And I Thought California Was Beautiful: Barça

Just last weekend, my whole program took a trip to Barcelona. All 20-something of us haven't gone anywhere together in quite awhile, and it was a nice way to start off the end of our time here. Barcelona is COMPLETELY different from Madrid. It is hard to know that it is even in the same country. It is a part of the region in Spain called Cataluña (or Catalunya in Catalan). They speak their own language, which happens to be a mix between Spanish and French, and they have their own special culture. It is Cataluña that has been in the news lately for holding elections about succession from Spain. It is all quite a complicated issue, as the Spanish constitution has no clause for regions that want to succeed. Next Civil War? Hopefully not. I don't think that Cataluña is quite there, but the issue of nationalism (or I guess, regionalism) is definitely present everywhere in Barça, the capital of the region. Here is an example of that:

We spent our fair share of time the first day we were there touring the city. We saw the standard cathedrals, castles, etc...One of my favorite things the first day was walking through Las Ramblas. It is one of the most famous paseos (or walks) in the world, covered with trees and little cafes and street performers. It was beautiful even though the weather was pretty bad that day. At one point, when a thunderstorm came on suddenly, we all took cover in the market. I was amazed to see such a thing. It actually had butchers, bakers, and even candy makers. We ran around taking pictures of all of the beautiful colors and buying overpriced candy.

Cathedral

Las Ramblas

Market

That night, we had a group dinner. The first thing on the menu, calzons (not sure how to spell that word, it is catalan). Basically, it consists of leeks dipped in this special sauce. It was very strange, but I tried it and it actually wasn't half bad! We also got these special wine containers that have a small spout. You are supposed to take turns going around the table with the spout pointed at your mouth, slurping the wine and bringing the container closer and farther away from your mouth. Quite interesting to watch. I did not try, as it seemed like a great way to choke, to me.

Me trying the leeks

The next morning we went to the Dali museum. It was crazy, as all of Dali's work is. Here is my favorite picture.

Can you see Abraham Lincoln?

The final day was completely devoted to Gaudi. We went and saw modernist buildings, and the Gaudi apartments. He is the beloved modernist architect of Barcelona, and his work is everywhere, from Park Güell, to the main part of the city.