Barcelona (with Spanish, Catalán and Swedish music)

Last week, we got back from a trip to Barcelona and Basque country--fabulous parts of Spain if you ever have to opportunity to travel there. Here's a recap of our experiences:

To begin with, we would strongly warn against taking a cheap long bus ride if you are taller than 5 feet 8 inches. It is a false economy! After a tortuous overnight 7-hour ride from Madrid to Barcelona spent with constant pressue against our knees, we decided we should have taken the train or paid more for the next grade of bus. Measuring in at 6 feet 3 inches, A. had it worse than me, but I (5 feet 11 inches) still felt too cramped to be comfortable.

That, and the two drunk and talkative men on the bus made for a mostly sleepless night. We happily got off at the Estació Sants (one stop earlier than the main bus depot at Estació Nord). From this clean train and bus station, we bought two two-day metro abonos and were emerging at the Liceu stop on the famous Rambla street at around 8 a.m. Spending just 4€ at the bustling Mercat La Boquería, we had ourselves a delicious breakfast of fruit, bread and cheese to start off the day. We ate it in the pleasant Plaça Reial, where, we later learned, Antoni Gaudí designed the lamp posts.We kicked off our sightseeing for the day at the Sagrada Familia cathedral, and boy is it worth getting there as soon as it opens before the place is overrun with group tours! The less people, the more peacefully you can enjoy the innovative edifice. It is certainly worth climbing or taking an elevator to the top of a tower (word to the wise: there are at least two, and the one on the Nativity façade side was clear of lines at 10 a.m. even as the other one had a line about 100 people deep and growing). From up top, you can enjoy views of the city, the current construction efforts and then the dizzying descent done narrow spiral stairs.

Will the Sagrada Familia ever be finished? Hopefully some day it will, and I will be able to say that I contributed through my admission ticket. I learned more on this trip about the building history than I had on my first visit to Barcelona, thanks very much to the worthy documentary video in the museum in the basement of the Sagrada Familia (shown in Spanish and English on a rotating basis). Also, I learned tons about this and other Gaudí works at the Espai Gaudí in La Pedrera (which we visited the following day).

Our next stop was the Museu Picasso, and it was crowded, but still a worthwhile spot. Nearby, we encountered the Museu de la Xocolata. We figured it was a better investment to patronize their café rather than pay tickets to see the chocolate sculptures. Money well spent. I consider their thick hot chocolate the best in all of Spain and recommend sampling it as an imperative part of any Barcelona itinerary. We ended up buying a package of the cocoa to make at home.

After walking around a while, A. stated adamantly that we were mistaken in choosing Madrid as our home--since Barcelona has a far cooler vibe. I maintain that he still hasn't seen enough of Madrid to judge properly, but I admit, Barcelona is a very cool city. As a case in point, we found in Barcelona our first Serveta and several awesome Vespas (see pix). We are vintage scooter aficionados, but until we can afford to actually collect them, we have begun collecting photos of them from our travels. (In Spain, the normal Italian Vespa and Lambretta brands were manufactured as MotoVespa and Serveta).

Walking down the street St. Jaume in Barri Goti, we were approached by a young Spanish tout about a concert that night. Despite his terrible English and our reluctance to trust activities targeted at tourists, we went to the Palau de la Música Catalana to check it out. We had wanted to visit this modernist jewel anyways, and since the cost of a guided building tour was 8€, we felt it was worth paying 12€ for the cheapest tickets to the Spanish guitar concert that night.

After a siesta and shower at our pension, we put on our most respectable clothes and returned for the 9 p.m. concert (I had packed a dress but I had only my bulky black hiking shoes to go with them...not pretty). It turned out to be a great experience--both musically and visually stimulating. We were treated to a performance of excerpts from "Concierto de Aranjuez" by Joaquín Rodrigo, "Recuerdos de La Alhambra," and other Spanish guitar classics by maestro Manuel González. It was a real treat. Besides his expert execution of the music, we enjoyed the gorgeous carousel-like music hall, decorated with colorful mosaics and this incredible art nouveau stained glass ceiling. A truly beautiful night.On our second day in Barcelona, we went to watch local Catalanes dance the circular sardana dance. For it, they gather in the plaza by the cathedral daily and are accompanied by a wind band. Most dancers wear espadrille shoes; the steps aren't fancy but it was still fun to watch the young and old Barcelonans dancing side by side.

We picnicked croissants in Parc Güell, a fantastic park constructed by Gaudí and now a great place to spend the afternoon. The park was initially supposed to be a private residential and commercial area for a few privileged families, but it was never finished. I'm glad the project fell through in the end, because now the public can enjoy this whimsical area. My favorite part is the snaking mosaicked bench (see picture below).

Finally, we went to two houses by Gaudí: Casa Battlló and La Pedrera. Unfortunately, we could not afford the entry fee to the interesting-looking Casa Battlló; 16€ each was much too hefty for our budget. Luckily, we more than got our money's worth at La Pedrera. For a reduced student price of 4.50€ each, we toured two floors and the roof of this amazing building, all the while with an informative audioguide (included in the price).

The first floor is outfitted like a residence of the 1920s, including some ergonomic furniture designed by Gaudí. There's an art store there devoted totally to art nouveau--I would buy every book, scarf and poster in it if I could. Loved it. The second floor is the Espai Gaudí, a very well designed multimedia exhibit that goes over all of Gaudí's major works with video of the interiors of even Casa Battlló (take that, moneymongers!) and of at least 10 lesser-visited buildings. Finally, the roof has fantastic sculptures on it that remind me of Roman soldiers.

Our final find in Barcelona were xocolate-covered xurros at a small xurrería at Calle Banys Nous 7. We ate them as we ambled back down La Rambla, passing the ever varying human sculptures one last time before getting on our overnight train to San Sebastián.

I just have to mention a fun musical group that totally captures the spirit of Barcelona: they are called I'm From Barcelona and they are actually...not. They are Swedish and there are 29 of them. Listen here at NPR.

Souvenirs from the city:

• glass with Picasso toro design
• postcards of vintage Spanish adverts
  
• handpainted mosaic box
• magnet of Parc Güell's emblematic dragon
• poster of Las Ramblas