“My client is not in a hurry.”

– Antoni Gaudí on the subject of the extremely long construction of la Sagrada Familia

1951hrs, c/ San Roque, Sevilla
things never happen as planned. we woke up at 9 am as opposed to 8, thanks to me not putting the clock forward an hour on my mobile phone. nevertheless, the day’s itinerary wasn’t that messed up.

after checking out from the hotel, we took the tramvia and metro to la ribera, an area east of barri gòtic. we had to have our desayuno of pastas on the go. [a quick note on breakfasts in spain: it is common to see people enjoying a small glass of beer (caña) at 9 in the morning along with their pastas or churros.] whilst chomping on our croissant and caña con queso (cheese pasty, not beer!), we made our way through the narrow meandering streets to museu de la xocolata on plaça de pons i clerch. being the school holidays, there were loads of local kids on school trips. apart from hassled teachers, we pretty much the only adult visitors to the museum. after admiring the large chocolate effigies of bullfighters and barcelona FC players, as well as a chocolate la sagrada familia, we left to see the real thing. with a packet of rochers to go, of course.

what greeted me when i stepped out of the metro station was this magnificent structure which is still being built and its construction had been going on since the late 19th century. la fachada de la natividad was unmistakably gaudí – with its organic undulating motifs sculpted in stone. the opposite façade (la fachada de la pasión) was more modern and angular, with sculptures by josep subirachs. inside the temple, you would find yourself gazing upwards most of the time, wondering how it would look like when it is completed. one wall was virtually a half-filled hole and in its centre would be one mutha of a cross. we took a lift climbing one of the towers (there were eight, with four more to come).

heights simply do not agree with me, so i opted to stay midway whilst ninie took my 350D and climbed another 250-odd steps, taking some of the most incredible views of the temple and its surroundings. i even had vertigo looking at the pics. sheesh. since days of yore, man has done the most fantastic things in the name of faith. actually seeing one right here was just breathtaking.

i am now writing this entry in the cool air-conditioned comfort of my andalusian-styled hotel room. the flight from el prat was uneventful. the cuban cab driver was taking us from aeropuerto de san pablo through the narrowest winding streets i’ve ever been driven through. i guess this is the real spain.

i may have just finally arrived.

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for previous spain travelogs, click here:
– madrid days 1 and 2
– barcelona day 3