Exploring Barcelona and the Master Work of Gaudi

We arrived in Barcelona with just one day to explore, and so were delighted to have a bit of a driving tour and a visit to Sagrada Familia, the master work of Antoni Gaudi, who exemplifies the style of Catalan Modernism. Quirky, eerie, and haunting but somehow at the same time stunning and pleasing, this cathedral-still-in-progress is planned to be dedicated in 2026, the centennial of the architect’s death. His work is surprisingly contemporary . . . and so full of extraordinary detail that there is not an inch of ordinary. Below, four examples: the exterior, unlike any other religious institution I’ve ever seen; two of many spires; interior columns resembling a forest of trees, made of differing stones depending on the load they bear; detail from one of the thousands of friezes and statues, this one said to bear the face of the architect.