Three Days in Barcelona
Barcelona’s heritage is etched in the lines of antiquity but definitively defined by modernity. It is one the notable cities where the ubiquitous glassy facades of modernist architecture works, even when juxtaposed against the stone of centuries old buildings. It is home to architectural heavyweights, including Gaudí, who give the cityscape a playful air.
One such place is Guell Park, built by none other than Gaudí. Climbing to heights of this magical park, even on a cold day, you are serenaded by jazz musicians and the Andalusian specialty: Flamenco. With each new winding height of this park- Barcelona unfolds before you. You can barely see skyscrapers atop and even higher mountain in the distance, frequently visited by the city’s cable car. As you descend the hill, going further into the park you can hear Steel Pans in the distance. The scene is both romantic and idiosyncratic as a nearby cat avidly licks itself on a bench. The park exhibits the playful flair that immortalized Gaudí- ceilings appear to mushroom over you, and nearby houses look edible, as if it belonged in the fairytale of Hansel and Gretel.
The old Gothic Quarter in the heart of downtown offers a maze of narrow streets, each a world upon to themselves. Food is plentiful and delicious, particularly from a market the lines the city’s most famous avenue: La Rambla. Spain’s reputation for its pork is validated in this city, particularly when it is served on a baguette. Paella’s reputation is also validated here as well, just as long as you bypass the unfrozen dishes served to unsuspecting tourists on La Rambla; head to seaside cafes instead for the real thing.
An unexpected calmness overcame me for the three days that I spent in this city, despite the nightly rituals of drunken teenagers cursing each other in Catalan whilst sitting on the floors of subway cars. Even despite the men standing on La Rambla shrouded in darkness, offering alcohol, drugs and sex. It was a calm which I could just barely glean in Rome and never in New York City. Indeed my friend and I wondered why we both felt so comfortable in a city and country we had never set foot in, besides the fact that it was the first time in months we could actually communicate with people in a language that we knew. By the last day we finally figured it out: it was the New York of Europe.
Barcelona is a vibrant city crawling all throughout the year with tourists. But like New York and unlike Rome, it is able to completely absorb the crush of tourists that throng the city. Barcelona is trendy, with chic modern restaurants and hip clothing shops lining the old gothic neighborhoods. It’s marked by a diversity that I had not encountered for months in Europe. It is also very artsy. In one handbag store, a young man sat cutting leather pieces for new bags. The finished products were funky, incredible and one of a kind. Stores and [the numerous] art galleries regularly throw open their doors for city events, to preserve the Catalan language and heritage, and to host programs to help Barcelona dwellers break addictions.
Late at night, perhaps midnight, after several glasses of Sangria and hopping from one tapas bar to another, there’s nothing funnier than having your drunken waiter (made to look sober by his even drunker colleague) deliver your Tapas and tell you, “you look like you could be from Brazil.”
