Still with Barcelona

In my adventuring, I stumbled upon Casa Battlo and the Block of Discord. Having always been mesmerized by Antoni Gaudi in particular, and the modernisme movement in general, I stood on the side of the street slack-jawed, and smiling. I resolved then to take a tour of Sagrada Familia no matter what the cost (I had heard it was very expensive).

When I arrived at my scheduled time at Sagrada Familia, I was so excited and eager to get in.  I don't think I will ever forget the feeling of walking into this place for the rest of my life. I was at once elated, overwhelmed, overjoyed, and moved to welling eyes.  The beauty, artistry and vision are absolutely breathtaking. I wanted to spend all day sitting in silence watching the light move around the room, from stained glass paneled windows up through the skeletal and spinal-looking sky lights.  Light even comes down through the supporting, alternating spiraled columns through stained glass orbs of varying symbolic creatures. The crucifix was dangling precariously above the altar, looking every bit as gothic and horrific as the story of the crucifixion.

I found myself turning circles looking up, walking laps around the inside of the church, taking note of the old versus the new construction.  Hand chiseled-stones equally supporting and beautiful as their laser-cut counterparts. Carved stone stairwells, with very cave-like enclaves and bony railing. The whole interior is very boney, spidery, biological and vertebral. As the light came through some columns, the glass orbs looked almost as though they were eyes looking down at you, complete with eyelashes. Every detail was intentional and symbolic.  Twelve towers for the apostles, one tower spire topped with a cross for the Virgin Mary, and the highest tower leaving room for souls to reach heaven. Both confessionals were majestically situated for what I imagine to be maximum guilt production.

Ahhh, the whole thing was absolutely worth every penny, and I could have easily done it again the very next day.  Even as I boarded the metro to leave, the Moonlight Sonata was eerily pouring in through the sound system.
Later that day I trekked up to Park Guell to see the Gaudi House museum. I was shocked to see the abundance of anti-tourism graffiti in this neighborhood. People were yelling angry-sounding things at us as we lined up to enter, and one man went so far as to throw a shoe out the window..... ok, not quite what I expected, but I'm already here, so......
Park Guell is HUGE. Also, I think it's a little bit of a tourist trap in that buying tickets ahead of time guarantees entry, but only to SOME parts of Park Guell, which wasn't very clear when I was trying to purchase tickets online. I never did see the marvelous mosaic lizard that is the first to show up on a search for Park Guell, I did however weasel into a fantastic high-mountain view of Barcelona clear to the sea.
The Gaudi house museum is either very dedicated to it's preservation, or is desperately building hype, because a minimal number of visitors are allowed in at a time, and you get a half hour to take it all in. No, I am not kidding. That being said, I was expecting some sort of grandeur similar to my Sagrada experience and was sorely let down.
Yes, the house is cool, and yes, Antoni Gaudi was quite eccentric, but it did not move me nearly as much as I had hoped or expected.  I mostly walked through the house grateful for it's air conditioning, taking note of the beautiful flooring, and then being creeped out by his peep-hole.

The rest of the house was, for me, unremarkable. He made furniture, and it's what I expected, roundy-swirley wooden pieces of peculiar scale and proportion.  Other than that, it was clear that he became extremely religious and dedicated late in life, none of which was news to me.....
Stay tuned, more adventure reporting to follow!