Barcelona 2016

Barcelona 2016.

August 25-30.

August 25.

So now for the entry that you I have been waiting for.  This was my first trip back to Barcelona in a little over six years, and it was a long time coming, especially considering the love I have for this city that I haven't made any attempts to hide in the amount of time I've had this blog.  Barcelona is one of my all-time favorite cities in the world for various reasons, and I wasn't about to let any chance to go back go.

My time as an au pair had come to an end, as school was starting for the kiddos at the end of August, and I think the family was getting kind of sick of me in the end anyway.  I'm not good with kids, and I didn't speak enough English with them as was expected, and even though I did leave on good terms (I believe), it's not an experience I'd go into again.  It was a great learning experience, and it did teach me patience and how to be a better guest, but I'm just not cut out for those kinds of environments.

Anyway, the family dropped me off at the train station in Castellón, where there were some tears on the kiddos' parts (which I'll admit was really nice, because they were sweet kids and the family was definitely one of the better ones I could have been with).  I bought my tickets to Barcelona, where I had booked a hotel for four nights right by the Estació de Sants.

If you're not familiar with Barcelona, there are two main train stations: Sants and França.  França is generally the one geared toward European destinations and Sants toward domestic/Spanish ones.  I've never actually been to França, which says a lot about how I travel, but what can you do.  [I should mention there's another train station, Catalunya, right underneath the Plaça de Catalunya, but it's for regional trains within Catalunya, and I've been through that station; when I went up to Terrassa in 2010.]


I got to Barcelona and checked into my hotel, the ExpoHotel Sants as I've decided I'm not the hostel type anymore.  I can't deal with sleeping with people I don't know in the same room, as I'm an introvert and highly value my privacy, space, and ability to go to sleep on my own terms.  Not that there is absolutely anything wrong with it, I'm just not that kind of person.  Anyway, the clerk was super nice and made everything super easy.  The room itself was small; I'd booked a single room with a single bed, and it ended up being a twin, so it would have felt super cramped if I'd had someone else with me.  Either way, I wasn't expecting a huge amount of luxury even despite it being a four-star hotel, but I did end up only paying about $50 (USD) a night.  Which is pretty good for Barcelona in August, high tourist season.

The room itself had a balcony overlooking Carrer de Tarragona, which leads straight into the Plaça d'Espanya and the Montjuïc complex, so despite it not being the tourist center of the Barri Gòtic, it was central enough that I could walk to most places and get on the Metro quite easily.  Add that to the proximity to the train station and life was golden.

View from my hotel balcony, facing the Collserola mountains, away from Montjuïc.

View from the balcony of the other side, looking towards Las Arenas and Montjuïc.

I unpacked my stuff, got settled, and took a quick trip to the shopping center at the old bullring of Las Arenas down the road to pick up a few things like groceries that I could snack on.  Then I headed out for a walk.

I walked all the way down Carrer de Tarragona, made a left at the Fira, and followed Avinguda del Paral·lel down until I reached a side street that looked like it would take me down near the Drassanes, the old ship hangar, and ended up near the Ronda del Litoral.  From there I walked through the Raval, past the Rambles.  I got to one point and wondered why in the world people were all out eating at the restaurant at 5:30 in the evening, when I remembered that it was August and these were all tourists.  I know that sounds super weird, but when you're so used to being in Spain and not eating until 9 or 10 at night, people crowding restaurants and bars at 5:30 just feels really weird to you.

The Monument a Colom in the background, with the Drassanes I believe to the right.

I wandered through the Barri Gòtic some more, Meandered through the tiny streets, some larger ones, and passed through the Plaça Reial while heading nowhere in particular.  I just wanted to wander, and meander, and just enjoy Barcelona.  Take it all in.

Plaça Reial

Not sure which plaza this is, but it's somewhere in the Barri Gòtic.

Plaça de Sant Felip Neri.  The pockmarks in the wall are said to be from shells during the Spanish Civil War.

Carrer del Bisbe, or Bishop's Street

Catedral de la Seu, a.k.a. the Cathedral of Barcelona.

Found my way back up to the Plaça Catalunya, where I got dinner at the Triangle and got myself a 5-day Metro card on my way back.

It was also the week of the Sants district's festes, so at the open area between my hotel and the train station the typical Spanish rides, games, and fried food stands were set up.  I had to walk around a bit before I went back into the hotel to rest up for the next morning.

It's kind of all over the place with weird straight lines, but some was Metro and some was probably an inability to ping from the correct satellite, but hey.

August 26.

Today was my Park Güell day.  [As an aside, if you're trying to figure out how the name of this place is pronounced, check out my Catalan Pronunciation Guide page in the sidebar.  If you don't want to, just know that it sounds more like "way" than it does "gwel."]  Barcelona is charging non-locals to get in now, which I was pretty upset about at first when it was announced, but honestly, it makes the experience so much more enjoyable.  The fee may be a bit steep at 8€, but it is totally worth it.  You get a set time to enter the park, and then you have two hours to do whatever you want.  What makes it really nice is that it's cut down on crowding, making it a lot easier to get "that picture" without dealing with insane crowds.  I'm considering myself a fan.

I bought my tickets that morning at the hotel, right on my phone, and hopped on the Metro to the Vallcarca stop on the L3 line.  From there I walked around the neighborhood for a bit, even though it was very quiet due to it being August and most of the locals were on vacation.  I really just enjoy walking.  If walking isn't your thing there are signs to go directly to the park from the Metro stop, and you can walk around the complex without needing a ticket, though you can't get in until your designated time.  I was super early, but I got to enjoy my walk.  Seriously, I walk everywhere, even when I don't have to.  It's very relaxing for me, and gives me a chance to see things I otherwise wouldn't while using public transport.  Especially in Barcelona, where the Metro is completely underground within city limits (for the most part, there are some tramways running just inside, but they're in less dense areas).

Honestly though, even though I've been to Park Güell when admission was free, it's still something that is more than worth the entrance fee.  It's one of the few things I paid for while I was there besides my Metro card and a few other places, and it's simply worth it.  I didn't feel crowded, or agonized by the amount of people.  I can get overwhelmed with lots of people around me, especially crowds and mobs, so this was one thing that I really appreciated about the change.

One of my all-time favorite vantage points of the city.  Absolutely gorgeous.

Detail of the trencadís along the outer rim

I definitely highly recommend the trip to Park Güell.  I don't always recommend "touristy" things, but this is one of those touristy things that is well worth the visit.  The fee helps maintain the upkeep as well, which is always a bonus, especially when so many people visit.

I hopped back on the Metro to chill at the hotel (why I really like hotels instead of hostels) because it was just too hot in the afternoon, and then headed back out towards the city to go to the Sagrada Família.

Confession: I've never paid to enter the church.  I've heard it's gorgeous, and I've seen pictures.  But I'm super cheap and there's always way too many people, and I just can't justify the price.  I'm sorry, but it's true.  I also totally get that it's an entirely self-funded project which I actually would be okay supporting, but I'm also kind of a horrible person and just don't seem to care enough.  But it's still a beautiful building from the outside and I'll take all kinds of pictures and just enjoy the views and the experience from where it doesn't cost anything.

From here I walked all the way down to the Parc de la Ciutadella.  This was the first walk I took when my family took a pit stop in Barcelona right after I graduated high school, and it's where I fell in love with it.  We parked our car near the Sagrada Família, stopped at the Starbucks, and walked straight down the Passeig de Sant Joan until we got to the Arc de Triomf, and then walked back up...or something.  I just remember absolutely loving it.  It was also my first experience hearing Catalan, as back at the hotel where we were staying near Montmeló I remember turning on the TV and watching one of the Blade movies on TV3, dubbed into Catalan.  So now every time I go to Barcelona I have to make this walk.  I ended up on the wrong street at one point, but managed to rectify myself, and kept going, only stopping to pick up a döner to munch on in the Passeig de Lluís Companys right next to the Arc de Triomf.

After taking a nice walk through the Parc de la Ciutadella, I headed back to the hotel for some sleep.

One of the great things of staying on the Avinguda de Tarragona near Montjuïc is being able to see the Font Màgica literally every night when you get out of the Metro at the Espanya station.

August 27.

Being cheap, my goal is to spend as little money as possible wherever I go, so I always make sure to check the dates museums are open for free.  In Barcelona there are quite a few that are open on Saturdays.  Thankfully the Cathedral is always open for free, so I made a trip down to the Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter) again, specifically to go to the Cathedral.  I really do love cathedrals and churches in general, especially in Europe where the vast majority of churches are well worth a visit.  And the Cathedral of Barcelona (or the Catedral de la Seu, Catedral de Barcelona, or Catedral de Santa Eulàlia) is no exception.  It is the actual Cathedral of Barcelona as the Sagrada Família is a church and has the designation of Basilica (being given the title in 2010 after the Pope consecrated it during a Mass) but is not actually a cathedral.  A cathedral is the seat of the Bishop or an Archbishop, and Barcelona has an Archbishop.  Anyway, Barcelona has a cathedral and it's this one.  It's a beautiful Gothic building with rosettes and buttresses and gorgeous cloisters.

The gardens in the cloisters look like a subtropical rainforest.

Classic Gothic architecture, paired with the Spanish cathedrals' openness and focus on light.

The one thing you do have to pay for is to go up to the roof, where you head into an elevator which takes you up to the top of the church through one of the towers, giving you an almost completely panoramic view of the entire city.  It's only about 2€, which is pretty good, and well worth it, because the views are spectacular.  You can see most of the Barri Gòtic, which then expands into the Eixample and outer districts into the Collserola hills behind the city.

The only obstructions, so to speak, are the Gothic towers.

Looking towards Montjuïc.  The fortress of Montjuic is in the far background.

Facing the Vila Olímpica, or  the old Olympic village

Looking towards L'Hospitalet and Cornellà, with Montjuïc Palace to the left

I stayed up there for quite a while, just enjoying the view.  When I left the church, I came across a stand a local cat rescue and adoption had set up to help support local shelters.  Being a crazy cat lady myself I had to stop by and check out their wares, and had a lovely conversation with the ladies about my three furbabies back home, and picked up a tank top with the phrase "Posa un gat a la teva vida" ("Put a cat in your life") in Catalan, as well as a wrap-around earring to help support their endeavors.

I headed back down towards the center of town, passed through the Carrer del Bisbe next to the cathedral with the beautiful neo-Gothic entryway leading from the church to the Bishop's quarters.

It's said to have been inspired by the Bridge of Sighs in Venice.

I also wandered into the area that houses the Museum of the City of Barcelona, but it was actually closed that day, though I did get to wander through the Archives of the Crown of Aragon, or at least a section of it which is open to the public.  This building houses the documents that were crucial to the Kingdom of Aragon, which Barcelona was a major hub for.

There are sculptures and designs by Josep Maria Subirachs, the sculptor who has also done a lot of work for the Sagrada Família.

After this, I crossed the Via Laietana to head into the Ribera, which is part of the Ciutat Vella, or Old City, though it isn't as old as the Barri Gòtic, but still enclosed in the old city walls of which very little remains.

Here is where probably my all-time favorite building in all of Barcelona lies.

The Palau de la Música Catalana is an absolutely stunning structure, build to house the the Orfeó Català choir due to the Liceu on the Rambles being used to primarily focus on operas and grander productions.  The Palau de la Música is a much smaller building and is primarily used for smaller (but of no lesser importance) concerts and performances, and the acoustics are astounding.  It's in the typical Catalan Modernist style, which Gaudí made famous, however the Palau de la Música was actually designed by Lluís Domènech i Muntaner and was inaugurated in 1908.  I didn't go inside this time, but back in 2010 I went in and got to enjoy the incredible acoustics and beauty of the stained glass ceiling and impressive tilework done on the outer columns.  What's amazing is how beautiful the space is from the outside, despite being on a very narrow street and having very little room to fully appreciate the beauty of the structure itself.  It is by far my favorite building in Barcelona and I find it highly underrated since it's not Gaudí, but done by one of his contemporaries.  It's still amazing work and has incredibly intricate designs.

After this, I walked around the Ribera and Vila Olímpica down near the beach, and then headed back to the hotel for some downtime, and then headed down to Montjuïc, where the MNAC, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (National Museum of Catalan Art), which is housed in the Palau de Montjuïc, opens for free on Saturday evenings.

Beforehand, I stopped by the Barcelona Pavilion (or Pavelló Alemany, German Pavilion) which was originally built as part of the World's Fair in 1929 by German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the Minimalist style.  It was taken down shortly afterwards, but in the 1980s it was rebuilt thanks to photos of the structure, and is now emblematic and used for architectural models and references for modern design.  I can't really explain why this structure has always fascinated me since I first saw pictures of it, but it's mainly due to its simplicity and remarkably modern design despite being built and designed in the 1920s.  It's something that's completely liveable and enjoyable even today, and I kind of have always seen it as a "dream house".

The straight lines and simple flat roofs are so incredibly peaceful and beautiful to me.  Worth the 15€ I'm pretty sure I paid to get in.

The MNAC itself is fascinating.  It's a collection of Catalan and other art that holds cultural and historical significance to Catalunya.  My primary reason for visiting was the fresco of the apse from the church at Sant Climent de Taüll, which was recovered from an old Romanesque church (the painting is from the 12th century) in the Pyrenees highlands of Lleida.  The church was old and falling apart, but the paintings found inside were in dire need of preservation and were well worth the labor given their quality.  They were preserved and restored and brought to Barcelona, and the result is being able to enjoy an iconic piece of historic Catalan art.  If you're not able to go on a Saturday evening for two hours when entrance is free, it is well worth the entrance price, especially if you're interested in Catalan art and history in general.  The collection of Romanesque art and the apse of the Sant Climent de Taüll church are considered seminal works because of the distinct style and its ties to Catalan culture and essentially the beginning of Catalan history.  And seriously, this work is breathtaking.  Medieval art is highly joked about given the odd forms and styles of painting as the depictions of humans are laughable at worst, curious at best, but this painting in this tiny church nestled in the Pyrenees is majestic.

I probably stood in this room for a good half hour or so.  Majestic.

Overall there are is a lot of art in this museum that are well worth a visit besides the Apse of Sant Climent de Taüll, but this is the big one.  And if you only have a short amount of time, the entire section of Catalan Romanesque art is well worth the trip.

Inside the museum there is also an area for sitting outside on the steps on the upper level where the contemporary art is held.  The sun sets in the "wrong" directions since you're facing right into it, but it does give some great views of the city.

Afterwards, I walked down towards the Barceloneta and walked along the waterfront at night.

August 28.

Sundays, Sant Jordi (April 23rd) and La Mercè in September are the only dates Barcelona City Hall is open to the public (the Palau de la Generalitat is only open on Sant Jordi and La Mercè), so I always make it a point to head in there.  It closes at around 11, so it's good to get in early and entrance is free (yay!).  There's so much history in this building, as it's where the Consell de Cent got together to decide to defend the city during the War of Spanish Succession which ended in 1714, starting the Siege of Barcelona which lasted for over a year and ended with thousands dead in its defense.  It's a symbol of the stalwart Catalan culture and strength, with beautiful Gothic and Neo-Gothic architecture.  It's also one of my favorite buildings in the city, mainly due to its history and importance for Catalunya as a whole.  As a Catalophile I always make it a point in Barcelona to see important monuments and landmarks in Catalan and Barcelona history.  Many people outside Catalunya and Spain have just seemed to have woken up to what's going on, but the tensions have been around for decades, if not centuries.

Neo-Gothic chapel

Saint George and the Dragon, Saint George (Sant Jordi) being the Patron Saint of Barcelona and Catalunya as well.

The room of the Consell de Cent, or Council of a Hundred, where one hundred of the middle and upper classes in Barcelona and surrounding areas would meet to govern the region, even while still under the Crown of Aragon.

Next to the Ajuntament, facing the Plaça de Sant Jaume and Palau de la Generalitat, the seat of the Catalan government.

And just to give a taste of how old Barcelona actually is, in the middle of the Barri Gòtic there's a small "hole", in which were recently discovered Roman tombs.

I did a little bit of shopping and then headed back to the hotel to see if I could get some swimming done at the pool but it was way too crowded, so I sat in the sun instead before heading out to Santa Maria del Mar, the church made famous in Ildefonso Falcones' book Cathedral of the Sea, which is a personal favorite of mine.

The church is free on Sunday afternoons when Mass is not going on, and it's truly a spectacular building.  It's a contemporary of the Cathedral of Barcelona as it was part of a bidding war to become the new Cathedral building, with the Seu ultimately being decided on.  Santa Maria del Mar is still iconic, as it was built entirely through the labors of the stone porters from the quarries of Montjuïc, and funded by private donations from the masonic and bricklayer guilds of the city.  It was also built within a 50-year span so there was little or no time for styles to change in churchbuilding, so it's remarkably uniform due to the church being constructed in relatively record time.

It's an incredibly beautiful church, and just like everything monumental in Barcelona, holds immense significance for Catalans regarding their history.  Everything major in Barcelona seems to solely exist to remind Catalans how great and rich their culture and history are.

The Fossar de les Moreres, a section of the city that became a mass grave during the Siege of Barcelona to end the War of Spanish Succession.  When Barcelona fell, all the rights of Barcelona to have any form of autonomy were taken away, as they were no longer allowed to speak Catalan in any public event or do anything without the say of the new French monarchy in Madrid.  On September 11th, the day which commemorates the final day of the Siege, flowers are laid here by Catalan government officials (I have no idea what will happen this year as the important ones are either in exile or imprisoned).

After Santa Maria del Mar, I decided to take a tram at the Ciutadella and Vila Olímpica to the Fórum at Diagonal.  I walked around for a bit in the newest part of the city, where there's a science center set up (closed on Sundays) and open walking paths, and I got off the tram at Glòries where the Agbar Tower (Torre Agbar, or Aigües de Barcelona, where the water department for the city is based.  It's the tower that resembles the Gherkin in London, but with colors instead of designs in the ironwork.

There's a nice park set up next to it with lights on the ground that change color (and I'm down for enjoying anything with light and color because I like to enjoy my inner 5-year-old).

I hopped back on the tram to the Ciutadella station and got off at the Plaça Espanya, where I decided I would actually enjoy the light and fountain show of the Font Màgica.  Which is always packed with people, but the light show itself is still well worth a stop.  The days it runs varies depending on the water situation, but it only goes for about two hours in the summertime, and always at night from about 8-10 pm.

The text reads "Restitution, as an act of Historical Justice, for the Four Columns destroyed by the Dictatorship in 1928 for its significance as a symbol of Catalunya."

"Nacional Monument as an homage to the Catalan men and women throughout time."  The original four bars were placed here by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, another Catalan Modernist architect.  There are four bars on the Catalan flag.

I am so very sad I wasn't able to get many decent night shots.

August 28.

My last day in Barcelona.  Sad day.  I spent the morning at Camp Nou, because I will spend money to go there, because even though I don't watch much football/soccer anymore, the sport and FC Barcelona has given me some wonderful experiences and memories, like helping me learn and perfect my Catalan, so I always have to go when I'm in town.  As a bonus, the museum was actually completed and since another Treble had been won since I'd been there last, I got to relive some wonderful memories from watching many of the matches and moments.

The 2009 World Club Cup trophy with Xavi's Catalan flag still tied to it.

The tunnels leading to the pitch.

There's actually a chapel underneath the stands.

Press room

After Camp Nou, I headed down towards the Passeig de Gràcia, because I'd booked a tour of the Casa de les Punxes in the afternoon and wanted to wander around a bit before I had to be there.

Gaudí's Casa Milà or La Pedrera (The Quarry)

The Casa de les Punxes, or Casa Terrades for the name of the family who commissioned it, is another typical example of Catalan Modernism, by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, also a contemporary of Antoni Gaudí.  It had been opened to the public as a museum just a few months prior, and I booked myself a tour in Catalan of the building.  Which ended up being a very interesting experience, because the guide was actually Italian, and asked our group if we wouldn't mind having the tour done in Spanish instead, and it was just me and another family who had come in from one of the surrounding towns, and we all insisted it be in Catalan since that's what we paid for and requested.  She spoke excellent Catalan despite not originally wanting to do the tour in this language, and I could sense her disappointment once she found out that I was American anyway, but I wanted a Catalan tour and a Catalan tour I would get.  The Catalan family was heavily impressed that an American was doing the Catalan tour with them, which was fun.

"Punxa" in Catalan means "spike", so the building is literally "House of Spikes" or "Spiky House"

It's very much a typical example of Catalan Modernism as so many of the famous buildings in Barcelona are, and what's nice about this one is that when I went it was still virtually unknown so it wasn't swarmed with tourists.  It may be different now, but most tourists seem to stay away from the non-Gaudí buildings, which I'm kind of okay with, but also kind of not, because if this post teaches anyone anything, it's that there is waaaaaaay more in Barcelona than Gaudí.  And I love Gaudí's work, do not get me wrong, I really, truly do; his way of working with shapes and colors and styles was groundbreaking and inspired.  It's impossible to go to Barcelona and not see Gaudí's influence, but in reality, Gaudí was only one product of the Renaixença, or the Catalan Renaissance, of which there were many.  The 1890s through the 1920s were certainly Catalunya and Barcelona's most recent glory years and they've left their mark on Spanish, European and Western culture as a whole.  But I really do get upset when people talk about Barcelona as though it were just Gaudí, or only see Gaudí's work in Barcelona, or even just claim that buildings like the Palau de la Música Catalana or the Casa de les Punxes are works by Gaudí when they are not.  But that's my rant.

The museum at the Casa de les Punxes also features an entire exhibit (which comes with the tour, but an be experienced separately) on Sant Jordi and the Saint George myth and importance to the history and culture of Barcelona and Catalunya as a whole.  The audiovisuals are stunning and immersing, and it's so very well done.

After the Casa de les Punxes I headed back towards the Passeig de Gràcia, walked in front of the Casa Batlló and Casa Ametller, and soon afterwards, since the weather wasn't as nice, I called it a day.

Casa Batlló, one of Gaudí's most famous works

Pronounced "KAH-zuh buh-LYOH", not "bat-loh" as I'm sure people say

The Casa Ametller ("ah-muh-LYAY") is another work by Puig i Cadafalch

It sits right next to the Casa Batlló, and is one of the reasons why this stretch is called the Mançana de la Discòrdia, or Chaos Block, due to the high concentration of Catalan Modernist buildings.

Sant Jordi i el Drac on the Casa Ametller

And that's my trip to Barcelona.  My train left fairly early the next morning for Madrid, so I went back to the hotel to book it, ended up getting a Business Class seat on the AVE because that was all that was left, but I got a three-course meal out of it which included wine, so I was not going to complain.

My only regret is not getting lost like I did last time, though I did wander around for what felt like forever looking for where I could get on the tram to get to the Diagonal, but still.  Well, okay, another regret was that I went in August during prime tourist season, but I was able to manage pretty well and still get my Catalan in, which was my main fear when I realized that there really were tourists everywhere and the locals had all but emptied the city.  I probably should have gone to Terrassa or even Sabadell as well, but oh well.

Seriously, guys, Barcelona is one of my favorites.  I love it so much.