Today was proof that plans are made to be changed. We set off this morning with the intention of visiting a couple of the major sights but one look around Plaça Catalunya at the number of people we decided we should probably spend the day getting the lay-of-the-land and make sure on subsequent days we got tickets in advance. The wisdom of this decision was confirmed later in the day as by 12:00 there was a 4-5 hour delay for tickets at most major tourist venues. Thus we spent the day getting on-off one of the tourist buses. The photographs below show glimpses of various land marks.

The center piece of any visit to Barcelona is Sagrada Familia the famous church designed by architect Antoni Guadí. Not only is the design something quite special/unique/different but it is also an amazing undertaking. One quickly discovers that this church is still under construction, far from complete, and that on current estimates will not be completed until at least 2026. Yet construction of the building started in 1882 with Gaudí becoming involved in 1883. He worked on it for the remainder of his life dying in 1926. Thus today the church has been under constructions for over 134 years.

So we spent the day visiting Barcelona harbor and beach (it is artificial in the sense that all the sand was trucked in), looking at Sagrada Familia from the outside, visiting the free access part of Park Güell and the outsides of Casa Batlló and Casa Milá (La Pedrera). We finished the day determined to get tickets to the inside of these venues.