Top 10 Places: Barcelona

I visited Barcelona in 2004 following my second pilgrimage to Compostelle. On that trip I became good friends with a girl from Girona in the eastern coastal region of Spain. She invited me to come and visit her, so after completing the pilgrimage I took the train to Barcelona where I stayed for a few days before travelling on to her village.

In my typical fashion, I arrived without knowing where I would stay or what I would do. I simply wanted to discover the city. I ended up finding an under-the-table hostel in some seedy part of town that was run by a group of pot-smoking hippies who didn’t charge too much for beds in a communal room filled with bunks. It suited my budget and tastes just fine. One of the hosts even gave me directions to a used clothing store (not as common in Spain as in Canada) where I was able to get a few things to expand my paltry pilgrim wardrobe.

One of my favourite discoveries in Barcelona was the Sagrada Familia, an amazing church designed by Spanish architect, Antoni Gaudi. Construction of this unique and ambitious basilica began in 1882 but is still incomplete. I don’t understand all the intricacies and challenges of its construction, but I know that Gaudi’s design of the interior columns was unique and based upon his study of plants and nature – not upon the typically geometric calculations commonly used in architecture.

His unique designs, as well as the detailed facades outside the building, were absolutely breathtaking. By the time I came to the Sagrada Familia I had been to more than my share of churches and cathedrals along the pilgrimage trail. Many seemed cold and dead to me. This church was magical.

Really, it was Gaudi that made Barcelona for me. It wasn’t just his church, there were various buildings of his scattered around town as well as the Park Guell, a beautiful public park/garden filled with his unique architecture and mosaic patterns. I’d never paid much attention to architecture before or had a real affinity to on architect. But Gaudi artistic, organic and magical works inspired me as I would never have expected.