Wow! Here it is. More than 30 years after first learning about Gaudi in art history class at CCNY, I'm finally standing in front of the Sagrada. It's a full blown thrill for me, as this place has always been a source of wonder. I remember being stunned at how utterly different this cathedral was from any of the other great architectures we studied.

  Construction of this incredible building was started in 1862, and is still fifty or so years from completion! See the cranes? They're a permanent part of this very popular tourist site. As a matter of fact, there's so much new construction in Barcelona and the other places in Spain we visited, that these huge pedestal cranes are everywhere. We were glad that part of our admission fee would contribute to completion of the Sagrada.