A Barcelona Kind of Weekend

Barcelona is not the city that I expected. Originally, I had wanted to live and study in Barcelona for my semester abroad, but the figures ended up showing that it would be double the cost and therefore, wildly unattainable. I instead turned my sights on Madrid and it is a decision that I will never regret. More on that later.

Barcelona lies right on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, which in and of itself was amazing to this native Midwesterner. Growing up, I'd been to Lake Michigan and various small lakes (or large ponds in most cases) in Wisconsin. That we'd gone to Florida four times as a family did not mean that I had ever seen the ocean-- while in the Sunshine State, we partied it up in Orlando at Disney World.

As such, I had never seen the ocean a fact which amazed my three friends from Australia. They had no concept of someone never seeing the ocean before. (I told them I'd seen pictures and video clips. That didn't seem to count). I kept crossing my fingers on the eight hour bus ride there that we would stop at the ocean side at some point.

We left at midnight on Thursday from Madrid. Most of us, including myself, spent the next several hours getting bits of broken sleep here and there, waking up to chat, rub our eyes and yawn, make a quick pit stop at a gas station here and there, the usual road trip madness. About 9:30am we arrived to find Barcelona cloudy, raining, and perhaps in the lower 50's (Fahrenheit). Cue a seventy-person groan.

The day was a good one though, despite Mother Nature's gray mood. We did a walking tour of the city, which included a visit to the amazing Sagrada Família.  I know that some people complain about seeing at least one church on every trip, but everyone that I've seen so far has a different vibe, a different mood to it so to speak. La Sagrada Família was my absolute favorite though, by far. The famous architect, Gaudí, began the project in 1883 and it STILL IS NOT FINISHED. Current speculation by analysts-- architects and directors of the project-- speculates that the whole church as Gaudí imagined it, will be completed by 2026. Our tour guide said that was a wee bit optimistic in her opinion and judging from the economic downturn that Spain has unfortunately found itself in, that she did not expect the church to be done before 2030. Some of us, myself included, decided we would come back upon completion to see the finished work.

The interesting thing is that, since the beginning of its construction, the church has been built by degrees solely based on the donations it received from citizens, organizations, etc. The entire church then represents charity, community dedication to architecture and culture, and what I consider an estimable amount of determination. 

The church itself looks completely modern, mainly because Gaudí employed the use of organic architecture. Support columns around the church are not simply straight rods; they branch out like tree branches. Or, as our guide put it, like the fingers of a waitress holding up a tray. Either way you slice it, the construction is breathtaking, especially lit up by the rainbow of stained glass windows, also still in progress. 

That night, we pre-gamed at a bar whose name I've forgotten (not due to excess alcohol, but simply because no one ever told me and I don't remember seeing a sign anywhere) and then, at just after 1am, we moved on to Razzmatazz, Barcelona's "it" club. Quite honestly, although the design inside with its somewhat arena-like shape and the lighting were cool, the group essentially in its entirety agreed that we "weren't feeling" the house music. Basically it was all bass and a couple of mechanized sounds intermittently mixed in. Every track sounded identical. But we love to dance, we international students, and you never pass up a chance to party while you're abroad for only 5 months so my friends and I stayed until about 3am, when we caught a cab back to the hostel. I was in bed by 4am, up at 8am the next day for breakfast and a shower before the nest round of tours and exploration began. 

Saturday dawned sunny and warm: upper 50's and not too windy until later in the afternoon. Lots of members of the group slept in since many had stayed out until 6am or later and therefore couldn't wake up by 10am for the start of the next tour which was . . . .

The Beach!

Yours truly, goaded on by my three Australian buddies, took off my shoes, rolled up my jeans, and ran into the ocean for the first time in my life! (One of the girls said this was the sea and did not count as my first ocean visit, however I pointed out that the Mediterranean connects to the Atlantic by the Strait of Gibraltar and ergo was indeed part of the ocean. Go geography!). 

Later, we made our way to a park, also designed by Gaudí. My favorite part was easily the highest peak of the park where Audrey and I made our way when given a free hour to wander. At the top of the peak we found a thirty foot stone tower of sorts with little stairs carved into the side that was literally crawling with visitors. We saw why when we got to the top: there awaited an amazing panoramic view of Barcelona, the sea, and the surrounding hills. All you could hear for the next several minutes was the sound of camera shutters. 

That night consisted of a prom-themed party that merged many ESN groups (Erasmus Student Network) together, resulting in a giant 1,500 person party. This music was phenomenal. All the old pop hits, including a mash-up of songs from "Grease" that made me think of my Mom (we like watching musicals together) roared through the giant speakers set up around the tent that had been set up for us in a velodrome-like building. At first it was freezing cold and we danced with our coats on. But as the other groups began streaming in, the place heated up, and so did the party. 

Again, another in-by-4am night. Up at 8:30am this time (no way could I have dragged myself up at 8; that extra half hour was crucial to my sanity). Today was check out from the hostel and a short drive to a picnic ground outside a university where we watched what I can best describe as a co-ed cheerleading group in karate uniforms. There'll be a video posted of that soon. Maybe one of you can come up with a better moniker . . . Post a comment if you do. 

At about 2:30pm we headed back for Madrid and commenced another 9 hours on the road, coming back in at about 11pm. Caught the train back and was home by 11:45pm. Success. 

Madrid has my heart though. As romanticized as Barcelona is in movies, books, and things, it didn't have the same depth in my opinion. It's hard to put into words, but I felt that Barcelona--despite La Sagrada Família and the quaint boulevard that ran about a mile or so long and that made up the lively little downtown-- does not have the same richness of Spanish character or culture that Madrid has. Everywhere you go in Madrid, you can feel the history of the stones beneath your feet and hear the echoes of the laughter, of the protests, and of the music of generations gone by, all blending with the beauty of the generation that is here and now. 

In Barcelona, I expected to find a metropolitan city, the center of art and all things avant garde in Spain. What I found instead was a pretty harbor city with myriad sailboats docked at the piers, a wonderful view of the sea, a park and church designed by a brilliant architect, and a landscape of rolling hills that reminded me of our family drive through the Appalachians years ago. So let there be no mistake: I enjoyed myself immensely and Barcelona is a nice city to visit. 

To visit. But to live in, to be a part of, to sleep and eat and learn and make friends and grow in--I choose Madrid hands down, every time. This is my city.