In a nutshell, Catalonia, the region surrounding Barcelona wants independence from Spain. This region is one of the most popular, productive and wealthy in the nation but Madrid insures they remain part of Spain as a whole so they can - well, basically steal their money and impose authority. The rest of Spain pronounces Barcelona with the "th" - in Barcelona, they do not. It's frowned upon.
I learned this and much, much more from Juan, one of the Catalan independence leaders in the Les Corts District. He's a charismatic, magnetic figure with the gravitas of Brian Cox. He and his dog, Aretha Franklin (yes) sat and drank Alhambra 1925 while he talked for hours (passionately) about the Catalonia struggles, something I was completely ignorant of.
Everywhere you go in Barcelona, you'll see the Catalan flag draped off of balconies, in shop windows, as tattoos, shirts, etc. It's a big deal.
Anyway, the city of Barcelona has a rich history dating back to the Middle Ages and most of the people carry this history with them as a badge of honor. You can read about their struggles and triumphs, politics and incredible art culture at your local public library or in the palm of your hand another time.
The people are what make Barcelona one of the best cities in Europe. They're laid back, friendly, semi-English-speaking and, for the most part, pretty damn funny. Yes, you have to go see Sagrada Familia - a cathedral project Gaudi took over in 1883 and is still being constructed. Yes, you can (but certainly don't have to and I wouldn't recommend it), go see the Magic Fountain. Yes, the museums, yes, the other Gaudi projects, the architecture, La Rambla, the thousand other incredible sights and sounds, tastes and experiences of Barcelona - but focus on the people.
I always recommend picking at least one place you go every day of your vacation or work stay where a regular goes or a waitress or bartender works consistently. Ask a lot of questions, the smart folks will realize what you're truly interested in and send you places you'll love or make introductions to people you'll want to talk to again and again. Or, if you're the extroverted type, just get after it. Find a friendly Catalan, which is a piece of cake, and tell them what you want out of your visit. Tell them about yourself, what your favorite flavors are, what type of art you like and why. Odds are, someone's listening and will help you find a spot or person you never would have found on your own.
That's what kind of place Barcelona is. They're not waiting for you like a helpful concierge BUT, if you're you and you're not pretending to be something else or scared of your own shadow, they'll see it and say, "You should check out the old port area, go to _____ and ask for _____."
That's how I met Juan. Home base was an AirBnB 100m from FC Barcelona's stadium (the largest in Europe), where Messi and the boys go do their thing. Directly above Bar Marino, in my humble opinion, the best local dive bar in Barcelona. If you don't know me, (first of all, thanks for reading this, tell me how the hell you found this), you don't know that if there's one gift I have in this world, it's finding the best dive bar in any city in the world in a matter of hours.
Jose, a native Peruvian, tends bar approximately 20 hours a day, every day at Marino. He's kind. Best way I can put it, just a perceptive and compassionate guy. Within two days, I was helping tend bar and picking the music we'd listen to. I'd get up, work for a few hours, go explore the city and by 4-5pm, I'd (I learned this wonderful thing from the Spanish) be napping. At 7pm, Marino would open up and Jose would be there smiling, washing glasses, telling jokes I only half got - and he knew this, it was a good time.
The locals would come in and, one-by-one, Jose would introduce me. Most didn't speak English or didn't care to, which is just fine, I can listen really well in Spanish.
After seeing all the sights I wanted to see, I booked a ferry to Sardinia and went down to the dock to scope out the launch point. Whenever I book a train, plane, bus or ferry I like to spend a few hours to plan the travel to the departure point from my AirBnB, hotel, etc. See how hard it is to get to, what I'll have to deal with, how much of a pain in the ass it'll be with a big bag, what services are available and so on.
While near the port, I walked over a cool bridge at the end of La Rambla that takes you to a big modern mall and yacht berths. While walking with the mass of tourists and sailors, the draw bridge came up. One boat exiting, one entering. It soon became clear that the exiting boat always has the right-of-way. The exiting boat in this case was a pleasure cruiser, I'd say 52-footer with 60-foot mast, complete with deck bar and approximately 25 super model good looking women in bikinis with a smattering of guys.
The exiting boat Captain began shouting "READ THE RULES, SIR!" at the entering boat, they damn near collided. To be fair, the guy was obviously in the wrong and the exiting Capt. was pretty polite about it, very relaxed tone in his voice. 25 models in bikinis on board, why wouldn't he be laid back? What got me was the entering boat; a man, woman, boy and girl, an obvious family on a 42-foot sailboat from Charleston, SC called "Madam Geneva." Can you imagine? "C'mon kids, we're sailing to Barcelona. I read their blog later and found out they'd just come from a horse show in Menorca.
Menorca. They sailed to Menorca and rode horses and went to a horse show. I had just finished a meal of Kinder milk and crackers after strolling from my $17-per-night AirBnB, hard not to feel somewhat less-than with your achievements after reading that blog. Anyway, how incredibly cool for the kids to hop in the boat for three months a year (if not more) and explore the world. Check them out here: http://fringesquirrel.com/madamegeneva/our-boat-story-2/
Guessing Dad's a Mark Knopfler fan, judging by the boat's name.
I learned this and much, much more from Juan, one of the Catalan independence leaders in the Les Corts District. He's a charismatic, magnetic figure with the gravitas of Brian Cox. He and his dog, Aretha Franklin (yes) sat and drank Alhambra 1925 while he talked for hours (passionately) about the Catalonia struggles, something I was completely ignorant of.
Everywhere you go in Barcelona, you'll see the Catalan flag draped off of balconies, in shop windows, as tattoos, shirts, etc. It's a big deal.
Anyway, the city of Barcelona has a rich history dating back to the Middle Ages and most of the people carry this history with them as a badge of honor. You can read about their struggles and triumphs, politics and incredible art culture at your local public library or in the palm of your hand another time.
The people are what make Barcelona one of the best cities in Europe. They're laid back, friendly, semi-English-speaking and, for the most part, pretty damn funny. Yes, you have to go see Sagrada Familia - a cathedral project Gaudi took over in 1883 and is still being constructed. Yes, you can (but certainly don't have to and I wouldn't recommend it), go see the Magic Fountain. Yes, the museums, yes, the other Gaudi projects, the architecture, La Rambla, the thousand other incredible sights and sounds, tastes and experiences of Barcelona - but focus on the people.
I always recommend picking at least one place you go every day of your vacation or work stay where a regular goes or a waitress or bartender works consistently. Ask a lot of questions, the smart folks will realize what you're truly interested in and send you places you'll love or make introductions to people you'll want to talk to again and again. Or, if you're the extroverted type, just get after it. Find a friendly Catalan, which is a piece of cake, and tell them what you want out of your visit. Tell them about yourself, what your favorite flavors are, what type of art you like and why. Odds are, someone's listening and will help you find a spot or person you never would have found on your own.
That's what kind of place Barcelona is. They're not waiting for you like a helpful concierge BUT, if you're you and you're not pretending to be something else or scared of your own shadow, they'll see it and say, "You should check out the old port area, go to _____ and ask for _____."
That's how I met Juan. Home base was an AirBnB 100m from FC Barcelona's stadium (the largest in Europe), where Messi and the boys go do their thing. Directly above Bar Marino, in my humble opinion, the best local dive bar in Barcelona. If you don't know me, (first of all, thanks for reading this, tell me how the hell you found this), you don't know that if there's one gift I have in this world, it's finding the best dive bar in any city in the world in a matter of hours.
Jose, a native Peruvian, tends bar approximately 20 hours a day, every day at Marino. He's kind. Best way I can put it, just a perceptive and compassionate guy. Within two days, I was helping tend bar and picking the music we'd listen to. I'd get up, work for a few hours, go explore the city and by 4-5pm, I'd (I learned this wonderful thing from the Spanish) be napping. At 7pm, Marino would open up and Jose would be there smiling, washing glasses, telling jokes I only half got - and he knew this, it was a good time.
The locals would come in and, one-by-one, Jose would introduce me. Most didn't speak English or didn't care to, which is just fine, I can listen really well in Spanish.
After seeing all the sights I wanted to see, I booked a ferry to Sardinia and went down to the dock to scope out the launch point. Whenever I book a train, plane, bus or ferry I like to spend a few hours to plan the travel to the departure point from my AirBnB, hotel, etc. See how hard it is to get to, what I'll have to deal with, how much of a pain in the ass it'll be with a big bag, what services are available and so on.
While near the port, I walked over a cool bridge at the end of La Rambla that takes you to a big modern mall and yacht berths. While walking with the mass of tourists and sailors, the draw bridge came up. One boat exiting, one entering. It soon became clear that the exiting boat always has the right-of-way. The exiting boat in this case was a pleasure cruiser, I'd say 52-footer with 60-foot mast, complete with deck bar and approximately 25 super model good looking women in bikinis with a smattering of guys.
The exiting boat Captain began shouting "READ THE RULES, SIR!" at the entering boat, they damn near collided. To be fair, the guy was obviously in the wrong and the exiting Capt. was pretty polite about it, very relaxed tone in his voice. 25 models in bikinis on board, why wouldn't he be laid back? What got me was the entering boat; a man, woman, boy and girl, an obvious family on a 42-foot sailboat from Charleston, SC called "Madam Geneva." Can you imagine? "C'mon kids, we're sailing to Barcelona. I read their blog later and found out they'd just come from a horse show in Menorca.
Menorca. They sailed to Menorca and rode horses and went to a horse show. I had just finished a meal of Kinder milk and crackers after strolling from my $17-per-night AirBnB, hard not to feel somewhat less-than with your achievements after reading that blog. Anyway, how incredibly cool for the kids to hop in the boat for three months a year (if not more) and explore the world. Check them out here: http://fringesquirrel.com/madamegeneva/our-boat-story-2/
Guessing Dad's a Mark Knopfler fan, judging by the boat's name.
Juan and Aretha Franklin.
Camp Nou.
Some old catherdral.
Madam Geneva after a near miss and talking to.
They're culturally sensitive, for the most part...
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