Belated Barcelona

I'm in Napoli as I write this, because I've been too busy to update this thing as planned. So here goes:

Well, Barcelona is in the past now, and it was a whirlwind. Unlike many students who went to Ibiza (the world headquarters for house music and outrageous clubs) for most of our four days in Spain, I remained in the city of Barcelona the whole time. Even still, there’s plenty that
I didn’t get to do, though I feel like I had a very productive few days there.

The first day, everyone was beyond stoked just to be back on land, especially when that land is Spain- the land of sangria, jamon (amazingly tasty regional thin-sliced ham, similar in taste to VA ham) and olivas (flavorful and un-salty, not like in the States). The Explorer was docked in the closest non-industrial slip, but getting out of the port on foot was still a 35-40 minute journey through the port and over a huge bridge. Thankfully, shuttles came periodically for those times when we wanted to save ourselves from extra walking. The first people were allowed to disembark the ship at 8am, and I was supposed to be part of that group along with a handful of others. However, we got separated in the chaos, and I ended up going out with just one other (which was fine by me). It didn’t take long for us to find the rest of the group, though, who was already halfway through their churros con chocolate y caffee at a place on La Rambla (the main strip that cuts through the entire city- also a HUGE tourist area, with hawkers, pickpockets, and street performers). Concerning that bit in the parentheses, the prices for pretty much everything on La Rambla apart from knockoff Armani sunglasses and cheap Flamenco fans are astronomical. Everyone I spoke to had an experience where they ate somewhere in that area and paid ridiculous prices- and one time was enough to get the point across that La Rambla is a place to avoid. After we finished our churros, we decided to hit as many of the local landmarks as possible early on, so we would be free to wander the rest of the time. Our wandering led us to the main square, where protesters were camped out in the trees and in the plaza itself. Statues and signed were draped with cloth banners covered in anti-government slogans and slurs (unemployment is at close to 20%, and many major programs are being cut). Most people were wary of this angsty atmosphere, but in all honesty, the people there were more than happy for us to walk through and see what’s really happening in the city.

Antonio Gaudi is the man behind many of the picturesque structures of Barcelona, including la Sagrada Familia (recently consecrated but still a work in progress for 10 to 20 more years), Casa Batlla, and Parque Guell. In light of my lack of picture-posting capabilities, feel free to google those spots to get an idea. Barcelona is a very big city, but it differs from most in that the majority of its buildings are unique in appearance, and in excellent condition. On top of that, you just kind of stumble across various examples of Gaudi architecture as you walk around- something that doesn’t happen normally.

Parque Guell was the most difficult destination to find, despite our trek being cut in half by hopping on the graciously inexpensive Metro (which transforms from pristine and bright to old and dingy as you ride further north). But, as it usually goes, “hard to find” just means it’s all the more fulfilling when you get there. After asking for directions from a couple locals who were happy to help (albeit en Espanol) and climbing up a winding Los Angeles-esque incline for about 45 minutes, we arrived to the best free view in the city. Originally built as a park for the upper class nearly a century ago, it’s now a free public park that’s frequented by visitors to the city. Definitely the high point of what we saw, literally and figuratively.    

They say Barcelona is a walking town, and that’s definitely a true statement- if I lived there, I’d go through shoes like I was a marathon runner. We were able to get to nearly all of the big “spots” just by walking. It’s amazing how quickly your body gets accustomed to not relying on car or bus. Barca would be incredibly fun on bike (with spacious bike lanes on all sidewalks), the preferred option of the city’s grungy hipster contingent, but unfortunately the bikesharing program is for locals only. Since we were walking everywhere, it was easy to wander into areas that were 100% free of tourists. In fact, most of the city was this way, apart from La Rambla, the main landmarks, and the harbor. In order to find good, cheap food, all one has to do it walk 3 or 4 blocks away from the main drag and you’ll be dining on tapas y sangria for as little as 8 Euro. Not to mention the fresh ham and cheese sandwiches (Bocatto con jamon y queso) from La Boqureia market are only 3 Euro and AMAZING. Except for during daily Siesta (from 3 to 5ish), Barcelonans are always on the go so there are many awesome sandwich spots all around, especially in the gothic quarter. For two of the nights, the groups I was with ate at small local places where we were the only Americans. Our waiter was originally from Argentina, so he knew a bit of English as well as the “American Spanish” that we speak. A few locals at the restaurant, H3, spoke to us about different places to go, informing us that the Razmatazz was closed because it was a Tuesday (most of the other students on the ship had been planning on going to this nightlife hotspot- just how many of them showed up to it only to be greeted by locked doors is a mystery to me). 

Speaking of nightlife: it’s like a college weekend on steroids. Every day of the week, dinner isn’t until at least 9 (more often 10), followed by bars until clubs open at 12 and raging until as late as 6. What's more, many of the clubs are on the boardwalk of the beach, so many people hang out on the beach until daybreak. Even on the final night when I did stay out until closing time(Kaskade DJed at Opium Mar, and many people from the ship went), I recovered perfectly and was 100% after a modest amount of sleep. To do it for a handful of days is one thing, but I can’t imagine being a 20-something in Barca and doing that several days a week, every week. It’d be awesome, but I’d probably die.

This post is really poorly written, and all over the place, but my point is: Barcelona is awesome. I would absolutely study here, or maybe even live (if I ever learn Spanish/Catalan, anyway). This experience was much MUCH better than my last visit three years ago, which was spent mostly inside the bubble of a tour bus, staring through glass at places that I was actually able to explore this time around.