Three Backpackers in Barcelona

Days were ticking away on our Spanish adventure and Lauren, Chad and I still had the entire city of Barcelona to see. We needed to do a bit of prioritizing, and what better way to maximize our time than by taking a free walking tour. "Free" of course meaning "tips appreciated at end." I had never taken a walking tour before and luckily the travel gods granted us a fabulous guide named Chris from the company TravelBound. Originally from Australia, Chris had been living for several years in Barcelona after completing his Masters on the city's urban development. Needless to say he knew a lot about the city and I'll do my best to remember and share the highlights.

Generally the tour painted a great picture of the history, heritage and vibrancy of Barcelona. The city appears artistic and modern despite having a very long history under Roman, Visigoth, Moor and Frank rule. The modern version of Barcelona was heavily influenced by the famous artists and architects of the last 150 years, mainly Antoni Gaudi, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. The 1992 Olympics transformed the city into a Mediterranean paradise as exotic palm trees were imported from Hawaii and city beaches were built from Egyptian sand.

Our first major stop along the tour was the Barcelona Cathedral, where we learned of legendary Wilfred the Hairy who is considered the founder of Barcelona and Cataluña's independence. He is famously known for slaying dragons, rescuing virgins and having hair on parts of his body where no one should...There is also the tale that the flag of Cataluña is stained with Wilfred the Hairy's blood. After he was wounded once in battle, the King of the Franks dug his fingers into the wound and drew four bloody lines on yellow fabric in his honour.

 Above, a photo of the Barcelona Cathedral, and below, a sculpture of Wilfred the Hairy along one side of the Cathedral exterior.

 

Our next stop was at the former Royal Palace of the Catholic Monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand. The palace interior has now been converted to a City Museum, but much of the outside maintains its original façade. Hebrew inscriptions are still visible on the stone bricks of one building as it was originally built from dismantled Jewish gravestones during the Spanish Inquisition. The poor Jewish people were discriminated against in Spain like in many other countries and their stolen valuables were used to fund the expansion of the Spanish Empire, specifically Christopher Columbus's accidental discovery of South America in 1492. In our tour we saw the suspected steps where Columbus first presented his New World treasures to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

 

Look closely at the middle block in the third row from the bottom. Can you see the Hebrew inscription?



 Once upon a time, Columbus stood at the foot of these steps presenting gold, coffee, spices and Indian slaves to the Spanish monarchy.

 

Perhaps the saddest location on our walking tour was the quiet, secluded Plaza San Felipe Neri. This square houses a romantic fountain, café and children's daycare, but its history is far from peaceful. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39, though Spain remained in dictatorship till 1975), Dictator Francisco Franco requested the assistance of Mussolini and Hitler to overcome the resistance his military faced in Cataluña. German and Italian planes bombed Barcelona into submission. Plaza Neri did not escape unscathed; of the 42 people who died in the attack, 39 were children. Later the Plaza was again used as an execution ground for resistance leaders. It is not known how many individuals were shot against its walls. The reminder of these horrific events remain visible on the walls of the square. The scars of the bombing replaced only by the pattern of machine gun fire.

 

 The lovely fountain in the center of Neri, and the scars of battle along one wall.

 

On a lighter note, I'll share some of the happier stops which ended our tour. First we stopped along Carrer d'Avinyo, the street where Pablo Picasso attended art school beginning at age 13. D'Avinyo used to be the "red light district" of Barcelona and Picasso's frequent interactions with prostitutes reportedly made him into quite the ladies' man later in life. It is rumoured that he lost his virginity in one of the overlooking apartments.

 

Picasso's art school.

 

The second funny tidbit was the opportunity to practice our flamenco dancing, the traditional sexy dance routine of Spain. Our guide Chris explained it with such easy instructions that I just have to share his wisdom:

Reach up and pluck an apple from the tree,

Twist the apple in your hand and draw it to your mouth,

Take a bite, but upon seeing a worm spit it out!

Twist your arm away and throw the apple,

Stomp on the worm with your foot,

and clean your hands by clapping twice!

 

Once we finished our tour, we next went to complete my one goal in Barcelona: see the famous Sagrada Familia. This basilica was started in 1882 by Antoni Gaudi and scheduled for completion in 2026 (144 years later). Since the basilica is only 60% complete, construction crews were busy working during our visit. The scale of the project is massive not only from its lengthy duration, but also because of the multiple artists and architects involved in its design. I read that the project budget for 2009 alone was 18 million dollars. Not to mention its massive physical proportions. There are 18 spires reaching 170 metres in height and its interior choir loft seats 1000 people.

 

 The real thing under construction, and a model showcasing what it will look like.

 



Sagrada Familia is unlike anything I have seen before. The exterior is almost humorous in its extravagance and abundance, yet the interior is completely breathtaking. The inside is flooded with rainbow light from strategically placed stained-glass windows and tall arching columns branch out above like trees into an imitation forest canopy. I don't even remember what the floor looked like because I was too preoccupied staring at the ceiling.

 

The coloured stained glass melding into white light is a good example of what remains to be finished in the basilica.

I have seen a lot of churches/cathedrals/basilicas this year and I remember sadly wondering why our society no longer put in the effort to achieve pure beauty and elaborate detail in our architecture. As I wandered around Sagrada Familia I realized that remarkable structures are still being built today which uniquely reflect modern values. It was a pleasing thought, though also somewhat disappointing to realize these buildings mostly serve tourism purposes. Regardless I highly recommend visiting Sagrada Familia as my photographs do its ingenuity and artistry no justice. You must experience its magnificence in person.

After a jam-packed day, Chad, Lauren and I had all worked up healthy appetites. Lauren and I volunteered to make supper and headed to the popular La Boqueria market to scope out groceries. Displays full of fruit, eggs, vegetables, meat and fresh seafood were tantalizing for our tastebuds and we soon realized we could not make any purchase decisions. So we abandoned the market and went to the nearby grocery store to buy ingredients for spaghetti. Haha! A bit anti-climactic, but spaghetti is a backpacker staple and with some fresh basil tossed in tasted delicious! Plus we spoiled ourselves with a bottle of Cava, a bubbly white wine made fresh this spring in Cataluña.

Lauren is not a seafood fan and thus hated the fish vendors, but I on the other hand loved this yummy spread of sea creatures.

 

My goal at the start of this blog was to finish telling the tales of our Spanish adventure. However, I realize now that I cannot fit it all in this one post. I still need to share pictures from our final beach visit, kayaking and snorkelling. Therefore until next time...

 

Adios,

 

Shannon