The Russian Judge

El Sanatori – Barcelona, Spain

A few days ago I wrote about the lack of warmth we have experienced from the Spaniards. I talked about “knocking some points off“ the Spanish score because of it. But since then I realized that idea I was really reaching for was the deductions concept from figure skating or gymnastics.

There was always the one judge who gave the harsh scores: 8.8; 8.5; 9.2; 8.8; 4.8. Now, ask the 4.8 judge, and she’ll explain that she’s not blinded by the star power of the athlete. “Yes, it’s Simone Biles, but she arched her back and didn’t stick the landing…”

I don’t think I’m that much of an outlier, but I’m not going to be the one to give a 10 when a 4 is in order. Now, Diana – she’s even worse. Don’t even ask her about overrated movies … I mean, she thinks Forest Gump was “kind of overrated …”

And all this brings me to the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. Never heard of it? Neither had we. But it is kind of a big deal. You have to give it that.

It’s this huge – and I mean HUGE – basilica thing built in kind of a gothic-y style. But what it really looks like is a cross between Walt Disney castles (like the one in the beginning of the old tv show) and Dr. Seuss.

It’s memorable, I guess…

Giant spires reaching into the Barcelona Sky. Lots of intricate scenes carved into the stone. And words. So many words. For instance, the word “Sanctus” is repeated over and over again. I guess it means “Holy.”

And then the spires are all capped with various technicolor stuff. One looks like a gaudy Christmas tree with doves. Another like a bunch of birthday balloons in reds, blues, greens and yellows.

In our eyes the overall effect is to make a mockery of classical architecture and taste. I mean, if the church is so holy why do you need to tell us it’s holy like 200 times? And the technicolor spires? Is the point to be different for the sake of being different?

Okay, let’s back up. Construction started in like 1882. I think it was originally supposed to be a pretty normal cathedral. (Our tour guide, Evan, told us this morning that the basilica is not actually a cathedral – because a cathedral has to have a bishop attached to it. And the bishop in Barcelona is already attached to a different church.) But after a year or so the original architect resigned and this guy, Antoni Gaudi, took over.

I guess Gaudi is a pretty famous architect. Like the Frank Lloyd Wright of Spain. Anyway, he spent the rest of his life devoted to the Sagrada. By the time he died in 1926 it was about one quarter complete. His body lies in the tomb of the church.

(We also found out this morning that Gaudi died a tragic death. I guess he was pretty obsessed with the basilica at the end, and basically lived in his studio, where he worked round the clock. But one day he was out wandering when a tram hit him. He had no wife or kids and his clothes were so dirty and disheveled that people thought he was homeless. When they finally brought him to a hospital it was too late . . . Sad.)

Ninety nine years later, the Sagrada is still not done. They’re hoping to have most of it complete by next year – the hundredth anniversary of Gaudi’s death. Based on what we saw – construction cranes and stuff all over the place – I’m a little skeptical that they’ll actually reach this goal. But we’ll see…

Anyway, when it comes to architecture stuff I would say Diana and I are apt to give plenty of deductions. Yes, it’s Frank Lloyd Wright, but who would want to live in such a cold space? And we have never been sympathetic to modern art. “Yes, I suppose it’s neat that you made that out of garbage cans, but what is it? And is it intended to be ugly? You get some points because you obviously knew how to use a hammer – that’s why it’s not zero. Score: 1.3.”

On that note, I think we might give the Sagrada a 2.7 or so. I mean, it does attract a lot of tourists, so that’s good. And the stone masons obviously have some skill, even if their talents are largely wasted on this monstrosity of a temple. But HUGE deductions for the cheap plastic-looking crowns to all the spires, and the insulting (to our intelligence) words repeated over and over all over the building. I guess we don’t care if it is “a Gaudi.” As far as we’re concerned he definitely didn’t stick the landing…

I mean, shocking is not the same as good . . .

But you know what was good? Yesterday’s ride. We give it a 9.5.

It started out pretty normal; just a stroll along coastal type areas. But soon we emerged onto a road that hugged the Mediterranean. And I mean hugged. It was like being on Highway 1 in California, except you have the Mediterranean blue below. Like Big Sur with the rocky crags, only with beautiful blue skies and perfect temperatures. And we were riding on the ocean side of the road – so the views were amazing!

We also stopped in Sitges, another fantastic seaside town. Complete with an old walled city.

We met Joan and her daughter Rachel there. They are visiting Spain to celebrate Joan’s 80th birthday. Like my Mom – who’s a few years older – Joan looked like she is doing great! She said that she refuses to give up and makes a point of staying active. Diana loves people like this because, I think, people like Joan embody the essence of Diana’s philosophy of health and well being. I’m not sure what exact words Diana would use, but the way I would describe what I understand of it would be something like the following: Just keep going – more than likely you’ll outrun (or out-bike, or out-ski, or out-whatever-your-thing is) whatever ailment you might have . . . And, if not, you’ll enjoy life more while you’re running – so you might as well get to it . . .

Riding into Barcelona was also a treat. What a cool city. Tons of good energy. Bikers everywhere. Bike lanes everywhere. A thriving metro system. Trams. Lots of classical old buildings (and some Gaudi thrown in – I guess just to make it interesting . . .).

Our record of meeting more Moroccans – and everyone else on Earth – than Spaniards continues to be unbroken. The doorman at the place we’re staying – Mohammed (sp?) – is originally from Morocco. Great guy. Super helpful. And always with a smile. We shared stories of our journey through Morocco – it turns out that we biked right through Mohammed’s hometown – which is near Rabat.

Mohammed told us that he has a good friend from Texas – they met when she stayed at our same building a few years ago. She is coming to visit soon. He will bring her back to meet his family in Morocco and then he is planning to go meet her family in Texas. I love stories like that. People loving each other across continents and cultures . . .

We’ll have more to report on Barcelona – but tomorrow we’re off to Girona. Probably the last stop in Spain before we reach France.

Au Revoir . . .