Barcelona, Spain 6 - Paisano Cafè

Visiting the Basílica de la Sagrada Família was one of highlights of our trip! The church was under construction. Several higher towers are going to be built. It was supposed to be completed in 2026. Well, we'll see. The visitors were allowed to see the inside of the church via Nativity facade after security check. The detailed stone works of the Nativity facade that was made when Antoni Gaudí was still alive were impressive.

I have seen images of the church before but those always showed the outside. Perhaps I hadn't seen the inside until this visit. It was like a stone pillar forest. Stained glasses were beautiful. Cool colors were for the East "morning sun" side; warm colors were for the West "sunset" side.

The exit was through the Passion facade that looked plain and inorganic - quite different from the Nativity facade.

After the church visit, we had a breakfast at Paisano Cafe, a little cute cafe near the church. We both had a croissant which was nicely warmed-up and sugar-dusted. J had a yogurt with granola and fruits too.

Then we started walking toward Park Güell, a public park designed by Gaudi. We quickly passed by the entrance of Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, one of Europe's largest Art Nouveau complexes and a former hospital. 

It was a quite long to Park Güell... so much sunshine and so hot like summer in the mid-February... but somehow we made it. We waited for about an hour to enter the park's "controlled area" that you need to pay to enter. When we entered the area, unfortunately there were too many people to walk around the area. Without appreciating the paid-area, we ran away from the park, leaving all crowds behind.

To be continued...