Making It Stick: Going Cruising, Day 2 in Beautiful Barcelona!

We woke up the next morning in beautiful Barcelona. The city was bustling below our apartment. First stop was to see the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, or in English, The Basilica of Expiatory Church of the Holy Family. We could see it from the window of our apartment, so we knew just where to find it! It was an enormous Roman Catholic Church designed by Antoni Gaudi. Work began on this church in 1882 and is still going strong. It is expected to be completed in 2026, in time for centennial of Gaudi's death. It is slow moving progress due to the fact that it is completely funded by donation (and ticket purchases from us lowly tourists!) and refuses any government or official church donations. It reminded us of a giant sandcastle dripping with wet sand, with 8 spires, as of now, (on completion should have 18!) and three facades representing the nativity, passion, and glory.

We also walked down the Las Ramblas, seeing the sites along the way. There were some very cool structures to look at, also built by Gaudi, such as the Casa Milà, a building of apartments that is all wavy and curvy because not a single straight line is used in it's architectural plan. Often called the "ice cream cone house" because it looks like melting ice cream. The kids' favorite was the the Casa Batlló, or House of Bones, which was a house that resembled a dragon. The top was arched with the spine, the front was covered with scales, and you could see the large windows shaped like the eyes and mouth of a dragon looking at you! At the very end of the walk is the huge statue of Columbus pointing the way to the new world. The monument serves as a reminder that Barcelona is where Christopher Columbus reported to Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand after his most famous trip. The kids and I had read a biography about Columbus for homeschool this year, so seeing this monument had special meaning for us after studying him for several months.