uptempodemonplumsauce: "THOSE are your long shorts???"

...Stella asks me when I tell her I want to dress appropriately for Sagrada Família, so I'm opting for long shorts rather than my normal shorts.

Happy in my happy place

Sept 14, Thursday

I get a champ's night of sleep - almost 9 hours! Good ones! Stella and I hike up to the Olympic grounds which are about a mile from our flat. Whenever we get the slightest bit lost, the line to say is, "We're on a journey." We journey a few times before we make it to the Olympics.

We hike around our neighborhood for a while before we head home for breakfast. Stella is an outstanding food maker. I'm very good at cleaning. She makes us avocado toast and I clean the kitchen. Together, we really are the perfect person.

Today is Sagrada Família day! Sixteen years ago in Barcelona, I was only able to see the outside of the Sagrada Família from a distance because the whole thing was covered in scaffolding. Even that much ignited my love for Gaudí and made me swoon. Today, I am floored.

Audiotour nerds

From the moment I see the Sagrada Família, my heart pounds. My skin feels hypersensitive and I feel warm inside. The pores of my skin feel slightly electrified. I'm constantly a little choked up. This is what it feels like when I fall in love.

The Sagrada Família is more than a religious experience, it feels like coming home. A genius named Antoni Gaudí created art over 100 years ago that manifests the some of the corners of my imagination. It feels like he made this work of art for me. The Sagrada Família is reverent, witty, creative, sacred, innocent, expansive, earthy, and bodacious.

Standing inside of it feels like a dream I never knew I dreamt come true.

Stella and I take picture after picture. I think to myself over and over, "I can't wait to come back. I can't wait to come back." We end the visit with a visit to Gaudí's museum and one more spin in the center of the church.

The inside of this church is what the inside of my brain looks like

After, we had to a tapas place recommended by our Air BnB host. The tapas are amazing, I swear off sangria (for now), and I eat my favorite thing (besides churros & chocolate) so far on this trip- chorizo & peppers. It's served between two thin slices of French bread and it's the only taste I want in my mouth for the immediate future.

Stella and I amble home in the cool, rain-threatening air. When it indeed does start raining, Stella declares, "I'm happy it's raining!"

I am, too. I'm happy it's everything right now.