Sweet Barcelona
A few years ago, I found myself in Barcelona over a long weekend. Every city has its rhythms and cycles. Barcelona was a revelation. I'd been to Paris. Beijing. London. Amsterdam. They each had their patterns and vibe. Barcelona (Barthelona in the local Catalan dialect) was...like none of these. Streets filled up on Friday evening and people did their shopping and then dined, socialized and strolled late into the evening. Saturday, I had a chance to visit La Sagrada Familia, a cathedral under construction for more than a lifetime, to be finished (barring economic collapse, or perhaps in spite of it) in another decade or so. This was the work of mastermind Antoni Guadi. It is a masterpiece of imagination and dreaming. Most impactful was the statue of Jesus near the top of the spires, sitting on a stone bridge, not impaled on a cross, but sitting peacefully looking down on the city below. Like a gentle sentinel, he watches out for Barcelona.
