BCN - Day Two

Day two included a visit to Sagrada Familia….one word- amazing. Worth the short wait to enter and the extra fee to ride the elevator to the top and walk down. The observation deck at 90m serves as a viewpoint of rooftop Barcelona. The building of the cathedral began in the 1880’s and will not be complete until sometime in 2030, definitely a long-range project.






That evening we visited an art school friend for Focs de Sant Joan, a Midsummer’s Eve Festival for summer solstice. Check out the website http://www.bcn.cat/santjoan/en/nit-magica.html for all the details, but apparently there are three important symbols for the evening. One being herbs such as rosemary, thyme and verbena that take on magical healing strength, another is water and the third fire.

We were witness to the last in a neighborhood bonfire built from old furniture, wood, boxes and anything else burnable. The special flame was given to each of the blue t-shirt wearing roller skaters. They lite the bonfire, but only after the giant cartoon pig exploded with fireworks. After that the pig, like us, just watched the rest of the event. A group of drummers kept the beat going for most of the ritual.












We did not make it down to the beach where many end up in the wee hours of the evening/morning. This event or ritual is a carry over of the olden, pagan days that celebrated the cycles of nature and the changing seasons.