5 days in Barcelona (12/1/16-17/1/16)
After a 16-hour flight, I finally got to Barcelona around midnight. Too tired to feel the boiling excitement, I boarded the airport bus to the city center where Eli and Jonathan were waiting for me. People are not joking about Spanish hospitality. Eli, Jonathan and Ariadna took care of everything from my temporary bed to wifi password and metro map that I would need in my 5 days in Barcelona.
Eli’s apartment lies on Psg de Sant Joan at the heart of Barcelona. From here I could walk south to the sea and north to the mountains. On the first day, I walked to Parc Ciutadella that is 10 minutes from her place. I absolutely love Ciutadella and the public parks sprinkled around Barcelona. People in Barcelona love spending time outside, taking a run across Ciutadella, exercising in the public training area or just sitting down on one of the benches along the beach. The pedestrian sidewalks are wide and beautifully decorated with gorgeous trees and even streetlamps designed by Gaudí (psg de Gracia). I preferred walking to taking the metro here because Barcelona is constructed in a manner that encourages people to spend time outside and with each other.
All the touristy stuff was great too. I took a free tour in the old quarter of Barcelona. Sybille, my tour guide, is originally from Ireland. Her parents took a road trip after college to Barcelona, fell in love with the city and settled there for a while. Sybille moved back to Ireland and after graduation, decided to spend only one year in Barcelona to learn about her birthplace. It has been 13 years. Just like her parents, she loves Barcelona and her passion is infectious. I wouldn’t blame her. I may be slightly in love with Barcelona too.
My favorite place in old Barcelona is the Santa Maria del Mar Cathedral. The cathedral is very special because it is not built by the Church but by the people of Barcelona. It is the embodiment of the spirit of collaboration that is distinctive of the people of Catalunya. This spirit is also evident during the Spanish Civil War when the people of Catalunya asked the government to arm them so they could protect Barcelona with their own efforts and collaboration. Santa Maria del Mar symbolizes the democracy that I noticed in Catalunya. Every decision about its renovation has to be agreed upon by the people. One time the glass panel in the cathedral was broken and the people voted to install one with the image of FC Barcelona. So now they have a Gothic cathedral with a FC Barcelona glass panel.
We came across this painting on a garage door on Calle de las Dames during the tour. The name of the street is the Street of the Ladies but it is not what its name sounds like. Barcelona has always been a harbor city. In the past, it was very desirable to marry a sailor. Before each voyage, sailors prayed to God that if he survived to return, he would marry the first girl he encountered. So whenever ships embarked on Barceloneta, which used to be a fishing village, ladies from good families would wait on this street for sailors in the hope of meeting her future husband.
Another notable artwork in the old quarter of Barcelona is this sculpture. It is not particularly beautiful (again, this is only my opinion lol) but it depicts a long-standing tradition of Cataluyna: Los Torres Humanos (human tower). It is exactly what it sounds like: people stand on each other to form anything from 3 to 10 story high tower. This sculpture marks the height of the tallest human tower that is 10 story high. As the tower gets taller, the people on top has to be lighter and the one on the very top is usually a little girl. When she gets to the top, she throws her hand to the air and counts loudly from 1 to 3, which represents the 3 red stripes on the Catalunya flag.
My next day was dedicated to Gaudí. I visited La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell and Casa Batlló. His artistic style is super quaint but I like the intricacy and his obsession with colors and nature. My favorite things about Gaudí are the mesmerizing glass panels and sets of stairs in La Sagrada Familia.
Another wonderful neighborhood to explore is Gracia. I went here with Eli and Gemma. It is full of bars, shops and restaurants, kinda like the SoHo of Barcelona. El Born is also a great place to hang out during the weekend.
Food in Catalunya is ridiculously good. If you come here, please try the followings: el bocadillo con jamón, patatas bravas, croquetas, crema catalana, arroz negro, coulant de chocolate, sopa de chocolate blanco, butifarra de pages plancha, chocochurros and paella made by Eli’s dad (not sure if you can get this one haha). You also have to drink Estrella, a special beer in Catalunya, and Clara, beer with lemon juice, but only after an hour of watching Estrella commercials (they are bomb!). Recommended restaurants and bars are La cerverceria catalana, Elisabets, Flax and Kale, Granja Petitbo, Garde, La xurreria Trevol, 4Cats (Picasso’s old hanging out place).
On my last day, Eli and Jonathan took me to her pueblo, Caldes de Montjuic, which is 40 minutes outside of the city. Her house is the cutest I have ever seen. There is a garden with lemon trees and a goat. The interior of the house is beautifully decorated with Portuguese ceramics and tasteful furniture. Eli’s parents prepared me paella with mussels and shrimp. Eating homemade paella while drinking Vermut, a typical calatán drink, and having conversations about Spain and other cultures was the best thing ever. The people here and their hospitality made my experience in Barcelona truly incredible. It is one thing to visit a place. It is another to be in one place, live the life of the people there and see the world through their lens. My trip in Barcelona reminds me to be grateful of the wonderful friends I have made during my adventures and how life would bring us together in very unexpected moments.
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