A Return Visit to the Sagrada Familia

Buenas dias, Barcelona! We walked down to the beach Sunday morning and found a cafe that had just opened for brunch. I imagine this place in a scene in the summer, but we had it to ourselves on this cloudy, off peak-day. 

Found a discarded rake buried in the sand- big win

Can we do this every morning for breakfast??

The one place we had to return to was the Sagrada Familia. One, because it is so breathtaking, we had to see it again. Two, because the kids had never seen its magnificence. And three, because we wanted to see what had changed in 9 years. This is Gaudi's masterpiece and has been a work in progress for nearly 140 years! It is difficult to put into words what it is like and the photos do not do it justice, but here she is! 

Great playground in front while we waited for our entrance slot. Adding this to the "ridiculous playgrounds" montage. 

The drip castle entrance

Again, completely nature inspired with animals on the doors... 

"tree trunk" pillars

The light from the stained glass was what I remembered most about this place

The kids enjoyed it, but did not want to stay. Each stained glass panel had the names of a few saints. We set Jude on the task of finding his saint name to try to prolong our time inside (we didn't find it).

These angel statues will eventually go on top of the outer towers that are still being built. Maybe if we return in another 9 years, they'll be there! 

Back outside. So colorful and fun! 

I found a hole-in-the-wall taqueria for a great lunch around the corner from the cathedral. 

We were all tired from our sightseeing so we spent a good portion of the late afternoon at the hotel. We were eagerly awaiting the arrival of Gaby's babysitter who we hired to stay with the kids so we could have a night out. We walked downtown and into El Born for dinner. Afterward, we wandered the medieval streets by night.