why they write songs about barcelona

Blog Post 6.

Freddie Mercury, Ed Sheeran, George Ezra. Just to name three of many famous musicians who have produced songs inspired by Barcelona, Cataluña’s enchanting capital city. I, myself popped up there for a weekend to see what the ruckus is about.

Let’s just say I’m drinking the Barcelona Koolaid (more like SANGRIA).

I had the absolute pleasure of enjoying all these things alongside one of my close friends, Nathan Garrett (he has previously been mentioned on my posts), and two new friends, Julia and Kathryn, from his studies in Aix-en-Provence, France.

I am very enchanted with the city. It has a pulsating energy (not just in the club) that is tangible at any moment. It is a fascinatingly crafted place, situated in a naturally beautiful area- a great combination. And don’t get me started on the food. This fusion: architectural and natural beauty, superb food and fantastic friends- new and old alike- all heightened by centuries of social energy makes for a captivating weekend.

I won’t bore you with all the chronological details, but here are the highlights:

Antoni Gaudí’s architecture transported us to a storybook world. At Park Güell, this was in the form of an ethereal garden escape outside the city center. Characterized by abstract and colorful tile work juxtaposing dozens of powerful modern Doric columns, the central core buildings of the park are a collision of eras, perfectly representing the social and artistic history of Gaudí’s time. Aside from the park, it wasn’t uncommon to be on the bus and drive passed one of his buildings within the city. You just know when it’s Gaudí. I love that. The Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, likewise completely blew my mind. We didn’t go inside because tickets sell out a week ahead of time, but we managed to spend an hour outside, gawking at the edifice. I still do not comprehend the scale of such a building. We ended up sitting on the curb, facing the northeast side of the cathedral, sun setting behind it in the southwest. I was amazed by the number of pigeons that live on the building. And to think, they (probably) don’t even know that they are living on the most prime real estate in all of Cataluña.

Food is a majorly important part of culture, if you ask me, so eating it happened to be a major part of what we did in Barcelona. I loved sharing traditional Spanish dishes (and Tinto de Verano) with Nathan, Kathryn and Julia and learning about some new ones as well. We were always so pleased during and after our meals. As it often does in Spain, time expanded and contracted at irregular intervals for us- especially at meal times. We would spend hours dining, sipping and chatting. To me, meals are a social event and Spain’s food culture embraces that wholeheartedly. On Saturday afternoon, Kathryn and Nathan ever so kindly accompanied me to Pastelería Jansana, to try out the dedicated gluten-free pastries. I spent almost 13 euro, which, in Spain, is serious damage at a pastry shop.

Energy is something that I like to key into wherever I go, whatever I’m doing. It sounds so abstract but the current that flows around a place or moment is very important to me. I loved the energy of Barcelona. I wish I had three weeks there instead of three days. We stayed in the city center so were able to experience its perpetually-beating heart. However, a mile walk in any direction and one can find quiet neighborhoods, parks and walking paths. Head to the beach at night and you have the option of dipping your toes in the water or dancing for hours at any number of massive night clubs (we happened to do both). I met people from Spain, Germany, Pakistan, France, the UK and other parts of the world- holding conversations in broken bits of what languages we could find in common.

I could go on about Barcelona, maybe write a song about it. But it’s simply a place that cannot be described in words. If you get a chance, go check it out.