Sagrada Família

We headed to Sagrada Família after breakfast and Nicole joined the queue that went right around the back of the church along the footpath.  Phil took the boys for a walk, while Nicole shuffled along the footpath in the steady queue, and cast on a new knitting project to fill in the time.

Finally we got to the front of the queue, paid for our tickets and audio guides, and then joined the queue to get the audio guide (thankfully this queue was not so long).
With audio guides firmly placed on our heads, we began the tour of the church, and WOW, we were impressed.

The Sagrada Familia was originally designed by Francesc del Villar in 1882.  Francesc del Villar resigned after only a year after the beginning of the project.   Antoni Gaudi took over as architect for the church and redesigned the entire church.  He worked on the project from 1883 and devoted the last 15 years of his life to the construction of the church.  Gaudi died in 1926 (tragically, he was hit by a tram and died a few days later), and work continued on the church until the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. 

There is so much to say about the church, and we could go on and on, but instead of taking up lots of space on the blog, it is well worth visiting the main site here, to read all about the church.  Take some time to read about the history, construction, symbology, architecture, ad so much more...it is the most remarkable church we have ever seen.  Nicole even remarked that if this was the church near her house, she would be religious, just so she could go every week!
The church is due to be totally finished by 2026.  Nicole is very keen to get back to see the church in "working order" once it is finished...stay tuned!

and we took MANY photos, here are just a very small portion of them.

A puzzle that appears on doors and other parts of the church, can you work out the puzzle??

The front doors are covered in letters, some stand out more than others.

The skull at the very bottom of the door.

The altar, which is due to be finished in September/October for when the Pope visits.

Part of the ceiling in the church.

Stain Glass windows are spectacular.

This school is was built on the site of the chuch for the children of the builders.  This small building is an amazing piece of architecture, using the mimimuim of supplies as possible.

Every surface of the church is incredible.

Small Spires

and larger ones

Statues adorn many of the exterior surfaces.

Do check out the main website for more amazing pictures of this incredible church, you will not be disappointed!