How was Barcelona?

Barcelona is a very interesting city. A vibrant and passionate culture, seeing another page of hardships in its rich chronical of history; this time lingering economic stagnation and a nationalist self-identity crisis. [sound familiar?]

Catalonians are strongly represented in the country, from the near ubiquitous yellow ribbon to the abundant flags flying from railings, sometimes surrounded by laundry drying on the same lines. Catalan is replicated in printed instructions, restaurant menus, posters, and is closely related to Occitan and Italian over Spanish. [A fact I was ignorant to, and kindly pointed out by my travel buddy]

Art liberally paints the city. Fountains and statues, modern structural art exhibits, museums, handmade arts and crafts stalls, people dressed like fashion models on every street and club, teenagers spitting bars in public parks at 2am. Plus the place is literally dripping in graffiti, echoing the passion of Pablo Picasso

Barcelona has soul, and you have to love it.

The people are similarly passionate. They were warm with each other. I saw scores of crossing paths turn into long conversations, hugs and kisses, introductions. It was inspiring to see a city so connected and unafraid of connection. Meanwhile New York culture feel like it almost reinforces missed connections, if simply from its scale.

Most everyone was delightful. Lots of inclusion if you were willing to struggle through a “¡Hola! ¿Cómo estás?” in horrible Spanish. You could tell by the big smiles, and because no one minds switching immediately into English at the sound of my attempt. Most people could speak a few lines, at least enough for pleasantries and some cultural exchange. In a group though, generally you’d get someone with a reasonably fluency. Besides generally high education levels, we learned, studying English opens a lot of job opportunities for many of the residents/students.

Which leads to the darker part. The dependency of tourism that drives the economy, mixed with the persistent unemployment and the rise in tribalism, infused with the cultural pride, results in some people are pretty aggressive to tourists.

I mean NYC hates tourists too. You’ll definitely get side-eyed/bumped/honked at for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. [Don’t interrupt the flow of traffic! If you don’t know, step to the side!]

We’ll also definitely bring you up to our co-workers at lunch. [Salad. At our desks. Again.]

But in Barcelona, I got spit on twice, pickpocketed, called a couple of racial slurs, and one friend had a rude af altercation. All in a week!

It’s a small stain on an otherwise exhilarating experience.

Peter and I particularly, took a handful of expeditions to see a dozen different parts of the city [and Monserrat], including some absolutely incredible sights. From three different 360 views atop mountains, to the boardwalks and clubs, to all the food, the stupid amount of alcohol, and all those beautiful people, I loved exploring the city. Every inch is interesting and detailed.

I learned a bit about the difference of being a traveler versus being a tourist this trip. Visiting different places with my family is tough because we stay in a little more luxury, but also makes the environment a little more sterile. It took me a while to learn about the locals when we stayed in hotels, visited multiple tourist mainstays, and tethered to a big group. Not that it wasn’t good in its own way.

Peter and I indulged in plenty of detours. Hidden local specialties. Which gave us more rounded experience with Barcelona. I will say though, it was great to come back to nice places and have support/amenities.

But I much prefer being the hospitable hostel renting, randomly wandering, broke traveler. You really connect with a place differently, and I think it’s much more authentic. Even so, Barcelona is kindly, very tourist friendly, and some of those places and events are an important part of seeing the city.

I’m sure I’ll be back. I hear summertime is a dream.

Some recommendations:

La Paradeta [Seafood Restaurant: Try the Lobster, Crab w Salad, all the prawns, Razor Clams… Honestly it’s all good. Go back twice, we did.]

Mercat de la Boqueria [bit inflated, but still fun to wander around. Try the juices, meats, olives, something random]

Nasty Mondays @ Sala Apolo [two story club, Old/Modern/New Rock upstairs, Varying House downstairs. I could blare every word of The Killers, Artic Monkeys, & Queen]

Shako Kyoto or Opium

Park Guell and Parc de la Ciutadella [both beautiful parks with unmissable views. We went at night for both,

Picasso Museum

At Monserrat, about 3 hours by train from Barcelona, we hiked mountains, explored ancient monastery’s, had amazing ascents to gorgeous views. If you’re a hiker sort of person, totally worth.

[Side note: Lunch is around 1-4/5. Dinner starts at 8. Clubs only heat up at 2/2:30AM, dead-ish before 11. Metros end at 12, start at 5/5:15. Buses run all night, taking the metro pass. Watch for pickpockets, particularly outside clubs. But the guys peddling drink/food/weed are generally alright. Sengali in a park mid-day, 40 an eighth, good quality but that’s a tourist price.]