Oct 27, 2021
In our first day in town we decided to commence with a walk. It’s a good way to learn about the character of the place. Barcelona is huge with many different neighborhoods. Antoni Gardi is one of the famous architects in the city who designed the Basílica de la Sagrada Família. It’s a church still under construction for the last 100+ years and due for completion within this decade. Our impression was that although very creative it left us feeling flat especially when the entrance was covered in dark shade.
What did impress us was a group of young people putting out shoes in an orderly manner outside another cathedral. They were also painting the public square with white shoe prints. We were curious and asked one of the young people what this was about? It turns out the 60+ shoes were from the actual homeless people in Barcelona who had died this past year. The white painted shoe outlines represents those estimated homeless people still alive in the city. The compassion of the young people greatly moved us and helped us recall the homeless people back home.
