Barcelona, I love you

Revisiting my 2016 trip to Spain

For all those who read and loved Of Tapas, Trams & Time Travel, here’s reliving the last three days in one of the quirkiest cities of the world, Barcelona. We had heard enough and more of ‘oh-you’ll-love-Barcelona’ and ‘Barcelona-is-the-place-for-you’… I admit I was a bit apprehensive and mentally prepared to be disappointed. There are times you reach a place and wonder what the hype is all about. Barcelona is not one of those.

My cousin had recommended living on La Ramblas but sadly we didn’t get rooms within our budget here. I was secretly happy because I knew only #airbnb would come to the rescue. We wanted to live bang in the middle of all the madness. We did, and how!!

View from our room!

Our host, Elen, had given us a heads up that she would be unavailable until 4pm. Since we reached an hour earlier, we walked around the place getting all happy thinking one of those buildings would be our home for the next few days. Elen escorted us to her house at the promised time. It was a quaint Gothic quarter with a living room, a study and dining hall, exactly as described on the website. I usually check for the bed size in advance considering the husband is 6 feet 3 inches tall. This time the room was awesome but I missed checking the bathroom. I knew we would be sharing it with the host and another guest but it took us a while to get used to it. It was smaller than we expected and a bit inconvenient too. To be honest, it hardly mattered. We were out most of the time and it was always available when we needed it.

Elen was wonderful. I shared our plan with her and she very casually said, “If I were you, I’d just explore the place, walk around, get lost. Its one of the best localities in Barcelona.” Truly, it was. La Ramblas was a 5 minute walk away, the beach was just about 15. Since this was the day we had no plans, we took Elen’s advise and just walked till we dropped. We had a home-cooked meal at Haiti Bar. My love for eggplant is at another story. You know that thing you hate as a kid and then suddenly one day turns into your favourite thing in the world? My love story with baingan is exactly that. Its no wonder we eat baingan ka bharta every second day at home. Back to Spanish cuisine, of all the versions of Spanish omelette we had in different regions, this one was the best. Not to forget the cake baked by the owner’s wife every morning. Nothing beats a good cup of coffee and cake!

Pan con Tomate with Eggplant Omelette

Strolling on La Ramblas is magical. Its like being in the past and seeing the future… or something like that. Every little shop has the same trinkets and similar curios to offer but you cannot help but stop and take a look. We realised 3 days was much too less here. There was something to do at every step. But if we’d ventured into any of the museums, we’d spend almost half the day and that was surely not the plan. Nothing beats exploring a city on foot. So we decided that we would come back… on solo trips, though.

We walked upto Plaza De La Catalunya which is the heart of the city. Hop on Hop off tours begin and end here. The energy of this place is infectious. The husband spotted not one but three stores of his favourite brand — Massimo Dutti. So we religiously went into each one of them and spent almost the rest of the evening there. Confession — Its my favourite brand too but I wouldn’t go to Barcelona and shop for MD. I am a flea-market person. So while shoes, blazers, shirts were going into the shopping bag, I got busy planning. We had a pre-booked tour to Montjuic and the Spanish Village on the last day. I wasn’t too sure what all they would cover so I sat and picked what we should definitely do on our Hop on Hop off bus ride the following day.

La Ramblas

By now we were a little sick of bread, eggs and potatoes. Since we didn’t want to compromise on dessert gorging, we decided to go healthy with our meals. We walked straight into Walk to Wok. It was surprisingly crowded but you’ll know why once you’ve eaten there. In case you are counting, we eat a minimum of 6 meals a day so it’ll all add up. The locals strongly recommended Pasteleria Escriba Rambla De Les Flors which didn’t impress us much. We had eaten better pastries back in Malaga and even better Sacher tortes at Salsburg. That night, we spotted Taste of Istanbul which brought back memories of another epic holiday we had in Turkey. The husband craved hummus so we decided to go straight in. Not a very wise decision since the paella and hummus were not the best. Nevertheless, watching people on the street and chatting away was fun.

During the bus ride (Hop on Hop off) I discovered my love for architecture. I know I am a city person. You cannot throw me into the wilderness and expect me to live there forever. There has to be transport, connectivity, somewhere to go, cafes and most important, a water body around. I realised that this place had something more that intrigued me. I couldn’t stop admiring every building and its details. I have always loved windows with potted flowers and here there were not just homes but buildings with little gardens in every balcony. My vision of a dream home was being upgraded as we saw more.

Sagrada Famillia

We got off at the Sagrada Famillia but the next slot for a tour inside was only available at 5 pm. We didn’t want to have a clock ticking to get back here. Decision was made — let’s skip it. Nevertheless, I had mixed feelings when I saw this structure but we moved on to Camp Nou which turned out to the highlight of the day. The stadium tour is definitely a touristy thing to do but since there was no match scheduled for that day, we had to take it. We spent a good two hours here but it was totally worth it.

This was the first time I was relaxed about ticking off my things-to-see list. I don’t believe in visiting the same place again. I’d rather experience another far away land. But Barcelona, I am so not done with you. We loved the lets-do-it-next-time bit.

That night, we gave Elen company as she had her dinner. She told us us about herself and life in Barcelona. I couldn’t get myself out of her balcony. I could sit there all day. In Elen’s words, “You don’t know whether its a party place or the backstage of a theater.” Its always buzzing with people. It could also pass off as an audition ground for Barcelona’s Got Talent. There were people who sang, danced, played different instruments, performed Capoeira and how! You didn’t need to attend a concert to appreciate talent. It came right to your door step. Now that’s a dream home.

There were many more gems that entertained and mesmerised us during our stay here. But sadly, we had come to the end of this beautiful journey. We reached our tour office at 8.45am. We asked the lady for a detailed description which we were not too happy with. After having visited Nerja, the Spanish Village seemed like a make-do place to see. The cable car ride to Montjuic didn’t excite us anymore either. It was as if Gaudi kept calling us back. I have no idea what came over me. I asked if we could exchange the voucher for a Gaudi tour. To our surprise, the lady didn’t bat an eyelid and agreed. She asked us to be back at 3.15 pm. Perfect. We almost ran back to the house under which there was a bike-on-rent store. Yay!

Barcelonetta

We (the husband, to be specific) had chatted up with this cute little girl from Phillipines the previous day. We knew we had to go back to her and hire our cycles right away. There’s something fulfilling about seeing young girls and boys living in a foreign country doing such a good job of taking care of themselves. She was so calm and composed at her age. She answered every question we asked, gave us all the tips we would need and patiently prepared us for the fun ride. Evidently, husband loved her and asked her to pose for a picture with him. I’ve always agreed that he has a great choice (pun more than intended).

The Bicycle Girl

Let me not harp on my cycling skills. I have no control over anything on two wheels. So I opted for the electric cycle but no complaints whatsoever. What followed was a beautiful ride to the port and then along the beach. My bike wasn’t allowed in the city so we decided to stick to the coastal route. Isn’t this how every relationship should be? You pick your vehicle, do it your way. Agree on a destination, take your own route. Bump into each other on the way, ride along for a while and smile away with a catch-you-later. You don’t want someone on your back screaming, ‘Stay with me. Come on quick. Where did you disappear? Why did you go that way?’ Truly a joy-ride, or something like that.

Along the port near the Columbus Sqaure

After getting in touch with the child in us, we were all set for a higher journey — A journey into Gaudi’s mind. What was that man thinking? And how evolved are these people who glorify a man who hasn’t been around for the past century? His work has been preserved, his word is being kept, his legacy is being carried forward, and how!! The walking tour around his masterpiece creations was a memorable blast from the past. It was enlightening to know how every design was inspired by nature. No straight lines, blatantly religious and unapologetically cluttered… probably like our minds. In Sameer’s words, “Every little piece is a masterpiece which is why it looks as though it is cluttered. But its detail.”

Park Guell was brimming with nostalgia. Here, I wasn’t thinking of Gaudi but of my favorite fairytale — Hansel and Gretel. Its been a childhood fantasy to discover little homes with chimneys, made of chocolate and candies. I guess that’s what Gaudi was all about. He just listened to the child in him and expressed his emotions in the most brazen form ever. If only we all did this, we’d create wonders too. We’re so caught up in the what-will-people-think & these days more of how-many-likes-will-I-get trap that we forget to express straight from the heart. We add filters, layers and need explanations for it all.

Elen, our host, had highly recommended Palau Guell which was Gaudi’s first creation. She is an interior designer and gave us some interesting insights on the man. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make it time despite having lived 400m from there. Needless to say, it shall happen next time.

Our gracious Airbnb host, ElenAll that we left out is not a regret. Its only a reason to go back. Barcelona, we are not done with you yet. This was just a fling. We’ll be back for a torrid affair.

All set for the next journey… don’t know where and when.Until then, adios amigos!