A view of Barcelona from Park Guell
Before I write about Barcelona, I should say that we were never planning on coming to this part of Spain. Much that we had read about Catalonia gave us pause especially the high prices and the use of Catalan (a completely different language from Castillian Spanish) as their main language. We originally chose Spain partly because of a desire to learn a language that would be useful in many parts of the world. Catalan is spoken only in a few parts of Spain, Andorra and some areas in the French Pyrenees and is not learned or understood in the rest of the country.
The language isn´t the only thing that separates the Catalonians from much of the rest of Spain. Catalonians tend to think of themselves as more "European" than Spanish and are viewed by many Castillians as more businesslike (or money-hungry, depending on your perspective). This "differentness" has grown to be such a polarizing political issue that there is now an avid separatist movement.
Many of our Spanish friends from Pueblo Ingles told us that though Barcelona is great, they did not feel very welcomed there as they could only communicate with the locals in Castillian. They expressed their sense that Spaniards from other parts of Spain were less accepted than foreigners who only spoke English. We can´t say whether or not this is true, but our experience was that eveyone could communicate with us in Castillian and we were treated politely.
More importantly, we immediately felt that European-ness. Barcelona was unlike any other Spanish city. There was a distinct air of internationalism, a wide diversity of people, a mix of languages (especially on menus and shop signs) and a serious capitalistic intention. Barcelona knows how to be customer oriented (i.e. offering dinner BEFORE 10 p.m.) and seems focused on making money at it. It has a unique combination of Mediterranean beach town, historic central quarter, funky neighborhoods and chic (and ethnic) restaurants. All of this makes it a great place to visit - and people do that in DROVES! It is packed with tourisits and a stroll on the famous Las Ramblas is almost impossible due to the crush of people. But it´s easy enough to get away from the crowd and wander the streets and parks, occasionally stumbling upon another stunning Gaudi-designed building.
Casa Battló - designed by Antonio Gaudì (1905-7)
La Pedrera or Casa Milà - also by Gaudì (1906-10)
This apartment building had a wonderful roof "garden" filled with fascinating chimneys and one really great guy
Despite my 24 hour stomach flu, we had a fun time being tourists and thoroughly enjoyed the staggeringly incredible Sagrada Familia cathedral, the most amazing fruit and veg market I´ve ever seen (they say it´s the largest in Europe), the beach, the colorful street performers on the Ramblas and stolling through the historic Gothic quarter. Sadly, my stomach wasn´t up to sampling the cuisine that is supposed to be superior to that of the rest of Spain (our wallets were happy, though).
Las Ramblas street performers
La Sagrada Familia Cathedral has been under construction since 1882. There´s at least another century of work to be done. In the meantime, a visit is still awe-inspiring.
Next stop: the institution.
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