Barcelona as a whole felt the same way. I didn’t really have any expectations, yet, it far exceeded any I could have absently decided upon. Just like Sagrada Familia, it was filled with surprises. Stumbling upon a very long and colorful drum corp parade was but one of them. I was headed to the market, but these are the moments that make travel so interesting. These are the times, you stop, abandon whatever itinerary you may have felt you needed to keep, and just absorb.
Gegants...or ‘the giants’ traditionally found in Barcelona parades and festivals.
The parade greeted me as I came up the steps from the metro station. The market was directly \240across the street, but I stood on that curb for over a hour until the parade literally passed me by. Normally that phrase indicates missing out on something, and perhaps I would \240have needed to shorten my time somewhere else to watch. However, I wasn’t missing anything, I gained an hour inside the real Barcelona. This was part of their culture, their everyday lives. Sometimes when you travel you get only snippets of that. This was an hour immersed, with all the color and sound that is the city.
Once I made it across to the market, I was entering another little world, another part of what is important to the people that live in Barcelona, and those that visit. The cuisine. Sagrada was a place that worshipped color and light, Market Boqueria worshipped all things food.
While there were certainly tourists, like me, what made this market so amazing was that unlike some I’ve been to, which completely catered to the tourists, this one was a mix. Tourists and locals alike, with perhaps more locals, buying bread, spices, meat, or lunch. Oils and salts of every flavor imaginable. Saffron at a fraction of the price you’d find it in the States. The largest lobster I’ve ever seen. He weighed in at a hefty 32 kilos. Yes, kilos, not pounds. Everything was beautiful, and it all looked delicious. If you couldn’t choose, you could eat from a variety of stands or bars, walk, eat what you have, while you search out the next one. Best of all, it was inexpensive.
That’s the big daddy right there.
Barcelona consists of winding alleys, and long straight wide avenues. Along any of these you can find beautiful architecture, and in the Gothic section, ancient ruins.
If you aren’t familiar, Sagrada Familia was designed by an architect named Gaudi. Even though the church’s construction isn’t finished, and Gaudi died long ago, they are following his plans to complete the basilica. His touch blankets the city. He also designed Casa Batllo, elements of Park Güell, as well as others. He believed that structure could be art, as well as serve a function. You have to look hard beyond the beauty to see the function sometimes because the aesthetics are so breathtaking. He found inspiration in nature. Everything in Casa Batllo echoed shapes and colors of the ocean, or the sea.
Beautiful as these are, there are amazing things to take notice of everywhere you go.
No where is entirely safe, and as a traveler, a tourist, you have to maintain a certain amount of vigilance to avoid any unnecessary issues. I was pickpocketed recently in Kyiv. It was a stupid mistake and we realized it when we went to pay at a restaurant. In Barcelona, we were witness to my first ever snag and run purse heist. The woman was so distraught she couldn’t even produce any recognizable words. All she could do was make an absolute chilling scream as she ran down an alleyway after the man that grabbed her purse, with her friend trailing behind, arms full of shopping bags. I have no inhibitions of going to explore on my own, but this was so much scarier than just finding out your wallet is gone. I hope she caught him, or someone in front of him realized what was happening, and tripped him, or sent a chair flying his way etc. I take it as a stern reminder to be smart, and travel safe.
Sagrada Familia isn’t scheduled to be finished until 2026. While I plan on being there to see it in it’s entirety, I hope that I don’t have to wait that long to see the city again. There is so much to do. Patronize the bakery we walked by and then regretted not walking in. Visit the market once more, because when we went back Sunday so Ron could experience it, they were closed. Eat the food, drink the sangria. Wander the alleys, and meander down La Rambla.
Barcelona, something about you made your way into my heart. It wasn’t one place, or one experience. When you cry not only at the beauty of a place, but simply because you are there, once will never be enough.
