.... and Barcelona (Part 2 of 2)

Originally posted April 14, 2004. 

 Alternate title: Holiday in Spain (Counting Crows shout out!)


We got to Barcelona with no problems and met up with Brian who had been there that whole day and came to meet us at the bus stop. It was great to see him even though by the time we got there it was about 1am what with all the ridiculous commutes to and from airports. We were tired and he took us straight to the hostel he had booked for all of us. It was nothing fancy, but communal and tolerable conditions with an excellent location right off Las Ramblas which is the main vein of Barcelona day and night life.

The next morning I got up around 7 to go running and explore. This was the first time I have ever been in Spain. I couldn’t help thinking of my little brother who had just finished his 10 day tour of Spain with his high school and how he should have been there with us. It was fantastic weather and there was hardly anyone on the streets being the period between coming home in the morning and starting the day. Nothing really gets going until 9am at the earliest in Spain it seems. The first word that came to mind as the streets unfolded before me was exotic. The buildings on Passeig de Gracias were normal apartment/department stores like the Champs Elysées but then suddenly out of nowhere a Gaudi building would pop up and you’d be struck with this completely different building that looked like a troglodyte dwelling from Fraggle Rock except in the middle of a busy commercial street. Then on your left you’ll have the Burberry boutique and H&M, then a gigantic sparkling mosaic façade; completely incongruous, and completely captivating.

Sagrada Familia

I got back to the hostel and we decided to do the two big Gaudi monuments that day: Parc Guëll and Sagrada Familia. Gaudi is this architect that I had never heard of before I got to Europe and who is synonymous with Barcelona. Brilliant is the only world that does justice to the ideas this guy had in the late 19th century. Parc Guëll is more like a wonderland with its serpentine mosaic benches, lizard fountains, halls and caves, houses that look like they should be on a Candyland board, and gardens of cacti and flowers. We took the long, steep hill up to get a view of Barcelona and then wound our way through the paths to find all of Gaudi’s outrageous creations. It was crowded and we sat on the world’s longest park bench for a while enjoying the sunshine, then we decided to move on to Sagrada Familia.

Parc Guell

Sagrada Familia entrance

This church is no where near completed. They say it’ll take another 30 years to be finished but for right now it remains “the world’s most visited construction site”. I can understand why. This church is the most detailed and meticulously beautiful application of art in architecture I have ever seen. Gaudi designed it like a mass of organic life rising up out of the ground and in stone. The two main towers on one façade resemble pinecones. At the foot of two columns on the outside he set giant sea turtles. At the tops of towers there are cornucopias of fruit and stalks of wheat. The interior is held up by vaults that are designed to look like trees and you feel like you’re walking through a forest. Everything is geometrically exact and everything works. There is a museum in which there are models that show how he displaced the weight of the arches through an inverse system of sand bags tied to strings hanging down. It also shows how he derived his structures and designs from naturally occurring shapes and patterns. What better way to show homage to the Creator himself than to build a church that highlights the glories and wonder of His creation? Brian aspires to be a graphic design major and was like a kid in a candy store. This was his second time at Sagrada Familia and he seemed no less awe-struck and even more enthralled by the incredible precision of Gaudi’s plans and ideas, all of which were completed way before computers or digital imaging.

Though the magnificence of the church alone was exhausting we wanted to see the Good Friday parade in the center of town. We had received word that it was starting at 5pm so we were there around 5 and it looked as though nothing was happening. We waited around and finally around 6:30 a procession of priests came out carrying a statue of Christ on the cross and did the Stations of the Cross outside in the square. Around 7:30 they were going back inside the building and there was still no sign of a parade. We walked through the cathedral courtyard and the main cathedral just to see it while we were waiting and finally when we came back out more people had gathered and the parade was approaching. It consisted of men in very tall, pointy, cone hats of green, black or red velvet who led a rickshaw carried by sixteen people with a massive sculpture of Christ carrying his cross and surrounded by gilded candles and purple and red flowers. The second processional had the same people in pointy cone hats (I'm sure this is the technical term for them) but they were leading a rickshaw of Mary all in white surrounded by Easter lilies and thousands of candles. The two “floats” met together in the square in front of the cathedral and were set down while the archbishop came out and stood within five feet of us and delivered a short homily and blessing. Spanish is rather similar to French and I could definitely catch some of the phrases and words. Brian translated some but not all and we enjoyed watching how other cultures celebrate Easter.

Good Friday processional

At the end of three hours of waiting and standing,we were starving and our legs were cramped. We walked home like robots, sat down for a few minutes to restore some strength and then set back out again to get provisions for dinner. Brian promised to make us Spanish tortillas. We bought the ingredients and went back to the hostel kitchen to realize the plan. Spanish tortillas are basically super thick omelets that are made of mostly potatoes and just held together by the egg. First you cook the potatoes in oil, then you drain the oil and add the egg. The tricky part is flipping the omelet but Brian was a pro and we (and some of the other people at the hostel) enjoyed a delicious Spanish traditional entrée, cooked to perfection. After dinner Lauren and Brian went out to find some more Sangria and I stayed behind talking to some people at the hostel. (There were a bunch from Quebec so I was getting in some good practice.) They ended up not coming home until 2am and tried to start telling me stories about their night but I was already asleep and told them groggily to save it until the morning. It turns out that all the markets had been closed and so they just went to a bar to have a beer and ended up meeting some English girls who were crazy, so naturally Lauren hit it off with them. We actually ran
into them just before leaving for the bus to the airport on Sunday and it was a joyous, if fleeting, reunion for them.

Two of my oldest friends at one of the coolest parks in the world.

Saturday we spent at the Picasso Museum, the Chocolate museum, a park, and then the Palau de la Musica Catalana. The Picasso museum, while not having any of Picasso’s most famous and recognizable works, is the most complete museum existing and shows the progression of his style from his days as a beginning drawer under the tutelage of his father, to his complete departure from traditional art into cubism. You can visibly trace his development in thought and technique through the collection. It is an incredible journey to watch the mastermind unfold before your eyes.

We walked to a market to find food for lunch, and then went to the Arc de Triomph park to picnic. We enjoyed our lunch until stray dogs started bothering us for food. One little black dog, a particularly frisky fellow, was relentlessly pursuing the females in the vicinity and they were not taking kindly to his very aggressive and ceaseless attempts to... uh... “woo” them. We departed for the chocolate museum when he began to carry on his activities too close to me for comfort.

The museum was enjoyable for obvious reasons. I don’t think Lauren and Brian would have gone if I hadn’t been so insistent but once again, they indulged me in my childlike excitement over a museum completely devoted to chocolate. They had a lot of audio visual presentations and interactive computer programs which we had fun with. I felt like a nine year old when we were sitting on the floor listening to a narrator recount the history of the cacao bean. It smelled SO good in there. Surprisingly, they didn’t give us a piece of chocolate at the end.  I expected this, so continuing my 9 yr old behavior, I indignantly refused to patronize the museum's gift shop.

The next stop was the Palau de la Musica Catalana. This building is famous for its turn of the century innovative decorations. Brian put it best when he said “there is so much going on in this building”. Everywhere you look there is a stunning stained glass window or an intricately wrought street lamp, a balustrade with orange glass supports, delicately carved wood molding and marble sculptures. We took a guided tour and I almost fell asleep during the movie part of it. Then we got to walk around in the concert hall and listen to a rehearsal for an Opera playing there the next week. It was an unexpected jewel of a building to explore.

That night Lauren made dinner. She fried some chicken and I helped her make a salad, both in general Mediterranean flavoring and ingredients. It was fantastic. I was glad we didn’t eat out. We were all pretty tired and I was set on writing in my other hard copy journal and reading (I am almost done with David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and I am engrossed in it.) Neither of the other two went out and Lauren was asleep by 10pm. Brian and I went back into the room and started talking, Lauren woke up and we all talked for a little longer then went to sleep about thirty seconds after we turned off the light.

Good Friday processional

Sunday morning we went to mass at a cathedral and attended an Easter mass held in Spanish and Tagalog. We also sang two songs in English. Lauren and I stuck out like sore thumbs as the only two fair haired people in the entire congregation. I really missed Truro. I have seen the dramatic recreation of the Passion so many times I was replaying it in my head as I was sitting there trying to catch bits of the service. Brian is Catholic and understands everything, Lauren is Catholic so she at least had an idea of the service order, but I was kind of lost. I wanted some good ol’ protestant hymns and the ridiculous bell-ringing and Martyn Minns shouting “ALLELUIA” over and over.  I knew it would take place a few hours later a few thousand miles away, and I would be missing it.

After the service we went to a famous café on Las Ramblas and got some tapas for lunch. We wouldn’t leave Spain without some tapas. I also got a cup of hot chocolate that was seriously like they melted a chocolate bar into my cup. It was so thick, much thicker than Hershey’s syrup. Brian got churros later and we enjoyed one last Spanish treat. Then we walked down to the waterfront stopping to admire the street performers. I took a video of one guy with a marionette of a skeleton doing some really good dances to oldies. At the waterfront we sat down for a little bit and people-watched, then we walked to a park on the other side of town where we all sat lay down on the grass in the sun and Lauren made daisy chains. It was an idyllic afternoon. Interestingly enough we saw the same frisky dog from the day before chasing more skirts and again having no success despite his unbelievable persistence. I think he needs to change his approach. I would suggest something more subtle than approach and mount.  Although, I've seen it work on dance floors before, so I can't blame him for trying.

Sunny Barcelona

After I had been adorned with a daisy chain and we had laughed some more at that crazy dog, it was time for us to go. We walked back to the hostel to get our stuff and then headed to the metro station. I didn’t want to break up our trio. It had been so great to hang out with two of my oldest friends and not have to worry about unfamiliarity or tiptoeing around things… we could talk about anything. We ended up having some wonderful and thought provoking conversations. Lauren sang Disney songs constantly, Brian quoted Zoolander and the Simpsons, and I did my best to keep up with them even though mine is no match compared to their respective repertoires. We all said goodbye and Lauren and I headed back to the airport and then back to Paris. We drove through the Costa Brava countryside on our way to the Girona airport (an hour and a half outside of Barcelona…yeah Ryanair) and I reflected on what incredible opportunities have been bestowed upon me this semester. I just hung out with two of my best friends in Barcelona for a weekend. That’s not something that happens very often and I’m so glad that it did. Lauren slept and I watched Spain roll by.

We got back to Paris with no problems. George and Corey’s host mom was kind enough to let Lauren stay with them for that night so George (who had developed quite the crush over the course of the week) met us at the bus stop to bring Lauren back and I split off to get to my apartment. I met Lauren for breakfast the next morning. She bought some more scarves and a few last minute presents for people, then I had to say goodbye to her too. It was more sad than saying bye to Brian because he’ll be around at least a little bit this summer but Lauren is going to stay in California and not come back save for a week or two. I made her promise to keep me posted on her life and to reserve a week for me to come out and visit her this summer so she can turn me into something straight out of a Beach Boys song.

So there you have it. 10 tremendous days in eight short pages. And now I sit preparing for the last three weeks of my semester, two more trips within Europe, and the crown jewel: Egypt with big bro. My little bro just told me he made his college decision and he heads off in the fall to JMU’s honors program. Brian and Lauren were talking about their dreaded military service after college and I think about how my semester will be over so soon. I already have my class schedule for next semester and have started to form brilliant debate points for the Committee on Degrees at W&M so I don’t have to stay an extra semester. I realized that I am, and most of my friends are, right on the edge of entry into full-fledged adulthood. I look back on the last ten days and shake my head over some things, cringe over others, and laugh over still others, much like the rest of my life. I look forward to whatever awaits me upon my return to America, but weekends like this last one will forever remind me of the wonders of being a student of the world and to continue throughout life learning constantly, never stopping to appreciate everything that is out there waiting to be discovered and the people you can share it with.


***This entry is dedicated to Lauren A. Feliz who never ceases to attract men from all directions, get herself into ridiculous predicaments that she always escapes from, and bring out a side of me that I sometimes forget exists.  And to Brian B. Burgess, my oldest friend, whose ability to quote movies, TV shows, and old school rap I will always treasure and admire.  And whose eye for beauty and intricate detail, and boundless creativity, I will always envy.