Hasta Luego

I read a quote once that said "Barcelona kidnaps you and sets you free." I undestood what it was saying when I read it, but it wasn't until I had to decide to leave Barcelona that I fully comprehended how true this statement was.

When I first arrived in Barcelona a year ago, I knew that it had a beach, that the locals didn't speak Spanish as their first language and that there were a lot of pickpockets and that was about it. One year later I know that in Barcelona in the Summer, the sun doesn't set until 10pm, that the night bus is a constant source of free entertainment, that they say "merci" sometimes instead of "gracias." I know that they like pastries filled with a mixture made of squash, that they think it's weird to drink a vodka tonic and that it is a HUGE deal there if it snows.

Barcelona set me free in allowing me to discover that I could move into another country, another culture, another language and create a happy and fulfilling life. In a city where people don't apologize for who they are, I learned to accept myself. I felt free to enjoy life without apologies, because that is what life is for. It has kidnapped a part of me that will always long to live among palm trees rather than pine or maple. A part that will always be on the lookout for lemon soda to mix in with my beer or red wine. It is not a question of if I will return, but when. I was kidnapped by the city and I developed a raging case of Stockholm syndrome. Though I have made the decision to leave Barcelona, there is a piece of me that will remain there.

If you are lucky enough to visit this city, I encourage you to embrace it, let the Barcelona set you free. And don't resist the kidnapping either, let it take you in and when you leave, let a piece of yourself stay behind. The piece that doesn't see a problem with three hour lunch breaks and three week vacations. The piece of you that stays up until 7am because you're just having too much fun to go home. Leave that piece behind, and go back to visit it often. I will.

Up On the Roof

Something you can find in many cities and which are usually fun to check out are rooftop bars. The combination of the view and being out in the open just creates an atmosphere that makes it feel okay to pay twice what you normally would for a drink.

Recently I went to a rooftop bar in Barcelona, also called “terraza” bars, as in terrace. The one we visited is called Terraza Alaire, in the Hotel Condes de Barcelona. The hotel is located at 73-75 Passeig (or Paseo) de Gracia, and the bar is on the 8th floor.

The bar looks out over Passeig de Gracia, with a view of Guadi’s La Pedrera and the twinkle of lights from many of the surrounding buildings. We arrived early to make sure we would get a table and as it was pretty empty we thought we would have our pick. They must have eyeballed us and sized us up as low rollers who would only buy one or two drinks, though, and our group of three was seated on a love seat against the building. All three of us, in a row, on an all-weather fiberglass love seat. We had a great view of the posh (empty) high top tables against the railing looking out over the city, though, so there was that.

When it eventually became unbearably awkward to try to talk while all smushed together in a row, I snagged a little ottoman away from one of the empty “reserved” tables and sat across from my friends. We never did see any of those tables fill up while we were there.
We ordered our drinks, two €6 glasses of wine and a €12 mojito and enjoyed (maybe a little too enthusiastically) the complimentary mixed nuts. It’s a cool setting for one drink, but since everyone is seated at separate tables, you can’t really mingle. Or maybe it was just a more appropriate place for couples who wanted to hold hands and stare at each other across a table in a pretty setting. It was great to chat with friends, but then we started to fee like our cute outfits were going to waste.

We finished our drinks and got up to make our way out and that’s when we realized we’d been given the short end of the stick. While we were sitting in Siberia where the highlight was the odd corn chip mixed in with the nuts, there was another whole wing of the bar that was teeming with attractive people milling about. As we approached the elevator we started murmuring to each other about whether we should still leave. We had already pushed the button though so it would have been a little strange to turn back now. We grudgingly entered the elevator when the doors opened. After I stepped in and turned around, I saw a table of incredibly handsome men directly across from the elevator checking us out. I started to lunge for the door but it was too late, the doors were closing.

If you choose to visit a rooftop bar while in Barcelona, I hope you will learn from my experience and at least do a lap around the joint before you commit to leaving. It could make all the difference.

Back in the Day

Barcelona is a city rich with history. From the legend of it being founded by Hercules, to huge cathedrals built in the 14th century. There are several places to view remnants of the city's past, from the archaeological dig site under the El Born market, to the remains of a 13th century Roman wall next to the Cathedral on Via Laitana and the Roman ruins in the Gothic quarter.

While it is interesting to see the remains of these ancient things, it is also pretty cool to see live action evidence of what life was like in Barcelona in the more recent past, but still before any of us were born.

http://www.wimp.com/barcelonafootage/

A friend passed along this video of Barcelona circa 1908 as seen through a camera mounted on the Travia tram car that used to run throughout much of the city's streets. In it, you can see many of the places you'll visit in Barcelona today like Passeig ( or Paseo) de Gracia and Plaza Lessps. It's amazing to see what is still recognizable and also what has changed.

Especially enchanting, to me, are the people. You can see that, although the fashions have changed (you don't see too many ankle length tunics on boys these days), enthusiasm for riding bikes and getting on camera has changed in the past 102 years.

Whether you're awaiting your visit to Barcelona or have already returned, watching this video will strike a nostalgic and sentimental chord in you for this wonderful city. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Wild Hogs

Something you’ll notice as you walk around Barcelona are all of the scooters zipping around between the cars. This is a very common mode of transportation in Europe and very prominent in the cities of Spain.

The scooter, or moto, is popular with residents from all walks of life. You’ll see teenagers riding them on the way to school, men in suits with briefcases at their feet, and my personal favorite, bad ass girls riding around in skirts and stilettos.

Motos are an easy, convenient way to get around the city and obviously more cost-effective than a car. The only time they don’t make sense is when it rains- and even then, I’ve seen some pretty fashionable waterproof ponchos.

It’s no big deal to those who live here, but to someone who grew up in the suburbs of Eastern Pennsylvania, riding on one of these things is like a movie-scene fantasy; especially if it’s done while holding on to a handsome Spanish man.

After living here for a year without an offer of a ride from even an old or creepy man, I decided to take matters into my own hands. The other day, a friend and I went to a place in the Born neighborhood where you can rent a Vespa for 9 Euros and hour.

There were signs at the outset that should have told me this wasn’t the best idea. When we arrived, the manager said we needed an international driver’s license. Neither of us had one- the best we could do was Jersey. No problem, he could bend the rules, he’d make a photocopy of the Jersey license. Next, he needed a 300 Euro deposit in case we damaged the bike. We didn’t have 300 Euros on us. No problem, he could bend the rules, he’d take whatever cash we had on hand.

After all the business was settled, we were given helmets and a tutorial on how the bike works. Since I had no interest in actually being responsible for operating this machine, my friend was the one really getting the lesson. I was trying to sneak glances in the side view mirror to make sure my hair looked okay coming out under the helmet.

We collectively decided that it would be best for her to take a little solo spin to get comfortable before I hopped on the back (with my eyes closed, pretending she was a 28 year old, square jawed, dimple chinned architect named Javier) for the real ride.

As I watched her take off, with the handle bars wobbling and the speed alternating in quick spurts between 5 and 30 miles per hour , I started to wonder if this was really going to happen. As I waited for her to come back my anxiety grew. Just as I was about to go look for her I saw her coming up the street, walking the bike. It was because there wasn’t a quick way to get back due to one way streets and things, but it still didn’t make me feel better about hopping on the back of the thing.

I tried to get over it and got on, clutching the metal handles on either side of me. We took off in a quick shot and then slowed down to almost a standstill. I was fighting the urge to put my feet down for balance. We made our way around a corner and then stopped. Started again, stopped. I instinctively put my foot down on the street, which totally threw off the balance. We made it another 20 yards, drifting towards a parked van in the process and then a big truck tried to pass us on the tiny street. “I’m not comfortable with this!” I shouted. “I don’t feel good about this, this isn’t going to work.”

My friend agreed and we got off and walked the bike the half a block back to the rental place, trying to congratulate ourselves for at least trying, but really feeling a little foolish. We paid the nine Euros and I put the dream to bed...for now.

If you think you might have better luck with one of these hogs, the place where we rented it was called Via Vespa and is located at Carrer Princesa, 56 in the Born area near Ciutadella Park. Rentals are 9 Euros an our or 59 Euros for the day and they offer guided Vespa tours upon request.

What You Didn't Know You Didn't Know- Part II

Last time I left you with the first five things you probably didn't know about Barcelona. Now it's time to round out the full ten. Here are the next five items...




6) One thing you will see a lot in Barcelona is the Catalan flag. This consists of five stripes of yellow alternated by four stripes of red- you’ll see them hung both horizontally and vertically. While the origin of this flag is historically disputed, the legend of its creation is interesting. Before old Count Wilfred the Hairy died in the 9th century, they say that King Charles the Bald drenched his fingers in Wilfred’s blood and then ran them down the surface of his golden shied as an act of gratitude and that was the basis for the four red stripes on the gold background that is now the Catalan flag. Now, I would think that Charles the Bald would be more envious of Wilfred the Hairy than grateful, but I guess hair wasn’t his main concern. This legend was most likely circulated to directly relate the Counts of Barcelona to the emblem of Catalunya.

7) There are two legends as to the origins of the city. One legend says the city of Barcelona was founded by Hercules 400 years before Rome. The other is that Barcelona was built by Hamilcar Barca, the father of Hannibal. The name Barcelona comes from the Barca family of Carthage who ruled the area in the 3rd century before Christ. I guess the second one is more feasible but I think the Hercules legend is more fun to believe.



8) Santa Maria del Mar is one of the most famous churches in Barcelona, located in La Ribera. The church was built between 1329 and 1383 and the money to build it was contributed by all of the different trade guilds of the neighborhood. The porters or Bastaixos of the neighborhood who loaded and unloaded the ships in the port were too poor to contribute money to the project. However, their dedication to their patron, Maria del Mar was so great that, in lieu of money, they contributed by carrying every stone for the church from the quarry at Montjuic, along the beach, to the church on their backs. This is memorialized on the main doors of the church.









9) If you come from America, and particularly from a suburb, you are going to be freaked out by the traffic in Europe. People drive quickly and aggressively. Apparently Barcelona are some of the worst offenders- there is a traffic accident in the city every 19 seconds on average. I’ve never seen a taxi involved in one of them, but still- maybe stick to the metro.




10) One of the most beautiful and well-known images of Barcelona is the Pont del Sospirs, or Bridge of Sighs on c/ Bisbe along the side of the city’s main cathedral. Thousands of people walk underneath it every day. However, not everyone looks up when they do so. On the underside of the bridge are several decorative carvings, include a skull with a dagger through it. The legend is that if you go stand beneath the bridge and make a wish before looking up, if the skull is the first thing your eyes focus on when you look up, your wish will come true. Blowing out candles on a cake may be cuter but I feel like a bad-ass skull with a dagger through it is more likely to get things done.

What You Didn't Know You Didn't Know- Part I

So, you’ve read in your guide book about holding onto your wallet on Las Ramblas and that Barcelona has an old Gothic neighborhood and Jewish quarter. You’ve read here about some history of Parc Guell and a few places to go for some classic dishes. But what don’t you know about Barcelona? This is a city rich with history and culture and I’m willing to bet there are still a few things you didn’t know about Barcelona. I'm going to share the top ten things I think you didn’t know that you didn’t know. We'll break it up into two posts because I don't want to totally blow your mind. Here are the first five...

1) Antoni Gaudi was not the first architect to work on Sagrada Familia. True he is famous for its design and it was the sole focus of his work for the last 15 years of his life, but he wasn’t the first choice. Architect Francesc del Villar was actually the first one who was commissioned to design the church on that site. A year into the project he resigned and Gaudi took over and completely revamped the design. I wonder if del Villar tried to tell people “That arch on the North West corner was totally my idea, but they never give me credit for it.”

2) Surely if you’ve researched Barcelona, you’ve read that it is part of the autonomous community of Catalonia and that the official language is Catalan. I don’t think people fully understand though until they meet Catalan people, how very autonomous they are/want to be. It’s good to be aware that Catalan people do not consider themselves Spanish- they are Catalan, and don’t you forget it. Of course some are more intense about it than others but to avoid the risk of offending anyone, you might want to ask someone if they are Catalan or Spanish before referring to them as either or.

3) You have Barcelona to thank for World Book Day. La Diada de San Jordi is one of the biggest, most widely celebrated feast days in Barcelona. Taking place on April 23, it is a celebration of love and literacy. The Barcelona celebration of St. George includes the tradition of men giving their sweethearts a rose and women giving theirs a book. On this day there are booths selling every type of rose and book you can imagine all throughout the city. Originally the rose was the main component, but book sellers tried to capitalize on the fact that Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare both died on April 23 and incorporating books to the holiday caught on. Barcelona’s tradition was actually the catalyst for UNESCO declaring April 23rd World Book Day as of 1995.

4) The founding father of Barcelona was the Catalan Count Guifré el Pelós, which translates to Wilfred the Hairy. I think this is the subconscious reason so many of the men here leave their shirts unbuttoned down to their bellybutton, proudly displaying their hairy chests.

5) If you’re up on the international football scene, you know that FC Barcelona is a top notch team. But you may not know that, with the seating capacity for 100,000 people, FC is the biggest privately owned stadium in the world. You can get nosebleed seats for €30-40, so definitely try to get to a game if you visit during the season. It’s worth it just to hear a stadium full of people singing the Barcelona victory song in unison after a goooooaaaaaallll.

Everything Aire

One of the things I’ve wanted to do for a long time is to visit Aire Barcelona, the Arab bath house. I finally did it the other day and it was totally worth the wait. I’ve never been to a bath house, Arab or otherwise, so I don’t have a basis for comparison, but I can say that this one is relaxing, classy and clean.

There are several options and price ranges. You can do only the baths, or the baths and massages of varying lengths and types. My friend and I opted for a 90 minute bath and aroma therapy session and a 30 minute massage.


From the minute you walk in, the candles lining the walkway and the vaguely Middle Eastern string music creates a calming environment. You get a bracelet that identifies what sessions and treatment you’ve paid for, so don’t try hiding under water when your time is up, they’ll be onto you real quick.





The first stop is the locker room, which is pretty standard, although like with the beaches here, you encounter more free flying nudity than you would at a spa in America or the UK. Luckily I belonged to my local YMCA back in the states, so floppy old lady boobs being briskly toweled off don’t really phase me anymore.

Everyone wears a bathing suit, if you don’t bring yours they’ll provide you with one, but I brought my own (homie don’t play pre-worn swimsuits), though I did wear the little rubber-bottomed, mesh booties they provide.

Someone is waiting to guide you through every step which is very nice. I’m not sure if they speak any English, but you can pretty much get what’s going on by watching everyone else. We were directed to the showers first, and then led into the adjacent massage room. It was a great 30 minute massage. The only time I wasn’t relaxed was when, during the leg portion, my bathing suit bottoms were moved pretty much as far inward as they could go and I had to stop myself from giggling awkwardly and to resist the urge pull out the masseuse-induced wedgie.
The entire massage and bath area is lit only by the hundreds of candles on the floors and shelves and lights in the pools. This helps make it more relaxing. The whole place is hot, dark and wet and the whole time you’re there you are slightly slippery and you don’t have anything to worry about; I think that is the closest I’ll ever get to knowing what it feels like to be a fetus.

The bath area is very open, though dark, with clusters of pools at both ends and a sauna in the center. At one end there is a warm salt water pool and a large whirlpool with some powerful jets. At the other end is a large warm pool, a smaller hot pool and two very small, very cold pools. The idea is to spend some time in the hot pool to open your pores, dip into the cold one to close your pores and then lounge in the warm pool to, I don’t know, give them a break I guess.

The sauna constitutes the aromatherapy portion of the session. The thick steam is strongly scented with menthol and eucalyptus; it’s like inhaling a cough drop. It’s quiet in there and since you have to close your eyes against the steam you might not notice if someone walks in. Take a look around before you start telling your friend a funny fart story because you might not be alone anymore; I learned that one the hard way.


You are free to roam from pool to pool at your leisure, or to sit on the built in benches along the walls and have water or tea. When the session ends they ring a bell and you make your way back to the locker room and reality.

Though I just went with a friend, there were a number of couples who seemed to really enjoy it, although I wished the perfectly sculpted, Ken and Barbie-type couple had been in a different session; I can’t fully relax when I keep feeling compelled to suck in my stomach. And contrary to what one person had told me, it didn’t appear to be a hotspot for sordid gay trysts- but maybe that happens at the late night session…

Aire de Barcelona is located at Paseo de Picasso, 22 in the neighborhood of El Born. Basically across the street from Ciutadella park, the closest metro stops are Jaume I on the Yellow L4 or Arc de Triumf on the Red L1 line. From either metro it will be a 10-15 minute walk. They are open every day except December 25 and January 1. There are hour and a half sessions that begin at 10am and go until 11:30pm, with a half hour gap in between each session. On Fridays, Saturdays and the eves of holidays there is also a midnight to 2am session. Prices range from€25 to €80 based on the massage services you opt for beyond the bath and aromatherapy. Make reservations to make sure you get the time you want. I’d suggest doing a late morning/early afternoon appointment so you can follow it up with a nice lunch in El Born.