I lay in bed in the morning, waiting for others to get up and as I lay there, I watched the sky. I began to remember Wyona standing at her London flat window and watching the planes lift off in the sky, one every 90 seconds or so out of Heathrow. I must be seeing the same phenonmen, only this time it is about planes ready to land in Barcelona, for we are a one hour train ride away. I see streaks of jet fume in the sky that follow each other, or sometimes criss-cross. Sometimes there are 10 or more of those in the air.
Now that I have learned to look up, I see the same thing when I am walking along the seaside. And I saw it yesterday as I was standing in the line-up waiting to buy a ticket for Sagrada Familia. An hour is a long time to stand on the side, though the cue did keep moving. I used the time to look at the ornamentation on the church. When I had turned the corner, and passed the tree of life that towered over the Natavity Facade, I began to see lizards, snakes and gargoyles, each unique, crawling down the wall. It wasn´t until I was inside and heard the interpretation that a big smile came on my face. They are fleeing the holiness of the inside of the church, scattering or slithering away from the religious contents they would have to see, should they be going the other way.
I had busied myself looking for anti symetry, since my eye was so busy looking for connections where I could find none. The first long-term English conversation I have had in 10 days was with the woman behind me. Her two daughters were there, but not because they wanted to be. They would rather have been walking La Rambla. But she was determined to go into the church. When we finally got to the spot where we were to buy the ticket, and all of its accessories (do you want to add a walking tour, the audio guide, a trip up the escalator, etc.) she looked confused. I told her I am only going to be here once unless another set of stars line up for me, so I am going with the audio guide.
Bonnie asked me how I was so quick to make that decision and I didn´t know why that is the best choice for me. The tour is only an hour or two long. The audio guide lasts all day, and you go go deeper. ¨Listen to number 13 you will hear about the composition of the windows. If you like that and want to know more, then press 131 and you will hear more about Venentian glass-making,¨ for example.
Thank you, Wyona, for the trips through the local markets, the tours through the museums, the rides on the double-decker buses, the knowledge of how to slip on and off subways when in a rush. I am useless when it comes to the language here, though I am trying. It is something like my French. I can think of a sentence, compose it in my mind, and say it. But I cannot hear the answer. Well, I can hear it but nothing makes sense. I would have to see it written.
On the other hand, put me near the underground metro and I can run those tunnels and find the right trains. I may be in overkill, because at some unconconscious level, I hit the pavement there and think I have to run.
Oh, dear London, I remember you, love you, from afar as I look at beautiful Barcelona.
Arta
My choice too, would have been the audio guide. It covers more and takes more time but it is your choice. You don't have to run with the pack. You can follow a pack if you want and then stay behind with your audio guide. The outside of the Sagrada Familia is amazing. Since it has been built over the century, it has all kinds of differences. Tonia knows more about this than I do.
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