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Sagrada Familia

Today has been rich with emotions. We first visited the Parliament of Barcelona for morning classes, during which our students gave a wonderful speech in Spanish about their understanding of Barcelona’s political structure.

After lunch we went to visit the world-famous Sagrada Familia, or the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família as it’s referred to in the Catalan language.

Though the basilica was first erected in 1882, its construction and development are still in process to this day, in accordance with the instructions of Antoni Gaudi’s will.

The city expects the completion of the monument in 2026. It has been striking for us that we weren’t just visiting an historical monument, but an incredible active artistic project.

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We felt the intensity of the moment in the light itself; around 4pm , the sunlight reflects the beautiful stained glass windows throughout the whole basilica.

The most fascinating thing was to learn that these columns and ornaments weren’t only the product of an incredibly imaginative mind. The visit to Gaudi’s museum revealed his preparatory work and research into organic structure and shapes, such as tree articulations.

These discoveries showed the internal efficiency of nature, in which a small amount of material is used to construct a solid and tall architecture.

In light of this information, it was suddenly clear to us why this building gave such a strong impression of a living organism rather than a cold construction. The Sagrada is the image of Barcelona itself, warm and filled with life.

This is a visit that everyone loved, a must-see in Barcelona.

After all these emotions, we went out to have dinner in town. We went to a jazz club and restaurant. Even though Little Italy seems more Italian than Spanish, the atmosphere is great and the food is the best we’ve had so far in Barcelona.

Thanks to everyone for this beautiful day, kept carefully in our memory.

-Max Martins