job explaining the symbolism around the room, and let us walk around and experience this cathedral for a while.
After we wrapped up our tour and got lots of pics, we took a short bus ride over to Antoni Gaudi’s other major work, Park Guell. Park Guell is placed up on a hill, where there was once a rich community that Gaudi did a lot of architectural work for. We made our way through the levels of the park, each with stone structures or columns reflecting trees, waves and other elements from nature. It opened up to a giant field where concerts and festivals used to be held, but is now mainly used for its amazing view of the city, and beautiful mosaic seating that wraps around the area. We took lots of pics, and a group photo, before saying goodbye to this park and taking our bus back home.
