Barcelona, Spain - a tale of two churches

Barcelona is the largest city on the Mediterranean, with an urban population approaching 5 million ranking it the sixth largest city in Europe. It is located on the coast in the northeast of the country about 75 miles south of the border with France. Walking around the tourist areas after 10:30 am however, was akin to being caught in a mudslide - if you got in the right stream you could almost lift your feet off the ground and be swept along to the next destination the crowds were so dense and unforgiving. The day's excursion was to compare the old with the getting old.
First stop was the Old; The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, also known as Barcelona Cathedral, a Gothic church and seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona, begun in the 11th century. Located in the Barri Gotic, the heart of the old town, this edifice was around 8 centuries in the building.
Next, it was onto the Getting Old (but unfinished) colossus that is, or was, the brainchild of the long since dead Antoni Gaudi - the already famous Sagrada Familia. This astonishing structure has been in construction - on and off - for a mere century and a quarter and may be completed in another 20 years or so. In this case, seeing is believing. More pictures here.