After 35 years, I went to Barcelona and Catalunia for a week, with my wife and 2 friends. What follows are some impressions of this trip.
By Greg Birbil
When compared to Greeks, the Catalans are especially organized and take great pride in this. The preparation for the 1992 Olympics massively transformed their city and its infrastructure. Unlike Athens, we are talking about Barcelona emerging a completely different city as a result of this; but you can find that information on the Internet or read Robert Hughes terrific book "Barcelona"on the subject.
This city is amazingly tourist friendly and includes the usual bus tours, walking trips, museums, found in most cities however they are better organized and coordinated than most. What also makes this an outstanding city is Antonio Gaudi's unique architecture. Gaudi's creativity is present everywhere; in the parks, building facades, rooftops, and the extraordinary landmark unfinished cathedral of the Sagrada Familia. Without him Barcelona would be, well, less important visually. It was everything we had anticipated. You also have the Picasso museum, in 5 great medieval houses in the center of Barcelona. Tons more to see, but not in just 3 days. A great city, great people, and not a cigarette butt on the ground.
What really impressed us was the feeling of the city; the bustle, with citizens as well as tourists enjoying its cosmopolitan atmosphere. Every bar tender seemed to be Irish. We met a large number of South Americans living, working or visiting. Fortunately I speak Spanish, but no Catalan. When I lived in Madrid years ago and visited Barcelona, Catalan was a banned language, not anymore. Signs are in Catalan, Spanish, and maybe English. They are very nationalistic, you get the feeling that it is a separate country and one they are very proud of.
The food is great! Being a port city, the seafood is delicious and fresh. We had some delicious meals. Nevertheless we have a warning. Every restaurant has a variety of paellas, however, none that we tried were particularly good. Food has it’s home, and Paella comes from the south of Spain, Andalucia, unfortunately, not Barcelona. I know that people have had good paella in Barcelona, but not us, although you might take a chance on the many small places serving it on Las Ramblas and have a decent meal. We did have other wonderful food, traditional tapas, Jamon Iberico, as well as great seafood, as I said before. They have something that is fabulous, and should be the national symbol, pan Catalan, a thick fresh or toasted slice of bread, drizzled with olive oil then smeared with a soft ripe tomato, salt, and if you ask a bit of Garlic; a must with the traditional tapas, delicious, easy and always accompanied with a glass of wine.
After Barcelona we drove north to the Costa Brava to visit some friends in Tamariu, it was a birthday party and a good one. While there we drove to Cadiques to visit the Salvador Dali house. It is made up of 5 fishermen’s cottages, accumulated over more than 30 years. You start to better appreciate Dali after this visit. His home is a masterpiece and is creative, theatrical, playful, and ingenious. Gardens and rooms that are magical, and so carefully thought out, wit and fun in every corner. It shows not only his great love for his wife but also of the area in which they lived. It was one of the best parts of our trip.
Going back towards Girona and Palafruell and Tamariu there are many medieval towns and wonderful rustic farmhouses all beautifully maintained; no neon signs or discotheques, discarded plastic water bottles or cigarette butts on the ground. Somewhere in Catalina there must be a great business, making ashtrays for medieval cities and beaches.
The cleanliness of the countryside as well as the towns was a revelation. I do not want to go on and on about this, but it impressed us all. We love Greece and would not trade it for anyplace else, but we could use a bit of the Catalan discipline. Perhaps they are a bit obsessive, but it was nice not to see rubbish lining the country roads or people tossing unwanted stuff from their cars.
Now we did have a couple of problems, other than the paella; the coffee was terrible and not the great choice we have in Greece. No frappe, no cappuccino freddo, but it was cheap, as it should be. So if you avoided the coffee and the paella, our trip was a smashing success.
We saw some wonderful things, ate some great food, and had superb wines, especially the cavas. The city organization for tourists was impressive and people were open and friendly. It was a great week. We naturally did too much, and still feel we missed so much, but more left for our next visit
