It's funny how we create these obsessions with random locations. I just had a talk with a friend of a friend here in Madrid and he has a crazy desire to see things in China. He's British and lives on a farm and is obsessed with China. I on the other hand have no desire whatsoever to set foot in that country. I would rather cradle koalas and box kangaroos in Sydney, Australia.
I think my obsession with Barcelona began before I saw "The Spanish Apartment." I knew they spoke Catalan, but I still loved it. Having battled Catalan, stumbled in Spanish, guarded my belongings from "gypsies" and dabbled in a little bit of nightlife, Barcelona's a-ok. Obsessed? No longer. My feelings for barcelona are, I would say, similar to my feelings for movie theater popcorn. It's there. It's nice. It's comfortable. Beautiful in its outlandish artificial butter and while I enjoy it, I love to scorn those who love it more.
That's the thing about barcelona. It wasn't the city itself that bothered me too much; it was the people, rarely natives. It seemed like everyone and their mother, father, extended family had made the journey to Barcelona. Not only that, hordes of student groups, EVERYWHERE. Italian teenagers with too much gel in their hair, French teenagers with too much gel in their hair, British men with not enough gel or soap...It's as if everyone had bought his ticket to this fantasy land, and I was just another person strapped in for the pretty scenery and thrill rides. Don't get me wrong; Barcelona is beautiful. The weather was a little chillier than usual, but the architecture, the beach...(the park on the other hand smelled AWFUL).
A few pictures of the movie-theater-popcorn magnificence that is Barcelona. An extension of my weak analogy to come soon...
3 comments:
Hey Paul! I know what you mean. I also hold some wacky strictly-intuitive desires to love certain locales. I have a nagging hankering to travel to Cuba, Iran, Buenos Aires, Southern Spain, and South Africa, based on a vague notion of bright colors and invigorating landscapes, but certainly not on anything more.
I went to NYC this weekend, and I saw the Barcelona exhibit at the Met. I must say...now I sort of want to buy a ticket to Barcelona-land.
pole, i understand completely. i love your blog to no end. i wish you updated all the time. you can save me from posting all my boring ass posts if i'm too busy reading yours. anyway, keep posting pics. barcelona land will get better.
Barcelona became one of my all time favorite places on earth (so far). When I was traveling Europe, Spain was not even on my “to do” list. But after certain events and a flip of the coin, I ended up in Barcelona. In fact, I enjoyed myself so much; I went back for round two. I found it to be one of the more multi cultural cities in Europe from my travels, Amsterdam & Geneva were the others. This does not mean that there are not more, but this is only my experience. Knowing very little about Antonio Gaudi before the visit, I absolutely fell in love with this eccentric architect/artist work. Barcelona has many more offerings besides Gaudi. With its famous nightlife, unlimited number of restaurants, Barcelona hotels, activities, museums and beachside community,ideal weather, the food and wines which are fabulous, and with the people who are so polite and helpful you could say -I felt right at home.
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