Alcala, Spain Fall 2007: Barcelona, Spain

14-16 September, 2007

At first encounter I fell in love with Barcelona. It seemed to be like Paris, but with a Spanish Flair. I felt very welcomed by the city and the layout of the buildings just had a very aesthetic feel to me. I felt that I could some day work or live there for a period of my life, the first time I have ever felt like that about a place almost immediately.

We arrived by over night bus, which is something i will never do again. I just found it impossible to sleep at all, besides 20 minute spans where I perhaps got what one might call "shut eye", but I felt completely unrested upon arrival. I believe it is worth additional money to go by train or plane, and often times the price isn't that different at all.

When we arrived we went to go drop our bags at our hostel and then went out to explore until 2pm when we could check in. We went out onto La Rambla (a main street). This place was full of street vendors, out door cafes, tapas cafes, stores, flower vendors, street performers, and pet shops. I found a pet I wanted: a chipmunk (seriously considered it for a moment, but realized it would never make it through customs back home:( .

After grabbing some breakfast we went to the Mercat Boqueria. This place was vast and very busy. It sold nuts, candy, fish, meat, bread, pastries, produce (both the recognizable and the exotic), smoothies, chocolate, and more. I bought some fruit and some candied cashews to sample. I love local markets because the prices are usually pretty good (if you are a smart shopper) and it allows you to sample some authentic, unique, and local cuisine.

Next, we jumped on the Metro and went to see the Sagrada Familia. This is a huge church designed by the famous and intriguing Gaudi. The architecture is unlike anything I have ever seen before. An odd combination of modern/abstract with historic look. It has been under construction for a long time, and looks far from being finished still. It looked a bit like it was melting from the outside, almost like a drip-sand castle one makes at the beach. It was very impressive and hard to take in all the aspects. It was very decorative and "busy" on the outside; the longer you stared at it the more intricate details you noticed.

On our way to lunch, we encountered this rag-time jazz performers that were great! They called themselves the "Jinx Jazz Band" and included a trumpet player, trombone player, clarinet player, banjo, and washboard player. I loved them so much that I bought their CD, knowing it would be something my parents would love as well.

Next we made our way to the Els Quatre Gats Cafe, a place that Picasso used to frequent, had an exhibition at, and designed part of the menu for. The place was clearly very popular, but once you are seated, the service is very nice. We had 3-4 people waiting on us, all who were very friendly and accommodating to your every need. We got the 1-4pm deal: 2 plates, bread, water, and a desert for 11Euros. The food is AMAZING. I had gazpacho and a lentil salad. The food was to die for, literally, and it was hard to stop oneself from licking the plates clean. The atmosphere of the cafe is charming as well, so all in all it is definitely worth a stop for the service, the history of the place, the ambiance inside, and most of all the food.

After that, we went back to our hostel to check in and take a nap because we had not slept really the night before on the bus. Then we headed out again without any real plans. After some wandering we got some awesome gelato (3 flavors fro 3 euros) and then decided to go to a movie: The Simpson's Movie. The theater was pretty empty, but it was fun to watch an American cult-classic cartoon in Spanish, and a good way to practice as well. On the way, I took a picture next to a giant book statue because it seemed only fitting that a book-nerd, such as myself, would have to take a picture with a random giant book in the middle of Barcelona.

The next day, after sleeping in some and checking out of our hostel, we went out to the Picasso Museum. It was a really great museum, which has you follow a set out order of the rooms in order to see how he progressed as an artist through various stages of his art. His more famous works were not there, but it was interesting to see how dynamic we was. The exhibit had sketches, pencil drawings, colored pencil drawings, poster art, items from his blue and rose period, as well as a few lesser-known cubism works (the more famous being his 57 paintings of Valesquez' "Las Meninas".

After this, we got lunch in a hole-in-the-wall Spanish cafe. Then we did some more aimless wandering ending up at the Arc de Triomf. We got a metro from there to Parc Guell. The hike up to the Parc is quite strenuous, but very much worth it when you see the view. We stayed a long time after taking pictures of some of the Guadi architecture up there because the breeze felt so nice and we were tired. Eventually we headed back down, got some tapas and more gelato (at the same amazing place I loved) and then to the bus back to Madrid.

HIGHLIGHT OF BARCELONA: Falling in love with a city at first sight, eating in Els Quatre Gats, and going to the same amazing gelato place twice in a row:)

1. La Rambla