One night in Barcelona

One night in Barcelona, it sounds like the title of a movie. Perhaps it is the next installment in the Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy romance movie series.

(Trailer voice) They met originally in Vienna and traveled the city in Before Sunrise. Ten years later, they meet up again in Paris in Before Sunset. Now, almost twenty five years later, tickets were cheap to Barcelona. They meet again in Barcelona.

Except this is not a romantic movie. And (spoiler alert) I am not Ethan Hawke. And it is me alone exploring the city.

On my return from a business trip to Granada, I had a long lay over in Barcelona. I decided to put on my walking boots and explore the city.

Aerobus will take you from the airport to Plaza Catalunya for 5.90 Euros. I was lucky that by coincidence I had booked a hotel (Hotel Vasanta) near there. With a map in hand I set out to visit the big tourist attractions.

I strolled up and down Passeig de Gracia, a chique boulevard, with several impressive buildings designed by famous architects from the modernism era. Cases Mila “la Pedrera”, Casa Batilo, Casa Amatlier, Casa Lleo Morera and Casa Terrades (Les Punxes).

La Pedrera

Casa Terrades (Les Punxes)

The odd shaped buildings continue on Calle Mallorca on route to La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s unfinished, and under continuous construction masterpiece. What a church!

I continued along avenida de Gaudi to Sant Pau Recinte Modernista, a former hospital designed by Llius Domenech, now a center dedicated to modernism architecture.

Then it was time to head south to the Gothic area, passing along the Palau de Musica Catalana, another weird building. Each of these buildings look like out of a acid laced movie. In el Gotic, I walked the tiny streets around the Cathedral to La Casa la Ciutat (ajuntament).

I made it to the harbor, first passing Eglesia de Sancta Maria del Mar in the Born area. In the harbor near Barceloneta there were some amazing ships. I imagine a lot of tycoon-Russian is spoken aboard. The walk along the harbor is capped by two statues: the Cap de Barcelona, and Mirador de Colom. That’s where the famous Ramblas starts. It does feel more of a tourist promenade.

I left a few items for my next visit:

• Park Guell
• The beach
• Mercat de la Boqueria
• Plaza Espana
• Camp Nou, the stadium of Messi and FC Barcelona
• The restaurants Tickets, 41º, Bodega 1900, and Pakta of Albert Adria, brother of El Bulli 's Ferran Adria. 
• Mount Tibidabo, which die hard fans of Friends surely remember.
• Parc de MontJuic, home to the Olympic Games in 1992.

On this early December week, before the holidays, the city was very lively, until the early morning hours. People here really love to enjoy a good time on the town. There are small bars and restaurants everywhere. Unlike in Andalusia, where you get a free tapa with a beer, you do have to pay for your tapas. The prices are big-city prices.

Although I was cautious for pickpockets, I never felt unsafe, even when walking back to the hotel after midnight.

There remain big scars from the declaration of independence from Spain a few years ago. The Catalan flag is everywhere, as are signs with pro-independence messages. The Casa de Cuitat has a big banner to set the imprisoned politicians, who declared an autonomous Catalunya, free.

One night in Barcelona is clearly not enough. There is much more to explore, to taste and to sip. Next time, I hope to bring along the rest of my family. I know my wife and kids will love this place.