After waking up at 2:00am- and finally sleeping around 5:30am, I jumped out of bed in panic when I saw the clock showing 9:02am. I was planning to be at Sagrada Familia by that time. I took a hurried shower (which does not have enough hot water for girlie-shower but has a great water pressure to substitute as massages on my neck and shoulder), woke everybody up. We did manage to leave the hotel around 10:00am, heading to Mercator de Saint Josep aka Boqueria - Destination=Pinortxo Bar. We sat at the bar - had the best octopus with white beans, seamed clams, chorizo, croquettes, shrimps, and potato dish, all tapas! We saw people drinking wine and beer for breakfast- if you eat those chorizos and meat stew looking thing they were cooking, you certainly deserve a glass or two. Chris and Karina are determined to come back here tomorrow again.....
After having the best breakfast ever (in my life, pretty much...), we walked around the market.
I follwed the wet pavement- I guessed wet pavement=washing blood=yummy dead animals or fish). Besides the huge hanging jamons- we found cute piglets....which did not get to become 'sheep dogs' - here is "before"....
And "after" the extreme make-over.
We finally arrived at Sangrada Familia around 12:15 noon. The line to get in from Passion Facade side was about 5 min and probably saw 5 or so "tamed" gypsies working. "Tamed" because there are police/security officers all around the Church. I even took my Rick Steve's guidebook out of my bag, and put my Canon "big" camera with 300mm zoom lense on my neck - cannot-be-more-tourist-than-this look?
We went around the church (still under construction) , went to the Nativity side (=the only side Gaudi actually got to complete while he was alive before being run-over by a street car in front of (yet-another-Modernista architecture) hospital).
We had our Passion side tower lift tickets for 1:00pm. The lift itself was fine. The view from 215' high was great. But I am acrophobic and Chris and Karina are not. Going down tihis very narrow spiral stairs where you can see 200+ feet below you is NOT something I would enjoy. I literary held the handrail with both hands, facing the wall, descending side way so that my back is to the hallow spiral chute. Chris and Karina did all they could imagine to scare me for their enjoyment....and that was not fun.....
As I designated today as Gaudi day, we walked to Casa Mila. We walked along some major roads - with most of the stores/offices closed for lunch break. We saw people eating lunch at bars/ cafes, etc. Karina was asking for re-fueling break- oh well, I wasn't hungry and it's my payback time from being tortured at Sangrada Familia--- so they followed. Karina was ready to throw her white towel in by this time.
By the time we were done at Casa Mila (when my camera battery died.....) Chris was ready to quit the Day of Gaudi, saying "it is too much" and my response was, "not quite yet".
We walked to Casa Batillo (by Gaudi, of course). My Day of Gaudi itinerary was becoming like Monet's Water Lilys...."another!!??!!" was all they could mutter......
Tomorrow will be yet-another OCD-like action packed day!!!!!!
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