An October In Barcelona

Well I can tell you this, now, at the end of October, I have been officially localized.  I have stopped by zara.  I am a MASTER of the metro system.  I have been asked directions by other Spaniards in Spanish, and have been able to give them precise, correct (something Spaniards could work on) directions back in castellano.  I can actually hold Spanish conversations enough for Spanish locals to bear talking with me .  I have even been mistaken for Spanish on more than one occasion. This place feels like home.  It has been just about two months in Barcelona.  However, by the end of September the honeymoon stage was over and it was about that time to get into the nit and grit of Barcelona.  It was time to see the things that tourists traveling on a weekend trip do not get to see.  It was time to make sure that this juice I call "studying abroad" was worth the "squeeze" I call a steadily declining bank account and 3 quarters of straight of upper division econ classes when I get back.  Well after this month I cannot see how it wont be.



                                                                     Tibadabo

After a somewhat failed journey to Costa Brava, which included a night looking up at the stars on prime beach property for the better part of a night, I was looking for a win. Barcelona, much like California, has its beaches as well as a mountain range behind it.  On the top of this mountain rage there is an amusement park that has been there since the 70s. The place is called Tibidabo  Along with the park is one of the coolest looking Cathedrals I have seen yet.  To get to the top we had to take a train to a tram to another tram.  The journey was well worth it.  On the top, the amusement park is a bit below the cathedral and as you look out, you can see all of Barcelona.  We continued into the Cathedral which was actually a little disappointing inside considering how nice it is on the outside.  Eventually we walked up the stairs that surround the entire cathedral on the outside (check out the pics) and paid for an elevator to the top (2 euros to use an elevator in a church...seems a little sacrilegious) birds nest of the cathedral.  After more and more stairs we finally got to the top and the view made up for the underwhelming visuals inside the cathedral.  The birds nest was no more then 6 ft in circumference and is the single highest point in Barcelona.  Looking forward I could see not only Barcelona but the surrounding outskirt cities as well as ships on the Mediterranean that seemed eons away.  Looking backwards we saw all the way to Monserrat, a famous mountain for hiking, as well as the forest that lies behind Barcelona's mountains.  The amazing view, great weather, coupled with the laughter and excited screams of children in the amusment park instilled quite a feeling.  I was lost up there taking in the views for the better part of an hour.

The backside of the Barcelona mountain range. 


An older Tibadabo ride...don´t like my chances


The first of many trams to get to the top

Getting lost in the crowd...
















 Here is an example of the staircases I was talking about.



Parc Guell


Another highlight has been Parc Guell.  I visited Parc Guell with some friends from Italy and Madrid who were visiting Barcelona for the weekend. This is a park built and imagined by Gaudi, probably the most famous person to come out of Barcelona-sorry Pau.  His architecture is all over Barcelona and is so distinct that after seeing one of his pieces you will be able to point out any other Gaudi creation by sight.  The story goes that he wanted to create a sanctuary cut off from the busy life of the city.  He imagined a suburban area in the sprawling mountains behind Barcelona where those who wanted could live in solitude amongst the beauty of nature.  Almost all of Gaudi´s work involve emulating nature in some way.  His pioneered style is modernista and one of a kind.  Gaudi´s park is a masterpiece.  Every structure and mosaic is not only beautiful, but is coupled with a grand view of Barcelona because of the park´s location in the mountains.  As I explored the and took pictures, locals my age played Spanish guitar or displayed their art pieces which were usually depictions of the park.  Almost all the walls are mosaic of some kind and are made to look like natural earth formations of rock, or tree.  Other parts are purely modernista and have much more color and a more fantastical look.  Again even the houses are mosaic.  Gaudi actually lived here along with any other people who could afford it and there are tours through all the houses including Gaudi´s.  Ironically enough, now it is the opposite of what he envisioned.  Tourists bustle this immense park everyday for free and take in its beauty. On weekends it is filled to the brim.  When the tram was invented Gaudi fought all attempts to make a line up to Parc Guell for 20 years.  He wanted to keep the exclusive and secluded nature of the park intact.  Even more ironic than the crowded pathways of the park is how Gaudi died.  He was hit by a tram.  All jokes aside, this park was phenomonal and I´m glad I got to experience it with the group I did because I think they really appreciated it.

Another one of Gaudi´s masterpieces which is still being perfected is the Sagrada Familia.  It is a breathtaking cathedral, if it can even be called that, near the inner city and I have been told it is among the 50 must see buildings in the world.  I was lucky enough to visit it with another group of friends visiting Barcelona (you know you picked a great place to go to abroad when everyone is coming to you).   Like Parc Guell the building is a nod to the power and beauty of nature.  The outside is Gothic style stone that is so intricate I looked at it for hours.  Behind the gothic stone is a pristine white marble layer as well.   The inside is supposed to emulate a forest.  My descriptions will convey about 10% of its epicness and my pictures only about 11% so I recommend you just man up and go.  The Cathedral was sadly never finished by Gaudi however before his death he got to witness the erection of the pinnacle cross.  Many different architects now work on it using his blueprints and molds and there are cranes and construction equipment surrounding the whole cathedral, yet the thing still makes 12 euro a person for every second it is open.  Unlike Tibidabo all the proceeds go to construction costs.  It is expected to be completed in the next 30 years (which under Spanish time means Ill be lucky to see it completed in my lifetime)  The Spanish Civil War is one main reason why it has taken so long to complete.  During the war when the Conservatives invaded Barcelona they raided Sagrada Familia and burned Gaudi´s studio to the ground, destroying many of inner chambers in the process.  It took a long time to piece together Gaudi´s blueprints and re imagine the parts that were lost forever.   On the day I went it was pouring rain (first of my stay here) and this really gave the cathedral a haunting look.

I'll let the pics speak for themselves

Now it wouldn´t be Spain without a little night life and this month had its fair share of that.  A couple new club openings were a big deal but the most noteworthy event was by far Sensation white.  This a concert company that has been around for a pretty damn long time in electronic music standards and has progressively gotten cooler and cooler.  Barcelona was their first stop with the new theme entitled inner-space.  The best way to describe Sensation White is beatles circ de soleil, mixed with a crazy concert with light affects that blow interpol´s out of the water, mixed with a huge rager where everyone is wearing the same color.  It was way too much fun.  Here is a link to a video that a friend of mine made with footage from his go pro.  I know it is long, and trust me, electric music really isn´t my cup of tea either (little abrasive) but it is worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=156qIoaaDPE
Credit: Sean Crane

In mid October our program planned a weekend trip to Valencia for us.  Valencia is located below Barcelona although still in Catlaunya.  We were only there for one night but it was a lot of fun.  Valencia´s inner city is very old and very beautiful.  A riverbed outlays the old town and is now used for futbol fields among other things.  At any point in time you might suddenly hear an explosion of bangs.  At first I thought I was witnessing a drive by but it turns out Valencians love fireworks.  In fact they have a festival every year where each district creates a huge wood statue, some spend up to 25000 euro on these, and just burn it down in the middle of the street. They elect two women (one old one young and the election process is a lot like the rose parade) to represent each district and have special fire dances among other traditions.  The dresses they wear can cost thousands.  Spain wonders why they have no money but I don´t think it takes a detective to figure it out.  Every year at least a couple apartment complexes burn down and they aren´t cleaned up right away because we saw the scraps of a couple.


Like this one





Groom's Ride


Rollin on dubs?





The night life was more bar oriented and despite almost getting into a scuffle with a random waiter, our group had a great night out in Valencia at Radiocity.  I really think the prettiest part about Valencia is night and the way its lights illuminate the old streets.  You can tell this city was much older than most of Barcelona.  The next day we went to the second largest aquarium in the world which was a fun throwback to my youth.  Sadly, they didn´t have any shamoos.

See what I mean with the light?
 I like this picture a lot.





Ok this was a monster of a post.  I´m sure I still left things out but hey I am only human.  Next post is Portugal and some AMAZING pictures.  Excited to see my pops and the minks tom.


Peace in the Middle East