I made it!!
I went to the Sagrada Familia today :) It´s 340 steps up to the top of the very highest tower, and I figured "340 - no biggy". Well, it´s a biggy.
To get there you start climbing up these narrow steps, curving in a tight circle, and there are people directly in front of you, people directly behind you, and hardly any light. This, however, is only a small bit, so don´t worry.
After this section, you get the the area in the temple where there are windows on both sides, one side is open to the air, the other side has metal bars open to the inside of the tower. Again, tight circles, plenty of people, but more light and a whole lot of air.
THEN, you get to the section where you are able to step off onto little balconies - you´re around step 200 at this point. Jenny and I are both going strong, doing our yoga breath and plugging away. I´m getting a little annoyed because people are stepping off the stairs onto these balconies, and then just kind of barging their way back on. The man in front of me kept taking a couple steps up, and then one step back down onto the stair that I was then standing on, and he and his wife were constantly attached at the lips. Which is just plain annoying. But we keep climbing.
The next section is high enough so you can see the carvings on the tower, which is pretty neat. I´m getting more comfortable, my hands have stopped sweating (for those of you who don¨t know, I´m afraid of two things in life. One of which is clowns, but I´ll get into that another time. The other happens to be heights.) and my legs were only shaking a little bit. However, they fail to tell you when you choose to take the stairs instead of the lift (for which they charge 2 €) that there is more than one moment when you have to cross in the open air between two towers. In the OPEN AIR!! No handrails, no net, nothing - well, there´s a wall that´s about chest high - but still! I´m level with one of the tops of the other towers now, and standing at the opening to this walkway frozen. People are walking past me and stopping int he middle of the walk to take pictures, and all I want is a clear shot from one side to the other. I don´t want to worry about going around people, getting close to the edge, bumping into people, having to look anywhere but down, none of this. I just want to stare at the floor and speed walk my way across this bridge. Finally, people get it and let me just go (and I flew! across that bridge) - then we were at step 230. The higher up we went, the more open the windows were and the less wall there was. Just open space, and curving stairs. Not open enough for someone to fall off, but open enough for me not to have a wall to constantly follow.
I made it to step 290. At this point Jenny and I were done, shot, I couldn´t do it anymore. Strong, independent Chandra had become a sweaty mess and - upon seeing that there was yet another open bridge higher up, grabbed the first flight of stairs down. And I´m glad I did :) I don´t regret it at all! Someday I may wish that I had seen the sights from stair 340, but really, what am I going to see in another 50 steps that I couldn´t see right then? Besides, somewhere there has to be a postcard of the view, and that´s a postcard I will buy. I´m happy to be back on the ground, my hands are less sweaty, my heart rate is normal, and I´ve toured a gorgeous church! Just amazing! The view was nice, but the craftsmanship was so astounding. I took plenty of pictures, and as soon as I get them developed I´ll send them to Alexis to put on my web page. Then you can all share in the trip with me :o)
This weekend we aren´t going to head to Andorra, we´re going to Figurues instead. It´s got the Dali museum, and looks very pretty. Then we´ll buzz down to Girona, stay the night, wake up and tour the roman ruins. I can´t wait to tell you all about them! I´ll have to take my time on that blog entry - it will be a long one, but I´ll want to do it right. But for now, it´s friday, its been a long week, and next week promises to be longer (three major projects due, all within 3 days- yippee) I´m going to grab some girlfriends and head out for a cold beer. I figure at this point, I´ve earned it! Have a great weekend all. I´ll write you more on Monday!
To get there you start climbing up these narrow steps, curving in a tight circle, and there are people directly in front of you, people directly behind you, and hardly any light. This, however, is only a small bit, so don´t worry.
After this section, you get the the area in the temple where there are windows on both sides, one side is open to the air, the other side has metal bars open to the inside of the tower. Again, tight circles, plenty of people, but more light and a whole lot of air.
THEN, you get to the section where you are able to step off onto little balconies - you´re around step 200 at this point. Jenny and I are both going strong, doing our yoga breath and plugging away. I´m getting a little annoyed because people are stepping off the stairs onto these balconies, and then just kind of barging their way back on. The man in front of me kept taking a couple steps up, and then one step back down onto the stair that I was then standing on, and he and his wife were constantly attached at the lips. Which is just plain annoying. But we keep climbing.
The next section is high enough so you can see the carvings on the tower, which is pretty neat. I´m getting more comfortable, my hands have stopped sweating (for those of you who don¨t know, I´m afraid of two things in life. One of which is clowns, but I´ll get into that another time. The other happens to be heights.) and my legs were only shaking a little bit. However, they fail to tell you when you choose to take the stairs instead of the lift (for which they charge 2 €) that there is more than one moment when you have to cross in the open air between two towers. In the OPEN AIR!! No handrails, no net, nothing - well, there´s a wall that´s about chest high - but still! I´m level with one of the tops of the other towers now, and standing at the opening to this walkway frozen. People are walking past me and stopping int he middle of the walk to take pictures, and all I want is a clear shot from one side to the other. I don´t want to worry about going around people, getting close to the edge, bumping into people, having to look anywhere but down, none of this. I just want to stare at the floor and speed walk my way across this bridge. Finally, people get it and let me just go (and I flew! across that bridge) - then we were at step 230. The higher up we went, the more open the windows were and the less wall there was. Just open space, and curving stairs. Not open enough for someone to fall off, but open enough for me not to have a wall to constantly follow.
I made it to step 290. At this point Jenny and I were done, shot, I couldn´t do it anymore. Strong, independent Chandra had become a sweaty mess and - upon seeing that there was yet another open bridge higher up, grabbed the first flight of stairs down. And I´m glad I did :) I don´t regret it at all! Someday I may wish that I had seen the sights from stair 340, but really, what am I going to see in another 50 steps that I couldn´t see right then? Besides, somewhere there has to be a postcard of the view, and that´s a postcard I will buy. I´m happy to be back on the ground, my hands are less sweaty, my heart rate is normal, and I´ve toured a gorgeous church! Just amazing! The view was nice, but the craftsmanship was so astounding. I took plenty of pictures, and as soon as I get them developed I´ll send them to Alexis to put on my web page. Then you can all share in the trip with me :o)
This weekend we aren´t going to head to Andorra, we´re going to Figurues instead. It´s got the Dali museum, and looks very pretty. Then we´ll buzz down to Girona, stay the night, wake up and tour the roman ruins. I can´t wait to tell you all about them! I´ll have to take my time on that blog entry - it will be a long one, but I´ll want to do it right. But for now, it´s friday, its been a long week, and next week promises to be longer (three major projects due, all within 3 days- yippee) I´m going to grab some girlfriends and head out for a cold beer. I figure at this point, I´ve earned it! Have a great weekend all. I´ll write you more on Monday!
posted by Chandi at 7:08 PM
2 Comments:
Aha! La Sagrada Familia! Beautiful outside, and even more beautiful within. Strange forms and figures lurk everywhere! Gald you made it there. Did you notice the stark contrast between the old and the new? The cut stone vs. formed concrete? Enjoy your weekend, you have earned it!
I am so happy to hear that you will be sending Alexis photos so that we will all be able to share your experiences in some way. There is no way I could have gotten up even a fraction of that many steps ~ way to go. Have a great mini-excursion this weekend!
Oh, by the way ~ you know how we both love LOST ~ it is up for an Emmy Award for best dramatic series. I knew you of all people would appreciate that! Who am I going to talk to on Thursday mornings about plot twists now??? :)
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