Spain: Torreciudad

The fifth day of our trip was the day we met up with the pilgrimage.  This entailed driving through the Pyrenees mountains before the sun woke up.  So we got to see a very glorious sunrise with a perfect scenery.  

And we also saw a rainbow!

We stopped to get coffee once we knew we were getting close

And this was our first sight of the shrine.  This is probably my favorite piece of 20th century architecture.  The pilgrimage we were on was following the footsteps of Saint Josemaria, the founder of Opus Dei (and also the subject of my mother's book).  When St. Josemaria was a child he was very sick.  His mother traveled to the Shrine to Our Lady at Torreciudad for her son.  He recovered, and wanted to fix the broken, run-down shrine to better fulfill its purpose.  

This is known as the 'Speaking Christ'.  His mouth is slightly open and many conversions have occurred in front of this statue.

Camino de Santiago 

the old tower

This is the organ

The original statue to Our Lady

We visited Torreciudad for the next couple of days, so there are more more more photos of this amazing space to come. 

Spain: Gaudi

Day 4 was for seeing our friends outside of the city.  The Trullos's invited us over for lunch - they are the parents of a priest from home, one of my favorites.  Our meal was fabulous.  It started with a tomato watermelon soup, followed by torta with aubergine and a caprese salad, not to mention the dessert of a poached pear! Senior Trullos also happens to be an architect, following the theme for the day, and he showed us some of his buildings.   I accidentally didn't take any photos with them. 

But before we took the bus to see them, we decided to go to the Palau Guell, one of the first things that famous Barcelona architect Gaudi designed.  He built if for the Guell family, his major patron.  

The details in his design are unreal, unequaled.  He really observed nature and used those fundamentals to build the foundation.  He had an innate ability to tie the whole structure together with repeating themes and shapes as well as creating more from what was underneath.  

overarching

bricks on bricks

and this is just the coach house

the ceiling

detail on the mirror

laundry through the window

my most coveted dining room set

floor tile

a wall of window, with columns to cut the light, creating what would be my favorite place to read if only I lived there

Oh, and they had a private chapel that was in a cupboard, opening into the main hallway

And the roof is a landmark of the Barcelona skyline:

After lunch with the Trullos's, we decided to walk around the city as well as visit the Cathedral, which was also built by Gaudi.  We ecided to follow the "Ruta da Modernismo," passing all off Gaudi's buildings.

A gorgeous book sale.  Unfortunately, it was mostly in Spanish. But pleasant nonetheless

Here begin the photos of the Cathedral:

The tomb of Antonio Gaudi - such a simple resting place for the very eccentric mind. 

The contemporary facade, still under construction

The structure of this is just amazing! the columns get thinner as it goes out, and each size was a different marble.  The whole building is based on a parabola, or the shape a chain makes hanging down.  

The world on the back of a turtle

Gaudi's study