La Sagrada Familia (Barcelona, Spain)

Last one from Barcelona. Part III - 45. La Sagrada Familia (Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain). A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The first word that popped into my head when i saw the Sagrada Familia was 'grotesque'. The building is beyond huge, towers over the city, and is anything but delicate.

Up close and personal though, it was spectacular. The architecture is brilliant. If i recall correctly, in order to get the structure correct, Gaudi first built the model upside down and suspended it, to determine there the weights fall. I believe a model can be seen in the museum, which is in the basement of the church.

The inside is structured after trees, with the trunks as the pillars, and the weights distributed above, modeled after branches.

We saw the Sagrada Familia on 27th March 2008.

Mont St Michel, France

I would venture to say that A and I were the only two people in Europe who did not know about Mont St Michel. 

We were on a road trip (ROAD TRIP!!) to Bretagne (for all non French/ non toffs, thats Brittany) via Normandy, and our end destination was the walled city of St Malo. Whilst on our way to St Malo, we saw that the map had a tiny dot saying "Mont St Michel" with a tinier squiggle next to it representing "tourist attractions". After 2 minutes of contemplation, we decided to skip it and head straight to the big kahuna, St Malo.

As we drove along the sea route, suddenly in the distance, there was a mound. There is no other way to describe it really. A mound with a stick sticking out at the top, as sticks tend to do. We peered and peered and then, giving in to curiosity, swerved the car around.

As we got closer to what we now realise is Mont St Michel, awe took over. Safe to say our jaws dropped to the ground. It looks like a cross between a bigature (Lord of the Rings reference), a hollywood movie set, and Mont St Michel (because there really isn't anything like it!). 

Whilst walking around the city itself, the (extremely) narrow roads are lined with pubs, cafes and shops, all run by its 44 inhabitants. There is a lovely abbey right at the summit, with spectacular views over the water. 

The Island's history is very interesting, almost disproportionately so for such a small place, and i would strongly recommend a visit both to Mont St Michel as well as its wikipedia page.