¡Hola! Barcelona

What I did expect to hear in Barcelona, Spain was - ¡Hola!; but what I did not expect to hear in an extremely bad out-of-tune voice was a Sunny Deol song - Yaara O Yaara being sung by an Indian (most probably), hawking an umbrella on a rainy day in front of the Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter.


Having returned last night from a 3-day trip to Barcelona, I was still a bit in the vacation mood when the harsh reality of my classes struck me in my afternoon class today. So, before I completely lose that feeling, I felt I should pen down a little bit of the experience. 

What pleasantly surprised me about Barcelona is that unlike France, many people speak English and do not hate it. Whereas, in France, I have hardly seen even the business owners/employees in the main tourist areas speaking English, which is very surprising considering the fact that Nice is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world. Now, in Barcelona, one might think that being the second largest city in Spain, they mainly speak Spanish; but one would be mistaken. The main language in Barcelona is Catalan followed by Castellano (Spanish) and no, they do not call it Espanol in Catalan. 

The most famous street in Barcelona is 'La Ramblas' and it was highly recommended by everybody and everywhere I searched, but unfortunately, I didn't really find it interesting at all. My recommendation, - avoid it if you can. There are much better places to visit in Barcelona. The street is filled with tourists, and there are some street artists/performers and a few vendors but that's about it. Nothing that got me really excited. Even most of the restaurants are on the expensive side, although I did have my first lunch in Barcelona on 'La Ramblas' in a restaurant called Choquito and it was one of the best meals I have ever had - Paella and Tapas. (For those who don't know, Paella is a rice dish and it is usefully made with seafood; and Tapas are small portions of appetizers, so you order 2-3 to make a meal) Out of my 5 meals in Barcelona, for 4, I just had Tapas and Sangria. The one meal that I did not have Tapas, I dined in an excellent tiny place called 'El Xiringo' on Carrer de Sant Carles near Placa del Mar. The place is owned by the Chef and if you ever end up there, please go with his recommendation. Also, I fell in love with the Spanish sausages called 'Choricitos' or 'Xoricitos' or 'Chorizos'; a little bit salty but excellent!!!

There are two famous personalities from Barcelona - Pablo Ruiz Picasso and Antonio Gaudi. There would be hardly anyone who has never heard of Picasso but I hadn't heard about Gaudi. Antonio Gaudi was an architect in the 19th century in Barcelona. He was the brain behind 'La Sagrada Familia', a church of gigantic proportions whose construction began in 1882 and is expected to be completed some time in the late 2020's. The church is being built completely from donations made by visitors and is not being funded by the Government or a private body or institution. One must visit it to fully comprehend the beauty of this structure. The architecture blows your mind away. I spent an hour there just walking around and I didn't feel like leaving. The majesty is captivating. 

Another creation by Gaudi is the Park Guell, within which Gaudi resided in a beautiful house (now a museum) from 1906-1926. Park Guell is a botanical garden and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site like 'La Sagrada Familia'. The genius of Gaudi was simply mind-blowing. I visited a building he had designed called Casa Batlo and again, the architecture enthralls you. Unfortunately, I couldn't go in because the entrance fee was too expensive. 

There are several architectural marvels in Barcelona and one must try to visit as many as one can. The 'Palau de la Musica Catalana' is another example as well as 'La Pedrera'. The Barcelona Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter is another beautiful place to visit. The architecture - intricate and beautiful! One attraction that I did not expect would be so great was the 'Magic Fountain', which is a sound and light water fountain show. Although I have seen similar shows before, this is definitely worth a mention. If you do ever get a chance to watch it, I am sure you won't be disappointed. 

I took a two-hour walking photography course conducted by a British guy called Ben Evans, It was a really nice informative course and given that I was the only one in that time-slot, I lucked out. During the course , we stopped at a small cafe off 'La Ramblas' called 'Elisabets' for a coffee and some Q&A. It was an extremely good cup of coffee. First, I thought I liked it more because for the last two months I have been drinking really bad coffee from the vending machines in my school and the instant coffee I make at home, but then I tried another cup from a cafe right across and it was fabulous. I didn't realise I would get such good coffee in Spain. After reading up on it later on, I found out that coffee is an integral part of the Spanish culture. 

On 'La Ramblas' there is a fruit/vegetable/fish/meat market. I would say it is worth a visit perhaps just for a few minutes. The quality and variety of goods is excellent and the vendors very artistically arrange the fruits and vegetables in a beautiful manner in their shops. The market looks really beautiful and of course, if you want to purchase anything....

On the last day of my visit, I visited the Picasso Museum - the only one in the world. Now, I must admit, I am not really an art connoisseur. However, even in my ignorance I was able to appreciate his skill. There are two paintings on display at the museum - 'Old Man' and 'Old Man in a Beret', which he painted at the age of 14. They are incredible and it is difficult to imagine a 14-year old to be able to paint with such great skill. 

If you are a football (soccer) fan, you won't be disappointed either. The Barcelona team is considered to be the best in the world and my friends who visited their stadium - 'Camp Nou' were extremely pleased with their visit. 

The one thing that did spoil the experience for me a bit was the fear of pickpockets. I was roaming around without my wallet and just carrying loose money in my pockets. I had my camera in my backpack but was also worried that if I am not careful, someone might open it and take away the camera; an instance I read on a forum had happened to somebody and for others there were similar experiences. I wish the law enforcement is stricter in this regard. However, I am glad that nothing of this sort happened and I survived Barcelona without any theft or any pickpocketing. 

All in all, I had a really enjoyable experience in Barcelona. Many people had also told me that Barcelona is a party-town but I didn't really see the craziness that people had described to me and online. The only thing that was different there was that, many clubs stay open till 6 o' clock in the morning. Perhaps, it is different during the summer...

If you want to take a look at some of the photos, just click on the album below - 

Barcelona 2011

Apart from all the great experiences I had, I did come off wiser as well. One thing that I learnt is to never drink 'Sangria' for lunch on an empty stomach, especially when you are really,really tired ............Well, on second, thought, you might even want to have that experience.............

Gracias!!!