Barcelona and Gaudi (Part 2)

TUESDAY 2/21

As we lazily headed North to Sagrada Familia, clouds had moved in and the sky turned gray. Lightening shot across the sky followed by an ENORMOUS thunder that shook everything and the first splatters of rain began to fall. We in turn shot a glance at each other and said "We've gotta try!" We arrived as the rain began coming down harder and were surprised to still find it open. Note: For those who have never seen an overview shot of how SF compares with the rest of the buildings in Barcelona - It's HUGE! The third tallest building in the City and taller than St. Peter's in Rome by a stretch) We began in the Nave - Columns growing up like giant redwoods and lots of construction in progress with scaffolding everywhere - The orange in stark contrast to the light stone. Up the stairs, into the first of the Towers - Up and up - Stairs corkscrewing into what seemed an infinity. Peek-a-boo shots of details, sometimes opening onto a small balcony with broader views with large drainage openings big enough for your leg to fit through that made us both (who are typ. not afraid of heights) VERY uneasy. We continue - Up and up - Eventually we pop out at the first narrow bridge which gives us a dramatic view of the phallic Torre Agbar, penetrating the skyline in perfect contrast to this Modernisme masterpiece on which we stood. Up and up - We tower over everything around. Giant construction cranes are BELOW us. Have we gone THAT high?! We finally exit onto the highest bridge, next to the Tree of Life with it's stark white doves. So narrow, we squeeze past the people already standing with their mouths agape. We are on TOP! Only the GIANT cranes and the words rise above us now - Excelsis! The rain had ceased momentarily and the sky is SPECTACULAR! A band of light below the line of steel gray. The moodiness of it so appropriate for experiencing this - Gaudi's masterpiece - which Barcelona, KNOWING how lucky it is to have him, continues to build (est. completion 2050 - We could come back every 5 years to check progress!) Darin grabs my arm and says "Look, over the Mediterranean - A Tornado!" It took me awhile to grasp the reality of what I was seeing, but there it was! A sight I had only HOPED to see once in a lifetime, but to see it NOW! Here! The funnel cloud loomed like some monstrous yet delicate piece of vaporous art on the horizon. It shifted ever so slightly and would dissapate or become more concentrated as we watched. At this point we could see the Torre Agbar and Torre Calatrava on Montjuic in addition. It was so surreal beyond belief that words can't even encompass my emotions at that moment. Others on the bridge saw it, but hurried down in apprehension because it was, in fact, heading our way... although still a long ways off. This was the point that we looked at each other and resolved to stay put at our fantastic vantage and just see what happened. It wasn't too long after that it dissapated completely and the rain picked up again, finally prompting us to head down - damp, awed and chilled to the bone. Back on the street, we quickly made our way towards the Metro and bought a bottle of Tempranillo to wash down all our tasty market goodies we'd bought earlier and had another excellent bed-top picnic.

Those 2 days have been those 11 out of 10 ranking days that you only HOPE for and dream of having more in your life. So much of it seems to be about being at the right place at the right time, or maybe sharing the experience with a friend that can actually say "Yes, that amazing thing DID happen!" so you know you weren´t just dreaming. For me, alot of what I´m hoping for in taking this trip and putting myself out here in the world is to get myself out of my comfort zone, where I have a job and money to spend on luxury items instead of necessities, and just try to be receptive to new experiences. Just try to live life to it´s fullest...