Barcelona: A Gothic Candy Land

We started in the Metro, a transfer from the airport to the train, to the green line 2, to yellow line 4, down 2 blocks, to the right, then to the left. The trams were well worn and the stops varied from leaking and bare to beautiful and clean.  Walking down the miles of subterranean roads you cross a couple people playing instruments and singing, and even on the metro itself an accordion player or two isn't that rare.  A German family gave us their day passes since they were flying back home which saved Sara, Chelsea and me 18€ for the first day, thank you very much.

I can only explain Barcelona as a weird but wonderful mix between New York, Paris, and Candy Land.  It's a world outside of the typical-Spanish realm.  In fact the official language in Barcelona isn't just Spanish, but also Català which dominates everything: the metro and trains are all in Català, most advertisements were in the strange language, street signs, plaques, and basically everything was substituted with Català rather than Spanish.  The parks have all strange sculptures, the buildings are a mix between gothic and high-rises, and Gaudi definitely left his mark on the city.

Parc Güell is a beautiful example of Gaudi's work in Barcelona.  It's a public park located on the top of a hill overlooking the city.  It is filled with mosaics, whimsical walls, and fairytale houses moving you from reality into art: Open air art; no plaques or dates, no security.  Completely amazing.

La Rambla is the most famous street in the city lined with tourist shops, flower shops, and people selling pets, ice cream, and other things.  About half way up is the Mercat St. Josep which is an enormous building filled with all types of fresh food.  It ranged from the weird: like lamb's head or skinned rabit with its eyes still attached, to the normal: fruits, vegetables, spices, etc.  I entered and bought a coconut-pineapple smoothie and walked around the maze of booths in awe. 

La Sagrada Familia is, for me, the most iconic sight of the city.  It is a cathedral started by Gaudí in 1882 that is still under construction.  Now, the adjective "gawdy" in the English language is usually used with oversized jewelry, or something that is over-embellished.  This originally comes from the name Gaudi, the patron artist and decorator of Barcelona.  Keeping this in mind, La Sagrada Familia is extremely gawdy.  It had towers reaching up into the sky like stalagmites or like melted and well used candles.  It's a big baroque mess of a cathedral built outside of the baroque era... A strange mix of beautiful and horrific.

The shopping in the city is also possibly the best I've seen in a while...I'd even say it rivals Madrid.  I passed at least 5 H&Ms (two on the same street), 3 Bershkas, a couple Zaras, Mango, Blanco, and the rest of the Kings and Queens of Spanish fashion.  Our hotel was next to a supermall (a 3 story giant horseshoe of shopping) which is unique since shopping in Spain is very Newbury Street, Boston, or Saks Fifth Ave, New York.  I gave in and bought some shoes from Blanco.

I just scratched the surface of this gigantic city and I'm ready for more.  It's so international, historical, artsy and whimsical.  I never got to go to its Mediterranean beaches, explore the not-so-touristy sights, or just wonder around to see where I end up.  Those are my ideal trips, but there just wasn't enough time.  Maybe there's another trip there in the near future, maybe in a couple years, maybe never, but I can honestly say I had an amazing time in this bizarre city.