Però l'home no crea ... descobreix.

I have been in Barcelona now for over a week! And, I have been in Spain for two weeks!

Last blog, I ended with my class placement.  Classes started a week ago, and after going to the class for a few days, I decided that the testing was rather accurate.  Intermediate III is where I need to be; it is a good review of the things I have forgotten, and it will definitely educate me on a lot of new material.

I have definitely gotten into a, somewhat, routine, which is nice.  Every morning, I wake up, go into the kitchen for breakfast, drink a cup of café and eat a muffin.  Every morning.  Breakfast is, perhaps, the best time I have to practice my Spanish.  Because I have class earlier in the morning, I get up before my roommate and eat alone.  Señora (ma'am, which is what I call her) always sits with me and talks to me (in Spanish)--about everything! It's nice.  Then, I get my bocadillos from the refrigerator, take the elevator to the ground floor, run to the end of the block, and board the metro.  Right now, I, still, only have my one Spanish language course that meets for 2.5 hours every morning. After class, I either go home to take my siesta or a couple of friends and myself go to the beach, which is about a 10 minute walk from school.  

Anyway, enough about school.  Last Wednesday, the program offered us a "Gothic" tour of the neighborhood known as Barrio Gótic.  Because I was at a friend's apartment, I didn't feel the need to use a metro pass and rush back to my apartment to get my camera, so there are not yet any pictures of this neighborhood... but, hey, I'm here for three months!  The neighborhood was incredible! This part of the city is very mysterious and historical!  Literally, so much history is in this neighborhood! It dates back to the 11th century.  At that time, it was referred to as the Jewish quarter, but, because of persecution, they were tortured and killed off.  Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulàlia (this is Catalan, not Spanish) is the main cathedral of Barcelona that was built in the 13th century and took 300 years to build.  It is a marvelous structure!  Again, sorry about not having pictures.  I will one of these days... but, that is why there is Google.  During this tour, I learned about two of the most eminent Saints in Barcelona: Sant Jordi (Saint George) and Santa Eulàlia.  Both have amazing stories behind them; however, the legend behind Santa Eulàlia is a very heart wrenching one.

After this tour, the rest of my week was fairly relaxing.  This past weekend, though, was full of discovering more of the city! In fact, I finally got to visit two of the places I was most excited to see: Parc Güell and La Sagrada Familia.  These two masterpieces of art show the brilliancy of Antoni Gaudí.  With Gaudí, you love his work or you hate it; normally, there is no in-between.  Me: I love it.  So, Saturday, I spent the day in Parc Güell with some friends; and, Sunday, I spent the day at La Sagrada Familia with a friend.  One day is not enough to experience everything that these two places offer! There is so much to look, so much to take in, so much to experience that one trip just won't suffice.  In all of his work, a person is able to see the immense influence that the environment and nature had on his pieces.

First, let me talk about the park... so, I chose four pictures that I thought best represented this diverse park as a whole.  The first is the famous mosaic dragon, which is the first thing you see upon entering the park. (Dragons are major symbols of Barcelona because of the legend of Saint George.)  Next, is a walkway etched out of the ground. And, the last two are the same picture, more or less.  It is the priceless view that this park offers, after trekking up the mountain.

El Dragón

The number of people around this dragon, leaning on it, trying to get a picture with it, did not allow a full shot of it.  Even if I had one, you wouldn't be able to see the whole thing.  Tourists...

That day consisted of complete relaxation.  Michael and I did some eye-shopping at Burberry, then went to the park where we met about six of our friends.  We sat around, walked the mighty hill, ate some bocadillos, and talked. 

The next day: I slept in. Finally, I met up with my friend Taylor so I could go and exchange a jacket I had bought... to my surprise, everything--and, I mean, everything--is closed on Sundays.  Afterwards, we decided not to waste the day, but go to La Sagrada Familia.  Originally, we were just going to walk around the grounds and snap some pictures.  There wasn't much debate on whether or not we should go in; so, we paid the 16 euros to enter and ride the lift, walked through the turnstile, and were amazed (again) at Gaudí's work.  This unfinished-130-year-old edifice was breathtaking! In fact, every time you see it, the same overwhelming occurs.  There is so much to look at, so much to see, it is extremely difficult to see the same thing twice.  Once your eyes hit this building, they hurt from the constant wandering.  And, this is just the outside! The same thing happens once you are inside.

I was so thankful when I saw this diagram outside of the church.  There was only one that explained this particular side of the church.  Oh, and, it was conveniently in English! It explained this...

Look at the diagram above :)

Eternal Christmas Tree

La fugida a Egipte (Left); Mort dels sants innocents (Right)

Above the entrance!

Both of these were as soon as you walked in! Walk in, on the right, stained glass! Walk a little farther and, boom, on the right, the main cathedral!

The ceiling!

The main altar piece (left) was absolutely breathtaking--as most of the cathedral! As you can see, there were two organs and a chandelier that hung from the middle.  Within the middle of the chandelier was Jesus on the cross; Jesus, of course, has the Gaudí "touch."

Chandelier: Jesus on the Cross

After about an hour of exploring this massive cathedral with Taylor, it was our turn to ride the lift.  The lift took us up to the top of one of the spirals, and provided some of the most spectacular views of Barcelona!  Views in every direction.  We were able to see the many mountains surrounding Barcelona, the ocean, and every barrio in the city. 

One of my favorite views from the Spiral.

After we were done with these views--it was a while--we had the choice of taking the elevator back to the ground or the hundreds (literally) of stairs down the spiral.  Taylor and I said: "When in Barcelona..."  So, we took the stairs down the spiral... naturally, because it was a spiral, the stairs had to spiral.  Taking these stairs (below) was, perhaps, the scariest thing I've ever done.  There were no rails! Walking down this entire tower, a person had the sense of "if I lean over and look down, I will die."  Me, being me, looked down numerous times! Every time caused me to quiver just slightly. 

As Taylor and I left (to go to Starbucks), I stopped in the middle of the street and took one last picture of the entire church.  Still just as stunning as it was before we entered...

The church is still, obviously, under construction; but, it is said to be completed by the 100th-year anniversary of the death of Gaudí in 2026!

Well, I didn't really want this post to be as long as the previous one, but it is...  I am going to take the advice of dear friend, Lindsay, to help all of those who read this.  More often, but shorter blogs.  Anyway, I have more I can write, but I need to study for my first exam!

It's amazing how fast time moves! I have already been in Spain for three weeks... OH! Lastly, I have officially planned my first excursion: London!

Cariños,
Jay