I ain’t never went to no Barcelona

Some people actually think that all residents of Georgia speak this way. I forgive them. (Full disclosure: Some people in Georgia actually do speak this way. I forgive them too.)

This post is dedicated to Brian (a Brit who lives in Catalonia and blogs in both Catalan and English) and also to Katherine (the famous New Zealand artist who paints, among other things, godwits and grapes). But I hope the rest of you enjoy it as well.

Let us begin.

If you think this building looks funny from the outside:


(published under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2)

You should see it from the inside:


(published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.)

It’s a church. Yes, it is. It’s the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona, Catalonia, and the second photo is of the crossing and dome of the nave, looking up from the floor.

According to Wikipedia, “The catalan basilica of La Sagrada Família (The Holy Family) is THE global icon of Barcelona. After more than a century building it, in 2011 the interior was finished and consecrated by the pope Benedict XVI. It’s an incredible structure, fruit of the unique mind of Antoni Gaudí. The ceilings look like a spaceship, and the nave and columns, like a palm tree forest. Work began in 1882 and should be completed in 2026, like the medieval cathedrals of old.”

Besides having an extraneous comma after the word columns, the preceding paragraph contains a serious factual error in the final sentence. Not a single one of the medieval cathedrals of old was begun in 1882 or is expected to be completed in 2026.
I do know what the writer was trying to say, but he or she didn’t say it.

Here are more incredible photographs of La Sagrada Familia and scenes of Barcelona from Silverback’s trip there last summer, including an impressive video clip he made himself (7:34).

And here are some more of Gaudi’s buildings.

Gaudi’s grades at university were average and he even failed courses occasionally. When handing him his degree in 1878, Elies Rogent, director of Barcelona Architecture School, said: “We have given this academic title either to a fool or a genius. Time will show.”

The English word gaudy has absolutely nothing to do with architect Antoni Gaudi (1852 - 1926). If you don't believe me, dictionary.com will set you straight.

This entire post was created without using, until now, the word Spain.