Not quite sure where we got up to but I think that we might have had 2 days in this great city which means that it was time for the SAGRADA!! Oh yeah all of those people at Worley mark this day as soon Paul Rolfe will be archiving the 1999 photo that has been on his desk for donkeys and bringing in a new one. I doubt that there will be anyone quite as happy as that photo itself as after countless desk and building moves it can finally rest up. Chin up little Sagrada you have done a great job.
So today was the day that we were off to see the greatest building in the world, well other than the bell tower of course. In recent times the Sagrada Familia has been put into fast forward partially due to the amount of fat Americans that waddle through those huge doors but mostly because the Pope was coming to town and the Pope I hear does not approve of cement dust.
So we set off on foot through the streets towards the great now Basilica, thanks Popey boy, and of course when taking directions from Paul Rolfe you are bound to go the wrong way and we did. I think the call was "no we are not at the right road yet as we have not passed Battlo". Well we would have passed Battlo if we were on the right freaking road! So after a small mishap we got back on track thanks to Tara and then got in line. It was said that Paul was so excited that he did not even arc up about the Americans behind us talking total crap, gee he must have been excited.
The line moved really quite quickly and after peering at the Sagrada through bars like a prisoner waiting for the warden to open the door were in and old Rolfey was loving it already and started to cut sick with the gooder camera. The Passion Facade had not changed one bit but that did not stop the constant clicking as with the speed of a Japanese tourist he struck again and again. At least unlike some others he was not stupid enough to have the flash on. We headed to the headphone counter and then it was on.
Time to get serious now and speak from the heart. I bloody love this building. It is the greatest thing that I have ever seen on all of my travels and that includes seeing Arch play at the G. I can thank my beautiful wife for dragging me along to one more "stupid church" as from that day I was sold and in 19 years or maybe even sooner I will get to see it finished totally. OK back to the third person again.
As we walked into the Cathedral it was so different to what we had seen in 2004 as it was pretty much finished and the place looked beautiful. We will stick some photos in so you can look at it but really it was something else. In fact we both shared tears of joy or at least Paul did and we pretty much stood around open jawed just looking at the place, it was truly magical. The columns stretched to the roof, the stain glass windows were all in and the light was filtering through them beautifully and the floor looked amazing and shiney. Yep the Sagrada had scrubbed up beautifully and now we were here looking at it with 5000 other people none of them appreciating it like we were.
There is not really a great deal else that I can say about it but that in a funny kind of way I am happy that we never made it to Barcelona in 2009 as we certainly would not have seen what we saw today and we would not have been back two years later to see this.
I guess sometimes life kicks you in the nuts for a reason.
