Ola Barcelona!

After a long haul which stopped for three hours in Singapore, and another short one (one hour) in Milan, we found ourselves in Barcelona, Spain, our embarkation point for our Western Mediterranean cruise.

The airport was a very busy one. Operated by Aena, a public company attached to Spain’s Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the airport was only one in a network of 74 airports ran by Aena, the largest airport organization in the world in terms of passenger volumes.

We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect weather in Spain. Though it rained a bit when we arrived and the cold wind was biting, our light jackets from home were really enough to keep us comfortable. After about an hour’s ride through the modern, cosmopolitan side of Barcelona, we were nearing our hotel, the Catalonia Ramblas.

Our guide pointed out what used to be the Arenas de Barcelona, a popular bull ring where they used to hold correos regularly. It is a mall now because Barcelona has declared itself anti-bullfights. However, as a concession to their age-old tradition, they still hold bullfights from September to October only, so that ruled us out of this momentous event.

We passed the University of Barcelona, the first University here I understand, and traversed old streets that reminded us of the walled city of Intramuros back home. In fact, it also reminded me of the tight streets of Quiapo, but with more charming, definitely less dowdy edifices. This city of 3 million population has all the old world charm it can muster, but in the same breath, it pulsates with life long after the sun has died down which is at 9 p.m.

On our first night, we roamed the backs streets looking for good eating places. The kids found one, trust them, and we had paella (their version is very wet but delicious), pork leg braised in olive oil, mussels also in olive oil, freshly steamed shrimps, thick potato omelet, and different spicy chorizos. Excellent.

That night, as we rested in our hotel rooms, the streets came alive with Spaniards celebrating with an impromptu street party as Barcelona defeated Madrid in the Primera Liga Football. Our jet-lagged kids joined in the merry-making too.

Very near where our hotel was, they had the famous Ramblas, a park that was a microcosm of Spanish life in the 21st century. It was May 1, also a public holiday there, and the area was just absolutely teeming with people from all walks of life. Tourism was obviously bustling in this part of the city and every afternoon, several people, male, female, young or old, would paint themselves from head to toe, wear distinctive costumes that either depicted them as statues of old soldiers, or gladiators or Elizabethan personas or even comic-book monsters. For a handful of Euros, families could pose for pictures with them, or watch strapping young men breakdance right there, for a few Euros. One could actually pass the afternoon idly watching them, and then sit in one of the many al-fresco cafes that stretched as far as your eyes could see, have a tall pitcher of potent but wonderful sangria, and watch the world go by. We did exactly that, and gobbled up platters of crispy chipirones. These are baby squid fried like our calamares eaten with a squirt of lemon. Lovely. All the while, a mimic performed hilariously in the street fronting us, to the absolute delight of the crowd, ourselves included. Then he passed the hat around.

Shopping is also big in Barcelona. Our kids couldn’t resist the Zara stores, a well-known Spanish brand now gone successfully global. H and M, an African brand is also big there, and it is here where better bargains can be had. I couldn’t resist a MacLaren pair of shoes that really felt comfortable and looked great for walking, and a leather jacket from Zara that was really a steal.

The back streets yielded some good finds as well. My wife couldn’t resist the mantons (embroidered Spanish shawls with tassels) which went for 10 to 15 Euros each and the lacey Spanish fans. Here, they went for about 5 Euros, but in the outskirts where we went, we were able to get the same stuff for 2.50 Euros.

Because we were staying in Barcelona for a total of four days, it was best to take a guided city tour. This brought us through the Historic Center, the most famous avenue in Barcelona, and the Sagrada Familia Church by the famous architect Gaudi. This church has been a work in progress for several decades now and won’t be finished till yet another decade I think. If you see it in actuality, you will understand why. The attention to detail, which sets Gaudi apart, is amazing. The exterior part of the cathedral has numerous statues, all painstakingly detailed. Inside, there are alcoves, brightly colored stained glass panels, marble, glass, metal, the works.

We drove through their walled city, the Paseo de Gracia, the most elegant avenue where there was a concentration of modernist architecture, and a perpendicular network of streets much like New York and Chicago. In the three diagonal avenues, the guide pointed out the rounded corners, at that time unheard of, in preparation for the trams. Truly, he was ahead of his time. The architecture was a conglomeration of Noveau Art, Gothic and modernist architecture. Casa Badillo by Gaudi was a beautiful piece, with several balconies that resembled harlequin masks and pink turrets that made it look a giant cake. His La Pedrera, an apartment building, had 150 balconies!

Then off we went to the Spanish village where they re-created typical Spanish architecture, from the northern to southern part of Spain much like our Nayong Pilipino, the facades fronted by a wide plaza.

We caught the Twelve noon Sunday mass in another old cathedral, also a beautiful one with many gated alcoves inside. Mass was entirely in Catalan which was completely foreign to us, even to my wife who had a passable knowledge of Spanish.

Then it was off to lunch at the El Chipiron, amidst a cluster of restaurants fronting the harbor. We tried more paellas of different varieties including the black one, more of the calamares, a chicken dish and more chorizos. The Spaniards really know how to eat. Since we were already at the port, we only needed to drive a few meters to our ship which was docked there, to start off on our Western Mediterranean cruise.

More on this and the places where we docked next week.

Mabuhay!!! Be proud to be a Filipino.             

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