The Adventures of Kerri & Matt

Montesserat is a funky looking mountain.

With a very pretty view.

Over a small city near Barcelona.

It is famous for this wooden statue, which was carved in the 1st century by St. Luke (in the Romanesque style, he was a millennium ahead of his time) and brought to Spain by St. Peter, where it was hidden in a cave until some kids found it in the 11th century. It is carbon dated to the late 12th century for unexplained reasons.

This is the backside because you can’t take pictures of the front.

This is not the cave where it was found.

This is the cave where it was found. It doesn’t look much like a cave, but if you go inside…

It still doesn’t look much like a cave. It’s a niche at best. There is a replica of the statue sitting on the totally natural statue stand.

Here is Matt hiding in a cave on the way back.

Buildings aren’t the only things that Gaudi designed. He also worked on estates for the super rich. These estates are now a tourist attraction.

It has gingerbread houses that used to be residences for the porters at the entrance gate.

The park was on top of the hill so you could see the city and the unfinished church off in the distance.

From the top of the park there is an open area that is lined with funky looking benches.

Here is Matt enjoying the funky ergonomic benches.

The columns under the benches pipe rain water down to the fountains on the stairs.

So there is a slightly damp framed pigeon stand fountain.

A famous drooling salamander fountain.

Look at that drool!

And a similarly drooly goat thing.

These are….uh angled columns that represent…(Kerri where did the brochure go?) a supported wave.

Much of the park structures are built up out of recycled stones.

One column was a woman for reasons too (shoot where did that brochure go?).

The top columns spiral and look cooler than the lower ones.

The inside of the Basilica is actually less weird than we were expecting.

But the bar had been set pretty high.

It was mostly very tall.

With a ton of stained glass.

Which was very colourful.

And let in colourful light.

All of the stained glass work was supposed to be symbolic.

Matt thinks this one symbolizes a frog.

Maybe it’s suggesting that if you lick some frogs you will understand the rest.

The pillars and roof are supposed to symbolize palm trees.

These little button things are labelled so we don’t have to guess.

These thingies are not labelled. And even Matt doesn’t have a guess.

There is a whole in the ceiling and Jesus is parachuting in.

He has his knees bent, bracing for impact.

This is Joseph. He is blue.

This window is much more colourful.

This is an upside down model they used to design the church.

The Sagrada Familia Basilica was also designed by Gaudí. Except he died 90 years ago, his plans were destroyed during the war, and it’s not even close to being finished.

It looks like what you’d expect if there was a Basilica in Disneyland, overly elaborate and colourful and fake.

The top has a lot of grapes.

And wheaty bits.

These are actually supposed to represent wine.

And wheat for communion crackers.

But that doesn’t explain the other fruity bits.

And boy were there ever a lot of fruity bits.

Gaudí was very devout, but the guy who took over for him seems to think Jesus was a short-haired punk and a bit of a blockhead.

Though not as much of a blockhead as Thomas.

This is the other side, some of which vvas actually done by Gaudí.

It shows the nativity with some rather aggressive farm animals.

And a forest of leaves.

Filled with butterflies and other creepy crawlies.

And gigantic ants.

And ugly spiders.

And snails. All to put you in the mood for church.