Sagrada Família , Gaudi’s masterpiece .

The centerpiece of Barcelona has seen has seen five generations since its inception in 1866. This spectacular church while still under construction is a beautiful and awesome Church to experience the works of Antoni Gaudi and the importance of worship in Spain . We visited in March , opting for the self guided tour with the audio guide and an addition of a visit to the passion tower . We arrived at a pre-selected time printed on our tickets which we purchased online before arriving in Barcelona. The ticket had a special entrance gate and the line was minimal compared to the lines for people buying tickets . The passion tower was accessed via elevator only about three people at a time ,decent was by foot some seventy-five meters down! Before your ticket purchase for any of the towers it advises that you will have to be limber with no ambulatory or visual deficiencies to be able to do this part of the tour. The view from the tower was absolutely fabulous and the adventure descending was memorable as well. The Church was the architectural brainchild of Gaudi and is said to be fashioned the Temple off of a forest .All the columns and upper tresses are reminiscent of trees in the forest and gives a feeling of openness . The centerpiece of course is Jesus on the cross and is magnificently displayed under a canopy adorned with lights. There are also tributes to Matthew, Mark,Luke and John in the form of prominent emblems adorning the upper columns in the main vestibule of the church . There is a section on the left side behind the pulpit area for praying at your visit , no photos can be taken here, just solemn reflections .The stained glass windows captures the light allowed into the Church in such a spectacular way that can only be fully appreciated by visiting ! You are able to wander as much as you like , repeating your steps to listen via your audio guide again and again. The front of the Church is a masterpiece of sculptures adorning the facade of the building and tells a story in it’s intriguing display. To appreciate a tour of this fabulous creation of Gaudi and UNESCO World Heritage site, plan your visit for no less than two hours . Go see it!