If there are any two places to stop in Barcelona, it is definitely La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell. Both of these incredible landmarks were designed by Barcelona native architect Antoni Gaudi, whose work was inspired by nature and the Catholic religion.
When we first arrived at La Sagrada Familia in the morning, I was enthralled from the moment I got off the train. Immediately, you are greeted with the incredible architecture that was both influenced and designed by Gaudi. Unfortunately, Jessie was not feeling well, so I was sad when she had to go home to get some rest. She is on the mend now, but I really missed her during out day of sightseeing. We immediately met up with our tour guide and began the experience that is La Sagrada Familia.
We began on the exterior facade which first tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ. I was so fascinated with the way the architectural design of the building can so perfectly represent the story of Jesus’ life. These images show several different groups at the Entrance of Faith including Jesus, Mary, & Joseph, the three Wise Men, God preaching His word to the disciples, and several other symbolic figures represented within the New Testament.
We then walked through the beautiful door you see here to the interior of the Cathedral. When looking closely at this art, I found several little butterflies within the flowers and greenery. This was special to me, because I got a tattoo last year of two little butterflies for my uncle and grandpa who passed away. It was nice to have this little reminder of them as I entered the beautiful space.
I was speechless as we walked through the interior of the Cathedral. I knew it would be incredible, but the sight of the stained glass within this beautiful space made me emotional as we entered.
There are so many small, nuanced details to be considered, 
many of which I may have looked passed if we had not been with a tour guide. From the wheat and grapes on the canopy over Jesus’ body, to the 52 pillars to represent 52 weeks in a year, no detail was overlooked. Seeing all of this beauty in one place was a beautiful reminder of the Word of God as it is prevalent in our lives.
One area I was very impressed by was the front door that is being created for the real entrance to the Cathedral (we actually entered through the side as it is under construction). The door depicts the “Our Father” prayer in the native language of Catalonia, Catalan. The handle of the door reads A|G as an ode to Antoni Gaudi. With the historical design of the rest of the church, I found this door to be a great touch of a newer, more modern style. I hope to come back one day to see the real thing!
We were then taken to the opposite facade of the Cathedral, which shows the death of Jesus Christ. While this was a much more gory sight, it still beautifully depicted the death and resurrection of Jesus. Both sides of the building are presented very differently in an architectural sense, though they tell one continuous story.
I definitely needed more time to process what we had just seen at La Sagrada Familia, but we quickly hopped on a bus and headed over to Park Guell. This is my dad’s favorite spot in all of Barcelona, so I was very excited to see everything it had to offer!
The park was beautiful and scenic all around. I loved the way that Gaudi designed each detail around the nature that existed beforehand. One of my favorite parts of the park was this silly little tree. Gaudi did not want to cut it down in order to build over it, so he just built around it! Over the years, the tree has grown out from the walkway in order to find the sun. How awesome!
Debatably the best part of my experience at Park Guell was with this baby doll I found. I first just gave her the binky, but quickly decided she deserved to be reunited with her family. So, after a few quick pictures, we found the closest park associate to return the baby to. In the moment, we turned the entire ordeal into an adoption ceremony and had the entire park cheering – it was awesome! Here are some pictures of the happy family to wrap this up:
Thanks for tuning in! See you next time!