Tongan attire

 In Tonga people wear mats around their waist at any official situations, like going to church for example. Women sometimes wear smaller decorative things called kiye kiye, also plaited, but men always mats. Whenever I asked what was the reason for this, I was always told that this is to show respect.

I have never seen the use of mats this way either in Samoa or Fiji, which are quite close and of similar culture. I have seen similar mats being used in Vanuatu but only during traditional ceremonies. For example during a traditional part of a wedding, where similar mats were used like money, to pay for the bride (some pigs were apparently used for the same purpose). However, nobody used mats during the church part of the same wedding.

It is also interesting to note that in Tonga men seem to be more conservative in the way they dress than women. In most countries it is the other way around, women are more likely to put on traditional attire whereas men wear trousers and T-shirts. In Tonga women seem to wear western dresses while men come to church in a traditional skirt-like lava lava.

Antonio Gaudi's design

 Here are some chimneys on one of the houses he designed. The house is called Casa Mila, or La Pedrera. On the last picture you can see his most famous structure (still unfinished).

Inside the Sagrada Familia

 Have you ever wandered what Sagrada Familia looks like inside? I myself have seen many pictures from the outside, but none inside. So I didn't know what to expect. Anyway, I did go in and I saw. Here is a few pictures from that visit (if you ever wandered what it looks like inside).

By the way, the entry is not so simple. It is a church, but not just like any church, you have to buy a ticket for twenty something euro to get in and a queue is a few days. When you finally are about to enter, you have an airport-like security check, with taking the belt out of your trousers included.