Kiwi Roaming

Another quick TGV ride from Lyon to Barcelona, then onto the Metro, checked into the hotel, changed t-shirts and out the door to go and see The Beths. They came on at 9pm sharp and if our TGV hadn’t been slightly delayed we’d have been there but only missed the first song – wahoo! It was 19C at 9pm and lovely walking to the venue in warmth again. Other sensible people at the gig were wearing shorts but we were in long pants and shoes and were warm. The venue Razzmatazz 2 was upstairs in a complex above Razzmatazz itself, with bars on both sides and a decent stage. There were about 1000 people there, definitely some kiwi’s with “up the Wahs” and other things being yelled but also lots of Spanish supporters. Their 17 song set was pretty perfect, we loved being at live music, seeing one of our favourite kiwi bands and being in Barcelona for this.

Buzzing from the gig we went back to the hotel for our welcome drink (we both had a glass of Cava) and watched some U20 football World Cup on the big screen. Barcelona, like Paris, isn’t cheap accommodation wise and I think we had thrown abandon to the wind when we booked The Golden Hotel, it has a pool on the rooftop, and we paid an extra €20 per night for an upgraded room which is on the top floor (buildings only seem to be 6 floors high here with a few exceptions) and it really is lovely.

Metro in Barcelona – we’ve found the Metro pretty easy here, like London essentially, some stations are really deep with lifts and escalators to get to the platform. The platforms are wide and in many stations you can exit both sides of the train which is cool. We’ve hit commuter times where the trains were crowded but people are polite. There are often random buskers on the carriages too. Something that Steve has found highly amusing in both Spain and France is I am now officially old with my head of grey hair (he’s not it seems) and get offered a seat by younger people all the time! We’ve also used the trams here which are like the trams in Bourdeaux and Lyon only the ticket prices here aren’t as cheap as those cities – it would cost me €40 for an annual tram pass in either of those cities for instance, so cheap. The old man would pay less being 60 now – which is where discounted fares kick in for him.

Sagrada Familia – we didn’t listen to all of the advice and only started looking for Sagrada Familia tickets a couple of weeks ago and as you can imagine we couldn’t get them! there is no queuing on the day here, only rebooked tickets and we’ve already missed out on future places we want to see in Spain as well because we should have booked months ago! So we made a rash decision to buy a guided tour with ticket included for a whopping $200NZ each! our tour was from 5:30-7pm when the Basilica closes. We did other things on the first day but I’m just going to talk about the Basilica in this post it deserves its own blog really.

We knew a little about the building before we went, Mike had raved about it after their last trip so we knew it was large, construction started about 100 years ago and it wasn’t finished and that there was a kiwi architect in charge recently for about 10 years.

None of this prepared us for being here in person. 32 million people visit Barcelona per annum and half of these are cruise ship passengers who only visit for one day, 16,000 people visit the Basilica every day on average and at 5:30pm on a Wednesday October 16th it felt like they were all there! it was crazy.

You can’t help but hear Freddie Mercury singing “Barcelona, Barcelona, ooh, ooh-ooh” as you walk around this place it is so grand. So huge, just so big it’s impossible to describe. It’s also so very very detailed, we have learned so much about Gaudi this week, and detail – tiny tiny detail – was one of his things. He loved three things, Barcelona, Nature and God and this project was his tribute to these things. He dedicated the latter part of his life to the project and even moved in there so he could work and sleep. He built a school onsite for the children of the workers where they were taught mathematics and how to mix concrete. Gaudi also loved doing the impossible with stone and concrete, his structures are not straight lines but curves and he designed the most intricate embellishments.

Our tour started outside looking at the front entrance face which was completed while Gaudi was alive. We learned that progress had been slow due to funding essentially and has escalated since opening the Basilica up to the public as the revenue from ticket sales now funds the completion mahi. Computers have also helped with design and manufacturing including the ability to fabricate offsite. One of the clever ways Gaudi fund raised in the early days was having the rich and powerful members of Barcelona society sponsor their own family names or their own faces onto images depicted on the facade. We learned the Basilica is the tallest building in Barcelona, that Gaudi knew he would not finish the church and was quoted as saying “my client is not in a hurry” being God.

Past the nativity scene which is amazing in itself and into the massively oversized doors it’s simply awe inspiring inside. With central columns of 22m high and some a towering 45m there is just so much to look at. Each column is a spiral shape and they kinda flower as they reach the ceiling. My photos simply don’t do it justice.

Then there is the glass. Murano glass from Venice of course. Each side of the interior represents a season and the glass is themed as such, I loved the Autumn and Winter orange and reds – so very vibrant. OK I need to stop raving about this place. It is beautiful and well worth the visit. Gaudi had the inside well planned before his death but the outside the many architects in charge have had to continue following his intent, there were also lost designs during various attacks on the church during different wars and political phases in Spanish history.

OK I need to stop raving about this. So pleased we took the time and paid to go in here, if you ever go to Barcelona book a ticket or a tour as soon as you have your dates and save yourself a few hundred dollars.