Hola española! Barcelona Beckons

March 4 – 7, 2022

 

Like so many of us, it’s been a long time between drinks when it comes to international travel. So we were just a little bit excited with the idea of taking 10 weeks to escape to Spain and avoid the end of the Canadian winter. We had the departure date circled in our calendars for many, many months (and an actual countdown timer set up in the kitchen).

 

We started to put together a loose itinerary, but always with the knowledge that we would need to be Gumby-like in our flexibility, given the state of the world. We started off with plans to meet friends in various places in Europe, but then settled on embracing ‘slow travel’ to spend the entire 10 weeks in Spain. We have a vague plan of where we’re going to be over the next 2 and a half months, but plans can change. There’s only so many days of racing around tourist sites and eating out that these travellers can take. (Though we’re willing to give it a fair shake).

 

We bought an actual Lonely Planet for Spain, which had the unexpected consequence of forcing Al to finally accept the fact that no, fonts haven’t been getting smaller and no, it’s not really dark in here and no, no-one else is having trouble reading that… and he finally went and got some glasses.

 

 As the date drew ever closer, the threat of cancellation and/or another big Covid outbreak gradually faded, and eventually the big day arrived. We packed our (numerous) bags and headed to the airport. And remarkably, other than a little extra paperwork, having to wear masks the entire journey, and the airports being a lot less crowded than usual, the trip over to Spain was… just normal. Everyone around us seemed as excited as we were to dust off the ol’ passport.

 

Our travelling companion, Feathers McGraw (aka the evil penguin, the chicken, one of the top five criminal masterminds of all time) will once again be joining us on this adventure.

 

First stop, Barcelona, the home of design, good food and mind-bending architecture. We stayed in the Gracia neighbourhood, just far enough away from the madding tourist crowds and a short walk to our first foray back in to being a tourist: a return to the Sagrada Familia.

 

For those of you not familiar with the Sagrada Familia, this cathedral is the jewel in Antoni Gaudi’s architectural crown (and what a mighty crown it is). First envisioned in the late 1800’s and still being constructed over 140 years later, Gaudi threw himself into the Sagrada’s design and creation over the latter years of his life, but by the time of his untimely death in 1926 less than a quarter of the cathedral was complete. The Spanish Civil War further disrupted progress, with revolutionaries destroying many of the original plans and models. Over the decades architects from all around the world have collaborated to both reconstruct the lost plans as well as build on his original ideas using modern technology to create a church unlike any we’ve ever seen.

Construction continues to this day, with ten(!) more towers still planned. We last visited more than 20 years ago, and at that time the interior was a construction zone. Now the interior is complete, and spectacular. Depending on the time of day the stained glass bathes the walls in either green / blue light in the morning or the colours of sunset in the afternoon. If you didn’t know better, you’d think it was light created by spotlights. The columns rise from the ground like giant trees, and despite their massive size give the space an incredible feeling of light and openness.

 

(For comparison, these are photos we took on our last visit more than 20 years ago:)

Whew – and that was just the first day! Speaking of Gumby, our legs felt like rubber by the time we got home that afternoon. We opted to eat at home, have an afternoon nap and do some laundry (how can we have so much laundry on Day One of our holiday??) The fatigue/jet lag is what I’m blaming for putting a dishwasher tablet into the washing machine.

 

Day Two we had that feeling of panic when you realize that you’ve only got one day left in a city and there’s still so much you haven’t seen! So we ended up tackling three museums which was as exhausting as it sounds. While the Banksy exhibition was cool and the Museum of Contemporary Art was… interesting, the high point of the day for us was definitely Casa Vicens. If you haven’t figured it out yet, we’re pretty big Gaudi fans. So when we learned that the city of Barcelona has recently opened a new Gaudi building to the public, we knew we’d need to add this to our itinerary.

 

Casa Vicens was Gaudi’s first commissioned work in the early 1880’s, the summer home of a wealthy family. The influence of Islamic architecture and Gaudi’s passion for incorporating nature are on full display, and many of the elements he used here can be seen in both the Sagrada and his other major works. The audio guide is very good, and amongst many interesting factoids taught us that the octagonal city blocks that give Barcelona its amazing spacious feel were introduced in the 19^th century when the original city walls were brought down to allow the city to grow.

 

^Look at that ceiling -- Gaudi's carved ivy rising up through the rafters, a theme which continues on the second floor.

These pictures really don't do it justice - it was quite remarkable.

And although we haven’t mentioned it yet, believe me when I tell you that we also made sure we experienced Barcelona’s restaurant scene. Michelle had done quite a bit of research down the rabbit hole that is travel blogging to find a stack of cafes, wine and tapas bars to help us get into the Spanish vibe. One of our favourites was Pepe Bar a Vins which specialises in natural wines and has some excellent non-traditional tapas (for when you’ve had your fill of potatas bravas)

 

We also discovered that GIANT spring onions were in season. Calcots served with romesco sauce (nuts and red bell peppers / capsicum) are amazeballs.  And like all good things in Spain, they even have an entire festival dedicated to them. Sadly, we missed the festival but were still able to try them at our local tapas bodega in Gracia.

 

As far as ordering and communicating with the locals, luckily we’ve been studying Spanish for the last 6 months so that when we arrived, we were able to walk confidently into a restaurant and… stare blankly, dumbstruck at the server as soon as they asked the first question. Made somewhat more difficult by the fact that people speak Catalan here and not Spanish (whoops). It’s been a while since we’ve been in a country where we have so little a grasp of the language, but a few days in and we’re starting to get into the swing of things. We can at least get as far as ordering before they realise we have no idea.

 

So three days and three nights later, we say Adios to Barcelona, pick up our rental car and start making our way down the coast. Next stop is Sitges, a small seaside town South of Barcelona.

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