Accidental tourism

Walking aimlessly through Barcelona makes it all the more amazing when I look up and see these beautiful buildings.  Today my Spanish class (we are just in orientation now-- Spanish starts tomorrow) went on a scavenger hunt to do some bonding.  We were walking around the Born neighborhood but we didn't know what, exactly, we would find.

We walked from school to the neighborhood and as we were attempting to find the next spot on the scavenger hunt, we looked up and saw... La Sagrada Familia.

This is a church designed by Gaudi and has been under construction since 1882.  Its expected date of completion is 2026 (the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death).  Gaudi was in no rush because, as he put it, his client wasn't in a hurry.

Eighteen spires have been planned for the church one for each of the Twelve Apostles, four Evangelists, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus.

This picture is of the back or side of the building, I'm not really sure.  There are pictures of the front which you may recognize if you google it.  I am planning on going back and going around the front and inside.  And I would LOVE to climb up the scaffolding that runs up that really big tower but I don't think that's a possibility...
(ATTENTION!  This post is a huge mistake.  I got my buildings confused but there's good info about the Sagrada Familia so I'll keep it.)


After that, we mostly quit the scavenger hunt and just walked around.  We saw the Arc de Triomf which was built in 1888 for the Universal Exhibition.

And there was this amazing train station across the street.  The metalwork in it is really cool but the picture doesn't do it justice.  This was built around the same time as the Arc de Triomf but it being renovated right now.

We also passed through Barcelona's first park.  Now there is also a zoo but it used to be a fortress.  I will have to go back to this park because it looks really nice.

I have always loved wandering around both new and familiar places and seeing different buildings.  Even if it's just a porch or cornice I've never seen before in a neighborhood I know well, I get really excited about it.  It's different here because there are huge buildings tucked away into neighborhoods.  It's as if I were walking around at home and looked up and saw the Statue of Liberty.  Most of the big buildings in the U.S. have this kind of roped-off presence-- you know you're approaching something great.  But here, these churches are hidden in neighborhoods, only feet from apartments. 

Still, some things, like the Arc de Triomf definitely have a prelude.  The Arc de Triomf has its own pedestrian pathway dedicated to it.