Barcelona - The City of Romance
Written: Oct 29 '00 (Updated Nov 01 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: romantic, friendly people, not so crowded
Cons: absolutely none
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| doglover's Full Review: Barcelona |
Review Topic: Overview
As part of the international favorite city write-off, I humbly submit to you, Barcelona, Spain, a city rich with people walking hand-in-hand, art, music, the Mediterranean, exquisite architecture, and the city that will always hold a special place in my heart.
I decided to visit Barcelona after the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where I witnessed with astonishment how little I knew about the city that my family had immigrated from when I was five years old. So on August 1993, I bought a round-trip ticket with Delta for $1100, called my aunt and with talking in Spanish very slowly, I told her I was coming. Thank goodness that I had taken five years of Spanish in school because I was not allowed to speak one word of English the whole three weeks I was there.
The Flight Over
The Delta red-eye flight that I took from San Diego, that had one connection in Atlanta, set the pattern for the whole vacation. No surprise that I did not sleep at all through the flight because I was with a large group of college students flying back for vacation and they were wired in anticipation of the festivals that awaited them in Spain. There was this very intense crime/mystery movie showing and everyone was screaming and jumping over the seats, with pillows flying everywhere. The stewardesses had the students in arm locks, dragging them back to their seats. I was impressed how they eventually took control of the students around 4:00am. :-)
What I did not realize at the time is that Spaniards love to party and their typical time to start partying is around 11:00pm after eating dinner around 9 o'clock and watching a soccer match.
If You Go in August
Do not bother to take any heavy clothing. It was so hot that I lived in skirts, dresses, and bathing suits pretty much the whole time there, except when I hiked through the Pyrenees, where I wore shorts. Note that Spanish women are expected to dress "feminine", but stockings are something looked down on as being "French".
This was a great time to go though, regardless of the heat, because every town in the surrounding area has alternating religious festivals, and literally the narrow streets between the houses close down, and are filled with bands and people leaving their homes to party until typically 5 o'clock in the morning. At the time I was there, Dire Straits seemed be the favorite band. And women, I must say that the Spanish men are very romantic and attentive and are not shy about starting a conversation and impulsively showing you around the city.
There was also an amazing larger proportion of men to women in Barcelona. This may have been because it was holiday season for all of Europe, and the devaluation of the Spanish peso had just happened so the cost of everything was very reasonable in comparison to the rest of Europe.
Favorites of the City
It is really difficult to pick my favorites since I had such an incredible vacation. However, a couple of places stick out in my mind for being unique to the city. Also note that of the three weeks I was there, I really only needed a car one day to tour the Costa Brava. Barcelona has a great underground subway system, as well as an extensive bus and railway system to get almost anywhere you want to go.
Museo/Museo Salvador Dali
This museum is in Figueras, just outside of Barcelona along the Costa Brava. The drive along this coast is breathtaking and make sure you stop and go in the water while there. The Mediterranean water is amazing and it is like taking a swim in a warm bath.
The museum itself had a long line to get into. It's opening times are October-June: 11:30am-5:30pm and July-Sept:9am-8:30pm. It is one of the few museums that has a rich collection of the artist that was born in that region. When I went to the Picasso museum in Barcelona, I was disappointed to hear that Picasso's most famous works were in the United States. The Picasso museum shows mostly Picasso's early works and I was amazed to see how "normal" and beautiful his artistic talent is. Two pieces of art will forever stick in my mind of Salvador Dali: (1) A huge four-poster bed made of dark mahogany wood that had huge serpents carved in the four posters; (2) a section of the museum where you walked up a scaffold and looked down into a room through a large magnifying glass. What you see is that the room has been designed to be a woman's face, huge red lips and all. Do not forget to go into the dome where Salvador Dali's tomb is. There is also an extension of the museum in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Templo de la Sagrada Familia/Parc Guell
These two locations are the best representation of the works of Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926), and incredible architect with an unimaginable ability to create a unique architectural experience. The Templo is the unfinished masterpiece which best represents Neo-Catalan style. Make sure you pay the small amount to walk up through the narrow, revolving stairways up to the very top to get a 360-view of all of Barcelona. The Parc Guell is a park that exhibits yet more of Gaudi's works, including his house and a brightly colored mosaic lizard-like animal that is placed along a stairway. There is also an apartment complex that he designed but I cannot really explain where it is.
Tibidabo
The name is taken from Matthew 4,9: "Haec omnia tibi dabo" ("All these things will I give thee"). This is an amusement park that is on the very top of a mountain that you get to by taking a funicular. What I remember the most about this is that the fog bank is in fact lower than the amusement park, and lends an almost cloud-like aspect to the park with the fog literally under you while you ride on the rides. There is also a Science Museum and a huge church of the Sagrado Corazon de Jesus. Spain has wonderful, ornate and spiritual churches and I could not possibly cover them all in this review.
A Good Travel Guide
For a good travel guide to Spain I would recommend Baedeker's SPAIN that has hundreds of color photographs, detailed maps, complete information on sights, accomodations and restaurants, travel planning, and a historical perspective on the area.
Conclusion
This review is dedicated to all my some-odd fifty family members that opened up their hearts and their generosity to give me a vacation of a lifetime. And Manuelo and David, wherever you are, thanks for a wonderful time as well. I will always remember both of you with fond memories.
International Write-Off Participants
Do not forget to visit the other writers that are participating in this wonderful write-off:
elorraine, jo.com, ptiemann, coldsteel7, ifif1938, VeeZee, bluehawq,
nollequeen, pianomam, doglover, ed_grover, jpmcgurk, augustwind,
ritalee76, bigtrouble54, Teardrop..., shan1, murasaki, sheann26, diverpam, Joubert, _Cassandra_, Chinook, Howard_Creech, samadust, Stephen_Murray, nightridrr2000 and Jiahong
Recommended:
Yes
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doglover
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