Monday 21st April – The Architect Gaudi

I have heard of Gaudi many times. In fact he was mentioned in my university engineering studies as the master of hyperbolic structures. I found it hard to take his work seriously since the photographs of his work that I have seen have always left me a little cold – they felt to me as if they were naïve in the extreme and were better placed as the set from a Disney production of Snow White rather than as examples of serious architecture.

My first view of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona did little to change my impression of his work. As I approached nearer and nearer to the Sagrada Familia I could feel myself becoming more and more enamoured of the structure.

When one encounters special historical structures it is difficult not to be overcome by a sense of wonder about, and admiration for, our forefathers. This is particularly the case for me when I encounter a historical monument or a historical religious building that demands to be admired for its purpose, for the magnitude of the commitment that it represents and for the majesty of the architectural achievement that it displays. To my complete surprise I found the Sagrada Familia to be such a historical monument in the making and one that our great grandchildren will admire for its “magnitude of commitment of their forefathers and its majesty of architectural achievement”

Begun as a community project in late 1880’s the Sagrada Familia (or Temple of the Holy Family) is a Cathedral for the City of Barcelona and is on the physical scale of the larger of the other great Christian cathedrals of the world. It is just over 50% complete and continues to be funded by donation and more lately by tourist entry subscriptions. While it is unmistakably a cathedral its architecture and architectural consistency is just extraordinary. It is a work of architectural art with amazing attention to detail.

The design is progressing to the original design of the architect Gaudi preserved in the form of his plaster scale models of the structure. Gaudi had dedicated his life to the building realising very early on that he would be unable to see the structure complete in his lifetime and as a consequence he spent a great amount of time describing his vision for the building in extraordinary detail.

He was held in so much respect that there has been a commitment by his followers to faithfully follow his designs though to completion.

The tour of a building under construction is an achievement in itself. It is managed in style by the Barcelonans. Even in its construction phase I simply could not feel anything other than a sense of amazement at what is being achieved – I felt for the first time in my life I think that I was actually seeing the creation of a real historical icon rather experiencing a moment in time when history flashed by me.

It is startling in both design and magnitude -it is stunning to realise that as a visitor to the site you are seeing history in the process of creation.

Breath taking!

Sunday 20th April – Impressions of Barcelona

We occupied the day by taking the standard bus tour of the town stopping off to stroll around the centre of town, inhabit coffee shops and visit the Barcelona Cathedral.

I am not sure if Barcelona knows what it wants to be – it seems to want to be part of Spain but to be fiercely Catalonian. It wants to be both modern and historic but does not have the style of the French to carry it off. . It is proud of its alternative architectural examples but seems to have tolerated them as individual structures rather that as part of city scape. As an example the modern, rounded, ceramic tiled roof of the city markets while attractive in itself looked to me like a piece of graffiti on the side of a church. It might have been good graffiti but it hardly does anything for the built environment.

As another example … there are two adjacent hills near the sea to the south west of the city. One is occupied with 15th-16th Century Church, the other by a 1970’s communication tower. As beautiful are both were they simply were never meant to sit beside one another.

The wharf area, the site of the 1992 Olympic games and the city’s equivalent of Darling Harbour while nice enough, all make you feel like they are in need of some tender love and care. As mayor of Barcelona I think I would buy each of the local street supervisors a high pressure washer. “It is not that the city is dirty – it is just that it needs a clean”

I hope none of this sounds like I don’t like Barcelona – that is not the case – the people are really nice and obviously proud of their city, the facilities are very good (with the possible exception of the parking) and there is a vibrancy about the place that is endearing. I got the sense that this is a place that has just lost its way a little and may need some redirection. Clearly the Olympic Games provided some drive for the city … at the moment perhaps it needs a final of the World Cup.

Saturday 19th April – the Road to Barcelona

The sun was shining as we left Andorra for Barcelona. While we enjoyed our short time in Andorra the weather had dampened both our skins and our spirits just a little. Andorra with the sun out is a much more appealing place. Its narrow streets and its towering mountain backdrops are much less intimidating in the bright light of a clear day.

As we left the Principality and crossed the border into Spain we were stopped by immigration and questioned on our purchases in Andorra. The boots were opened but our cases were not … our passports were not checked … none of it makes sense to me … I still wonder about why small Principalities like Andorra are allowed to exist … the tax benefits are there for the inhabitants and the tax avoiders but I confess not to understand the benefit to Spain and France to have it on their respective borders.




Heading down the mountains, the European love of skiing was evident with the streams of traffic driving towards Andorra from Spain as thousands of people sought out the last chance for some adventure on the slopes of the Pyrenees before spring becomes a complete reality and the last traces of snow shrink away to swell the streams that feed from it.


The views back towards the Pyrenees were stunning










Given the beautiful, clear if crisp day it was not surprising that the car parking spaces were full at the monastery perched high on the top of the Mountains of Montserrat about 6o kilometres from Barcelona. While it would have been a delight to have driven the little Peugeot up the mountain we had to settle for a pleasant ride on the rail car.





One has to admire the strength both physically and spiritually of the monks that originally established the monastery. It is almost impossible to imagine how taxing it must have been to first build accommodation and then to live your life in such an in-hospitable yet beautiful place.




We have three days in Barcelona and our drive into the city was quite pleasant although I suspect we might have been fortunate that it was the early afternoon of a Saturday, Barca were not scheduled to play Espanyol until fairly late afternoon and our hotel was located in an accessible location just off the Avenue Diagonal. In any event finding and booking into the hotel was without incident – finding a park for three days – now that needed some of Bernadette’s best negotiating skills – needless to say in the end we have the car safely stored away just a stone’s throw from the hotel – Bernadette doesn’t speak Catalan and the guy didn’t speak English – nevertheless they made each other understood and both seemed pleased with the deal that they struck.

The hotel is pleasant and is about a 15 minute, safe walk from the main square of Barcelona. It is well served with tapas bars and we tried two on our first night in town. The first was fairly traditional while the second was an Irish Pub that served the Tapas in an effort to blend in with the locals. A Tapas selection washed down with Guinness is a remarkably good combination.