Barça Barça

Ah so all of you’ve gathered from a couple of blog posts that I was indeed in Barcelona last week for a conference. And without dwelling too much on the actual purpose of visit (which went great by the way), I am going to talk about Barcelona. It’s easy to fall in love with the city, its sights, its restaurants, its architecture, its culture and its lifestyle. On the other hand I was forewarned big time by everyone about the theft scenario there. As in that the ratio of pickpocketing stories were abnormally higher than other European cities or at least what was the word on the street. But before I go further, here’s a quick look at the center of Barcelona – Plaça Catalunya.

 

Plaça Catalunya – center of Barcelona. Fountains, pigeons and wide open spaces make it festive and fun. BTW, call me vain but I love this picture. :)

 

Ok.. back to the pick-pocketing warnings. So my friend NN lost all her documents and stuff on the beach there and she wasn’t the only one. A lot of others reported similar things and it all had me pretty spooked. Spooked enough to take a taxi to the hotel first thing and dump all the valuables in the secure room safe. And even after, I hugged my bag for dear life in the metro, on the streets, and glanced suspiciously at everyone to identify the next thief. Constant Vigilance, as Moody (née Harry Potter) would say. And well, it worked. Thankfully I didn’t lose anything. But after my first day there, I realized something. By being extra-vigilant, I was actually losing out on the fun. And the other thing.. no one was going to punch the daylights out of me and make away with my belongings. It would only happen if I turned out to be careless (which on trips I usually am not – a kind of “foreign radar” kicks in and keeps me alert at non-hyper levels). And so after Day 1, I relaxed. I even allowed my bag to slide away to the seat next to me even though my arm was looped around it. And it was far more fun than always waiting for something happen. 

 

Anyhoo, so I got to see a lot of places, a lot of notable architecture by their modernist movement pioneer, Antoni Gaudi, whose masterpieces quite literally encompass a big majority of the Barcelona skyline. And it was all breathtaking. Right from the La Sagrada Familia, more popular as the iconic church of Barcelona to the loopy Parc Guell… a wonderful contribution to a beautiful city. And here’s another postcard from the Parc Guell. You can see the Sagrada Familia and what I call the “lipstick” building as the two tall structures on the landscape.

 

View of the city of Barcelona from Parc Guell.

 

That apart the culture was quite distinctly young and alive. The city seldom slept.. the shops were open all over up to 10pm and the restaurants well past midnight. And in the weekends the cranked it up a notch and went all out for all-nighters too. Specifically I have to mention La Rambla, the pivotal central street of Barcelona and indeed its No 1. sight. A mile-long road all the way from the beach to the city center, the road is filled with such a variety and extreme of things that are hard to imagine as co-existing. From street-side vendors to 5 star fares, from Le Meridien to hostels under 20€ a night, from street hawkers to bird-merchants, from fresh fruit to exotic food, from nudists to transvestites, its all there crammed into one never-sleeping, ever-crowded street. A sight that mere words can’t do any justice to. You’ve got to be there.

More later! Byee!