Barcelona - City of the Young

Ok, so I know it's been awhile since the last post, and no one probably even cares anymore, but I thought I'd do Barcelona just the same. In case you forgot, on June 21st we took a train from Paris to Barcelona, stopping at the French coastal city of Narbonne along the way. We had a cold seafood lunch in Narbonne which probably would have been better if it were hot, but I guess that's just how they do it. In Barcelona we met up with James, who had already been studying there for a few weeks, Sara Danker, who studied with me and Elon in Rome and was on her way to study in Madrid, and Katie, who took time off from her job in Oxford to join us. Anyways, Barcelona is located along the northern Mediterranean coast of Spain and is the capital of the Spanish region of Catalunya. As such, the local language is Catalonian Spanish, noticeably different from the widely-used Castillian. Known as the City of the Young, Barcelona is filled with beautiful landscapes, architecture, and people. The food, weather, and nightlife are also phenomenal. It's quite a hip place - more or less a Mediterranean San Francisco without so many hills. One fun fact before we get started - Tampa and Barcelona are sister cities. Vamanos!


This was our hostel room, unairconditioned but with a nice breeze (usually).


Tony trying on a pair of Katie's pants... sexy times.


Hostel computer area - I have no idea what's going on here but apparently it was funny.


A typical Barcelona street corner.


Vaya a la playa cuando va a Barcelona (that's broken Castillian - I'm far less familiar with Catalonian)


Our first dinner. Like in Rome we drank a lot, except we traded in our bottles of wine for pitchers of sangria and €1 cans of Estrella Damm from the Indian street vendors on Las Ramblas - it's good to mix things up!

NATURAL SCENERY (just a taste)



ARCHITECTURE

One cannot think of Barcelonian architecture without thinking of Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi was part of the Art Nouveau movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and his works pervade Barcelona. His eccentric style incorporate organic elements that allow his structures to flow naturally into their environments, typical of the Nouveau movement, best represented by his Parc Guell. The breathtaking cathedral Sagrada Familia, an icon of Barcelona, is his crowning achievement and is still under construction today with its tallest tower (estimated to reach 557 feet) only just now being started. In comparison, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome reaches only 452 feet.

La Sagrada Familia

As seen from Park Guell. When completed, the main tower will stand in the center at 170 meters, 1 meter shorter than the tallest hill in Barcelona; Gaudi did not want to outdo God.

Construction began in 1882 and is not expected to be finished until at least 2026. Maybe it would be done sooner if not for the daily siesta.

Gaudi was deeply religious.

Fruit bushels adorn the tops of these spires.

Eerily rendered scenes from the Bible.


Park Guell
Park Guell is located on the hill of el Carmel and was completed in 1914. We had to trek up a good portion of the hill on foot to get there.

Luckily there were escalators to help us finish the journey.

It was blistering out that day.

The hike was worth it as we were rewarded with beautifully designed formations such as these and the next few...

This instrument is called a hang and the player would lightly tap the instrument to produce a sound similar to a steel drum.

Hippies hipping out in the park. The one on the right is utilizing a didgeridoo.

At the top of the park.

A view from the top of the park. The white banner indicates that the locals are not too fond of tourists.

Another view from the top. Tony has an incredible panoramic shot of this vista that was stitched together from a few photos but it was too big for the blogging program.

This mosaiced balcony overlooks the park's main entrance.

Time for meditation.

There are many mosaic designs, such as this one, set into the ceiling of this area of the park.

This is actually the main entrance to the park (we came in the back way). The park was originally planned as a housing development but these were the only two houses ever built. Gaudi himself bought the house on the left. The house on the right was intended to be a model and is now a gift shop.

Last, but not least, the mosaic lizard to greet park visitors.

Other Gaudi Buildings
Casa Mila, aka la pedrera, completed in 1912.

Another angle of la pedrera.

Don't know what this one is called.

Casa Batllo, aka casa dels ossos (House of Bones), completed in 1877.

Enjoy Gaudi's style or not, it is unquestionably unique and important to Catalonian culture.

Other Barcelonian Architecture

An old cathedral located in the Gothic Quarter near the beach.

The Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, completed in 2006.

Tower of Babel.

Port of Barcelona at night.

Intricate column head.


Stone dragon in a park.

Tony getting to know this mammoth sculpture. They still keep in touch.

My man Dante Alighieri, author of the Divine Comedy. You should read it if you haven't yet.

FOOD

Prawns.

Sardines - you eat the whole thing.

Mussels.

One of my favorite treats, patatas bravas. They're fried potato chunks with spicy sauce.

An appetizer of blended veggies and sausage.

Sangria, the drink of Catalonian champions.

PEOPLE and PARTYING

Good company! Katie, James, and Sara.

Wine, champagne, and cheese in a park.

Barcelonians enjoying the park. Despite our efforts to photograph locals inconspicuously, some of them still caught on (e.g. the lady second from the right).


Headed down the (in)famous Las Ramblas. A 3/4 mile pedestrian mall, Las Ramblas is a great place to stroll before or after a meal. Enjoy numerous street vendors, restaurants, and performers.

At a bar in the Gothic Quarter.

We ran into Michael Hendee and Kimberly Andreu, fellow Panthers and Gators, on Las Ramblas on our way to the Gothic Quarter and they joined us out. Small world again.

On our third night was the San Juan festival, an all-night beach party one million strong. The metro was absolutely packed. The festival was originally a pagan ritual marking the summer solstice and was later adopted into Christianity. The blond girls on the left were obnoxious and, unfortunately, American, perpetuating the American stereotype far worse than we did.

Leaving the metro. The stagnant air was rife with exotic body odors. I think everyone had been holding their breath.

La Fiesta de San Juan in full force.

We were probably some of the tamer partiers that night, although we didn't make it home until 6 or 7... I can't remember, but the sun was bright.

Ready for adventure the next day...


Catalonian style.

A street band playing in honor of the efforts to make Catalunya an indepent state from Spain.

LEAVING BARCELONA

Relaxing in a park before we had to catch our train to Madrid.

Hackey sacking.

Napping.

To the train station.

This was one of the fastest trains we took in Europe. That's about 185 mph.

Spanish countryside.