After a good sleep in sumptuous hotel beds, we were up and ready to explore Barcelona. We had no formal agenda today (we had already booked tickets for the Gaudy Temple tour tonight) so we just thought we’d go for a walk around  Barcelona and see what we found. We headed north, which seemed to be the direction where all the action was, and just started walking. Three things immediately captured my attention. First, all the footpaths were paved with the same patterned brick; second, there were motor scooters everywhere; third, at each signalised intersection, the pedestrian crossings are set back from the intersecting roads by about 10 metres. This means that pedestrians have to deviate from a straight line to continue walking along a street. It also means that cars turning right can come around the corner and approach pedestrians crossing the road from the left - while they are meant to stop (and usually do) it can give you a shock when it happens first time. It’s also tricky as a driver; when the lights turn green and you turn right, you have to be prepared to stop again 10 metres around the corner, whether anyone is crossing the road or not.

Anyway, we were just strolling along, looking at the various sights and sounds, when we turn the corner and BAM!, our first view of the Gaudy Temple! (I thought it was called the Gaudy Cathedral, but the locals call it the Temple - it certainly is a Temple to Gaudy. And it’s called La Sagrada Familia if you are looking for it on a map.). My first viewing reminded me of my first look at the Grand Canyon; you know what it’s supposed to look like, but you don’t appreciate the size and grandeur of it until it’s there, right in front of your face!

Some people are disappointed by the Temple, saying it is just a big construction site. And it’s true that it’s almost impossible to get a photo without a construction crane visible. And yes, it is still under construction, but they say it will be completed by 2026, in time for the celebration of 100 years since Gaudy’s death.

The view from the front (at left below) highlights the intricacy of the stonework around the main entrance. The view from the back (at right below) shows that there are constant additions to the architecture, as indicated by the different coloured stonework.

We had to get at least one “touristy” photo just to prove that we were actually there, plus another artistic one with the old street lamps (although the building might actually be older than the street lamps!).

The Spanish addiction to motor scooters is well illustrated in this photo, which was typical of most streets in Barcelona.

One of the reasons for the proliferation of motor scooters is perhaps that there is relatively little space for car parking in the central area of Barcelona, but we think this example of close parking is going a bit too far. I was standing here watching this while the girls were in a dress shop, to see if and how the grey station wagon would get out, but unfortunately the Audi on the right was the first to leave, so I never did find out.

It was approaching lunchtime, so we thought it wise to find somewhere before the lunchtime crowds came out of the nearby office blocks. When we saw this cafe, we couldn’t go past it and decided to eat here in honour of master paella-maker Doug back in Taggerty. While we have felt very safe and secure in Barcelona, the waiter very gently suggested that the girls should put the straps of their handbags under a leg of their chair, to prevent the possibility of any snatch and grab attempts. From our table on the footpath, it was fun watching the chef go about his business.

As we sat at lunch, I looked up and to my left, and thought I recognised the curved facade of the building on the corner. So after lunch we walked around the corner, and yes it was another Gaudy building - La Pedrera. This building, like the Temple, is over 100 years old, and yet both still feel modern - such was Gaudy’s genius.

As we walked away down the street, I looked back and saw another perspective of the Pedrera roofline, and noticed people (presumably paying tourists) walking around on top.

As we walked further down the street, we stumbled on another Gaudy building - the Casa Batlló apartments - with their iconic curved window ledges.  This building is right next door to another stylistic gem, the Amattler Museum. I’m not sure how my camera got this shot of the Amatller (almost like the “film” didn’t wind forward sufficiently) but I include it because it’s so in tune with the off-beat Barcelona theme.

I then took this panorama shot to show the importance of having a ”name”. While I think the Amatller building is equally interesting, the queue outside the apartments next door is much bigger because of the Gaudy name.

We were now leaving the Gaudy theme for a while, so I use this motorscooter photo as a nice spacer.

We now walked down to La Rambla, which many people had told us was a “must-see". We went down the street for a while, but it was so full of people/tourists, that we soon took a side street and headed over to the Old Cathedral. One of the first things we saw/heard was a busker playing calypso tunes, so of course we had to stop. Mother and child were enjoying the music to dance to, while photographer dad captured the moment. Before long, Rita had pulled out her trusty flute and had joined in with the singer/guitarist. It was great watching two professionals play together, each instinctively knowing when to back off and let the other play their solo. Naturally, we bought his CD to add to the collection on the barge.

We then moved along to look at the Old Cathedral. While Gaudy’s New Cathedral gets most of the publicity, the Old Cathedral is in itself quite beautiful, albeit in an older style. One thing I found interesting was that on entering the Cathedral, women with insufficient coverage (e.g. bare shoulders, short shorts etc) were handed a shawl to cover themselves. Since it was such a hot day, the shawl steward was having quite a busy day. We then started heading back to the hotel, since we had walked quite a lot today, and realised that the sense of architectural style in Barcelona is not limited to the Gaudy buildings. Even the lamp-posts in the Arc de Triomf gardens were designed with curved arms to reflect the multitude of palm trees planted in the gardens.

The Arc de Triomf gardens end at the Zoo de Barcelona, and I found it quite fitting that the Parliament Buildings are located in a Zoo.

In Australia, the Zoo is inside the Parliament Buildings.

On the way back to the hotel, we saw a Barcelona Tram, so I thought it appropriate to include a photo here as a separator between day and night activities, since Gaudy died after being struck by a Barcelona Tram in 1926. Now that fact has got to be useful to someone for a future Trivia Quiz.

After getting back to the hotel by 1600h, we all had a quick snooze and then got ready to go out to do our Gaudy Temple Tour, starting at 1800h. Since we had walked ourselves to death during the day, we got a taxi this time and arrived with 10 minutes to spare.

The Gaudy Temple Tour gave so many things to photograph that it would be impossible to include even a fraction of what we saw. So, just a few highlights (if you want to see more, there’s always the internet).

We were greeted outside by the heraldic trumpets, and as soon as you entered you realised this building was going to be different when you saw that the holy water was in a giant clam shell.

The columns inside were soaring and all cameras were pointing to the heavens. Every set of columns is a different size and made of different stone for a particular reason, as explained in the audio headsets we hired.

Walking out the doors on the other side to the entrance (both entrance and exit are actually side doors), you see a vast range of sculptures. While these have religious themes, they are in very different styles to the traditional. I’m unsure of the significance of the skull to the right of the cross.

On first sighting, one of the sculptures looks like an interesting but not extraordinary piece of work. But go round to the side, and you see a marked resemblance to Rodan's Thinker.

There were many, many more things to see at the Temple but frankly our feet had given up after so much walking and standing around, we were starting to get hungry, and they were starting to close the Temple for the night. It was only when we were leaving, that we found the museum underneath describing many aspects of the design and construction of the Temple and I could have stayed there for quite a while longer, but the staff were now giving us not-so-subtle hints that we should be on our way.

So we walked around the streets for a while looking for a place to eat, before we finally consulted the tourist map and found the ChiCha Limona restaurant, not too far away. It turned out to be a good choice with a Spanish/South American cuisine. Our waiter was from Columbia, but had worked in restaurants in Melbourne for several years. At the end of a stimulating but tiring day, we were glad to be taking a taxi home.