Port Visit: Barcelona's Sagrada Familia

The back of the cathedral has some many decorations

Trying to take in Barcelona in less than 12 hours is impossible. Even trying to do the highlights well is a difficult too.

The front of the church (not my picture!)

We had our best intentions, but literally only had a taste of the Spanish city.

Since we were a group of eight traveling together, my uncle arranged for a van for us, but we actually got a full-on tour bus instead. How that happened is strange, but it was like our very own hop-on, hop-off bus.

Our first destination was Sagrada Familia, the famous cathedral designed by Antoni Gaudi that is still being built. Construction started in 1882, but by the time he died in 1926, only one-quarter of the building was completed.

Construction continues...

The project kept going through private donations, but then construction was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, and building started again in the 1950s. Now with computer technology, construction has speeded up, and the Roman Catholic cathedral is expected to be completed in 2026, the centenary of Gaudi's death.

The original inspiration for the Basilica Sagrada Familia came from Josep Maria Bocabella, founder of the Spiritual Association of Devotees of St Joseph. He visited the Vatican in 1872 and wanted to build a church.

During the Civil War, Gaudi's workshop was destroyed by Catalan anarchists and so the designs now are based on reconstructions of plans that were burned in the fire as well as on modern adaptations.

Admission into the cathedral (15-22 euros for basic tickets, and can go up as much as 40 euros) is what funds construction, which probably explains why there are so many people there and tickets sell out quickly.

The ceiling of the cathedral that I couldn't see unfortunately!

We didn't get a chance to go in, so we could only admire it from the outside. It covers one giant block and there's so much to see from every angle. I tried sketching part of the facade and even then it was had to squeeze in all the detail. The spires had figures on them as well as words, every little bit had some kind of decoration that was not necessarily symmetrical.

The place is still literally a construction site, with cranes moving materials around as the rest of us watch. It's as if they are putting on a show for us, that they are building this thing...

Same with the beautiful colours reflected inside...! Next time!

In any event it's an excuse to come back when it's finally completed... though Wikipedia says while the main construction will be completed in 2026, the decorations may not be completed until 2030 or 2032...

Port Visit: Alghero

The Sardinian town Alghero means "full of seaweed"

This morning we arrived in Alghero, a port town in northwestern Sardinia. But because the port isn’t deep enough for the cruise ship, we had to take a tender, or a small shuttle boat to get to the town, which took about 15 minutes.

The clear blue waters are amazing, our ship in the distance

I love how the town’s name means “full of algae”, and its history dates back in the 8^th century when it was established by the Phoencians, who set up a post here to trade with the Etruscans on the Italian mainland.

In 1102, Alghero developed into a fortified town by the Genoese Doria family who ruled the town for centuries, but, in 1354, Peter IV of Aragon took over the town and populated the port with Catalans, expelling Sardinians and Ligurians. Alghero was under Catalan-Aragonian rule and the Spanish Hapsburgs for four centuries.

By the early 16^th century, Alghero was received papal recognition, and in 1720 the town was acquired by the Piedmont-based House of Savoy.

The ramparts right by the water to fortify the town

During World War II Alghero was bombed and many parts of the town were destroyed.

Today it’s a quaint place with narrow streets and leftover Catalan architecture. We first took a small tour bus that was actually like a children’s train ride through parts of the town.

Afterwards we retraced some of the areas that the train went through to have a closer look. Many of the shops sell red coral made into jewellery, some costing 10 euros up to over 100 euros. It was hard to tell the difference in terms of quality.

We were most impressed with the clear blue water that you could still see far into the distance, which is why this place is famous for its lobster and sea urchin! Sadly we didn’t get to try any…

The Senyera flag represents Aragon

Nevertheless it’s a very walkable town, and with the sunshine and blue skies at 25 degrees Celsius, makes for a nice visit!