Barcelona was a very interesting experience for me because I'd heard so much about the city but also because I can talk A2 level Spanish. To be able to understand road signs, menus, boards and advertisements felt special, especially after French and Dutch signs seemed alien to me. The experience is on another level when you can immerse in the local language.
I enjoyed walking the streets - the popular ones and the non-so-popular ones. The smaller lanes and the inner parallel streets. The more I walked the more I wanted to walk. Every perpendicular by-lane was such a lovely walking tour in itself. The city had a lot of tourists, but you could easily distinguish tourists from the natives. Natives spoke and laughed with one another, walked their dogs and generally walked slowly - they did not seem to be in a rush.
I walked around Sagrada Familia, the church was undergoing some construction, but that did not take away one bit of the marvel I felt. The architecture was so intricate - and I have a special place in my heart for buildings so old.
The city is nestled between the sea on one side and the hills on the other. And when you search for the city on Google, unlike most other cities, instead of an encyclopedia page with details of the population and geography and weather, it is FC Barcelona's match schedule that pops up.
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| I love cities that have such a green cover, that even in busy areas, the ratio of house:tree is 1:1 or maybe more. |
I liked how buildings - old and new - were so close to each other. The neighborhood of Eixample was mostly built in the 19th and 20th century - with residential buildings refurbished every once in a while.
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| That rubber plant - it looks so happy. |
On another clear day, I walked from La Pedrera-Casa Milà to Casa Batlló - and every once in a while, slowed down just to take in everything around me. Architect Gaudi was surely a creative genius. The vision required to convert what would have been an ordinary building to a work of haunting beauty. I stepped into the 'Casa del Libre' - house of books and was left enchanted. The smell of new books along with the the store being crowded, gave me hope that perhaps, reading is not dying.
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| La Pedrera Casa-Mila |
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| Casa Battlo - needs no description. |
I continued to walk around the area - if you see the map, you'll find a lot of tiny lanes crossing each other in neat squares. Of the picture below, I imagined, yet again (these thoughts enter my mind almost in every city) - how the real estate market works here. I would guess these buildings, given their proximity to important historic landmarks and high-end boutiques (near Carrer de Casanova) - it turns out a 3 bed would go for a about 1.3m Euros (I used idealista).
On another warm day, I walked around the gothic quarters of Barcelona. We walked past the beautiful Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar and stopped every few minutes to buy a pastry (Pastisseria Hofmann) or tiny gifts (Gemma - Artesania i Ceràmica Popular). Walking around the 'El Born' neighborhood was a lovely experience, with it's narrow lanes and many eateries.
I would love to go back to the city - repeat the trail I have done if I can remember it all. And maybe, with some luck and planning, I would like to stay at an apartment near Paseo de Gracia. As 2023 closes, I am so grateful that I got to visit so many beautiful places this year. My first time to Europe, meeting new people, trying out some amazing food and reading some fabulous books!
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