For us, there’s no other way to put it; Barcelona was FAN-fucking-TASTIC! So much so, that we didn’t have time to write ANYthing while we were still in the country. Pictures will come at the end of this post, I promise. First thing’s first, though; I must talk a little bit about CouchSurfing.
When you visit a new city using Couchsurfing, your primary goal is to try to make some sort of connection with somebody local. In most cases, you hope that at least you have a few things in common, and that you get along well, and maybe get to share a few stories, and learn a few tips about the local scene. Overall, if you search well for a match, you will most likely end up with a positive and unique experience that teaches you more about the city or country than you ever would have doing things on your own. This has been our exact experience so far. In London, our hosts, Martin and Ginette, took us to local pubs, showed us where to find good fish and chips, and told us about a neat little Canal Boat Festival that we’d have never known about. And two out of our three hosts in Barcelona did much the same. They gave us tips, helped us learn how to use the local transit system, and showed us where to find local shops and restaurants.
But with one of our hosts in Barcelona, a couple named Juan & Miguel Angel, we made such a spectacular connection that we feel like we will be friends for life! We INSISTED that they come to visit us in Costa Rica at their earliest opportunity. We think that will be within the next 3 years, as Miguel is finishing up a medical residency. We enjoyed them and clicked with them so much, and so quickly, that even though we only stayed with them for 3 nights, we ended up meeting up again our last night there, just to hang out and see some sights together. We finished off our Barcelona adventure together, traipsing through the streets of Barcelona, looking for some late-night tapas to cap off our evening of watching the amazing lights and water show at the Magic Fountain in Placa d’Espanya (we eventually found a place with tables out in the open air, and it was great). Juan & Miguel Angel were warm, compassionate, inviting, inquisitive and funny. In short, when one imagines the ideal couchsurfing experience, our visit with these guys pretty well defines it.
Aside from really enjoying the people there, though, we also found the sites, and even the air, to be thoroughly enticing. First off, the air… especially after leaving London, where it was COLD (COLD, goddammit!) and wet, our bodies just melted and relaxed happily when we got off the plane in Spain (which lies mainly out of the rain) and felt the WARM, dry air.
More than that, though, the feel of the place, once we got into the city, just felt RIGHT. We stayed at first in an area called Barceloneta, right on the waterfront. In getting there, we just absorbed the city. The buildings, the warm colors, the ocean and the cool breeze coming off of it, the architecture… all of these sights combined to give the place a light, summery feel that told us that it was not only time to un-layer, but also time to un-wind a bit. Barcelona is also decidedly cheaper than London in general.
We spent about 4 or 5 hours each day wandering the city in different areas. Barcelona is definitely a walking-friendly city, despite the hills. Our first trip was just to visit a few neighborhoods and see some Art Nouveau buildings from the outside, and decide if we wanted to come back later. Since Barcelona is the world capital of Art Nouveau (Modernismo), and also the home of Gaudí, there were plenty places to choose from! Our two favorites this day were Casa Mila and Casa Batllo. At around 15 Euros each for a tour, even with a student discount, we weren’t going to do both. We took pictures from the outside, though, and from that alone, the choice was clear. Casa Batllo it was!
Holy Christ on a Cracker, that building is weird and neat! Apparently, on that same block, three different modernismo architects were commissioned to design buildings, as a sort of a show-case for the style. I don’t remember if it was a competition or not, but in any case, Gaudí wins, hands down! It’s so COMPLETELY, and VASTLY unique, it just blows you away. The other buildings are well-done, don’t get me wrong. But they look like they same TYPE of thing you might see in any old city, in the richer neighborhood. Casa Batllo, on the other hand, looks like an alien vessel. It’s full of extreme, flowing curves designed to simultaneously evoke thoughts of water and water creatures and at the same time, thoughts of skeletons and dragons, with the roof-line itself evoking the spine of a large dragon, which caps off the building.
And rather than just being a simple façade, Gaudí took his design ideas even FARTHER inside. Every door, every wall, staircase, ceiling, and yes, even the furniture, is seamlessly blended into the same over-arching design philosophy. This idea is apparently known as “Total Art”. Meaning, nothing escapes the attention of the artist, inside or out. Gaudí was an unassailed master of this. Well, unassailed, at least, until he was run over by a truck, and then not helped as the locals passed him by, lying broken in the street, because they didn’t recognize him and, because he was dressed in rags, they thought he was a vagrant.
http://cathy-beasley.suite101.com/the-final-days-of-antoni-gaudi-a130902
In any case, Casa Batllo is FANTASTIC! It was WELL-worth the 14.50 Euros we paid to get in (with our student discounts).
Here is a link to photos we took specifically of just the Gaudí stuff (the main Barcelona photo link will come later): http://alexjimenartw.shutterfly.com/pictures/278
One other really amazing place we saw was Parque Guell. This was another Gaudí design, though perhaps in collaboration with others. The park is pretty huge, sits on top of a hill, and in full of AMAZING vistas and intricate Art Nouveau architecture and decorations. This park is so spectacular, and has so many neat things to see, I dare say this is now my favorite park in the world. It’s possible I may see others, some day, that I like about as much. But nothing can ever take away the magic we felt wandering around this unique park.
We spent the better part of 4 hours wandering around Parque Guell, seeing the buildings and passage-ways, sitting on the benches and listening and absorbing, and taking in the spectacular vistas of the city below. Perhaps my favorite spot was actually our first stop in the park.
This leads me to an aside though. If/when you come to Barcelona, and you come to see this park, you have two Metro stop options for getting here, and it very much matters which one you choose. The primary one, Lesseps, leaves you close(ish) to the front gate. This is NOT the stop you want. You see, I mentioned the park sits atop a hill? Well, the front gate is at the BOTTOM of the park. And what’s more, you have to climb half the hill on foot from the metro station just to get THAT far, and then you have to climb the rest of the way once you’re inside. If what you want is a day of stair-master exercise, with a great view as your reward, then by all means, start here. However, if you’d like a leisurely and EASY stroll through the park, with very few UP stairs, then the stop you want is Vallcarca. This one puts you near the BACK of the park, with a series of outdoor escalators to take you all the way up. After seeing the extent of these escalators, you’ll be glad you chose this option (we certainly were)! We were also glad that we asked a Metro aid about how to get there. Otherwise, we’d have never known about the other stop!
OK, so, back to the park… I mentioned I liked our first stop. Well, by now you know that our first stop was at the TOP of the park. We walked just a little bit farther up to the very tippy top, where there is a set of 3 crosses.
I am a sucker for good views. Both of us are really. This one spot in the park has one of THE most SPECTACULAR views I’ve ever seen in my life. We took MANY pictures, and I don’t expect a single one of them will even begin to do justice to what it feels like to be up there. For me, it was every bit as breath-taking as the Grand Canyon. I could have spent the whole day there (if I’d had more days to spend), in that one spot. You can see the city below you, the park around you, and the sea expanding away from you. I tell you, if you ever decide to take a trip that goes near Europe, it’s worth adding Barcelona to your plans, just to see this park, and this view.
And, while I certainly haven’t told you every little thing we saw, or every little thing we did and ate and enjoyed, I’m going to leave it here for now. Feel free to ask us more about it, though!
Rather than include just a few in-line photos, I’m including here a link to our full set of photos for Barcelona (thanks to Jime for the amazing editing job (or else you’d be looking at hundreds of photos right now)): http://alexjimenartw.shutterfly.com/pictures/472
Hope you get a taste from those of all of the amazing sights we found in Barcelona. It’s going to be very difficult to top that for us. But you know what? It’s also going to be a hell of a lot of fun to try!
Cheers,
Alex & Jime
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