My nephew Jagger is 20.  He lives at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada.  As far as travelling goes, I know he’s been to Hawaii.  But anything resembling Europe?  No.

And here he comes … on May 8!  Visiting me in Gent, Belgium.  And where else?  Most places I could take him would be new to me too … and that’s a good thing.  I want both of us to be amazed, to be brought to silence with the beauty.

I asked my friends.  Where would they go?  Paris is only a three-hour train ride but it doesn’t draw me.

One word was the most common on others’ lips – Barcelona.  In my mind was the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands, perhaps as beautiful as Ghent.  But I was outvoted.

One name came to the fore: Antonio Gaudi.  He was a Spanish architect who made Barcelona his mode of expression.  Four Canadian eyes will be lifted to the heights.

Antonio was a big soul.  As one commentator said:

Each of his characteristic mediums – wood, wrought iron, ceramics and stained glass – are seamlessly intertwined to tell a story of life, death and the faith in between.

Oh.  I wish I could have had coffee with Antoni.

He lived from 1852 to 1926, being on this planet for two years fewer than my current life.

As I understand it, Gaudi was in his 40’s when a vision of a church came into his mind.  He started working on it just before the turn of the century.  And (Are you ready for this?) the completion date is expected to be 2026.

Here is the Sagrada Familia:

And inside …

Jagger and I have tickets for May 12.  Wowsers!

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And now another wonder – La Pedrera:

A woman had Gaudi create her dream home.  When it was completed in 1912, the good residents of Barcelona mocked the lady.  “Ridiculous!” 

Gaudi was so far ahead of his time.  He had created a building with no straight lines.  I think of the song “Vincent”, written about the artist Vincent van Gogh:

Now I understand what you tried to say to me
How you suffered for your sanity
How you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they’ll listen now

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Then a third explosion for the heart – Casa Batllo …

The mosaic exterior, the inner atrium lined with blue tiles.  Once a house, now a museum.  A feast for the eyes.

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Bring on the new–to-me

Every day, please