Gaudi in the morning

Saturday morning in Astorga and after breakfast - cafe con leche, zumo naranja and tortilla it was off to mass in the Cathedral. After this week trip around the Palacio, built for the Bishop of Astorga, but never used. Today it is a museum dedicated to the building and Gaudi's role in its design. As I looked around and marvelled at the detail it reminded me of two buildings back in the UK. I was thinking of Castle Drogo in the care of the National Trust, and Castell Coch in the care of CADW. Grey granite simplicity meets Pugin. See what you think from the pictures. There was also an exhibition of pictures, background and video from the unfinished Cathedral in Barcelona that I have yet to visit. Sagrada Familia . Again it is a Gaudi design, and the exhibits showed this as a stunning piece. The detail, theology and scale of the place make it literally awesome.

Every so often there are architects, craftsmen, designers and artists that have a rare gift for capturing one's imagination and revealing something of the divine, something other worldly, something that touches the soul. Gaudi it seems had that by the bucket full. What a privilege and joy to experience just a little of that.





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