Europe, it may be “open borders” but telecommunications companies have got us well and truly tracked. We first knew we were in Spain when on the train from Marseille Alex received a sms on her phone saying: “Spain is an eligible Premium Plan roaming destination“. Hola Espagna!
We’ve been very proud of ourselves for not automatically catching taxi’s to our hotels, again through the help of the mobile phone we’ve been able to use google maps to either walk or catch public transport to our hotels. So at the huge Barcelona Sants train station we caught the underground L4, popped up at Placa Catalunya and found our way to Eco Hostal Grau.
The lovely Karen Middleton hooked us up with her equally lovely first cousin Sharlene Halbert who has lived in Barcelona for nearly 10 years.
Sharlene, like Karen has many talents: musical, a born communicator, kind and ever-helpful. She really gave us a great insight why so many Australians fall in love with Barcelona. She speaks fluent Spanish, understands Catalan, teaches music and English and has now set up a business as a Personal Coach.
It was great to get an insight into Barcelona and Catalunia at this interesting point in history with the Catalan independence movement. Under Franco’s rule until 1975 the Catalan language was banned. Now the pendulum has swung and some of the young students she teaches only speak Catalan and cannot speak Spanish. Has the pride in culture and independence gone too far, is it actually disadvantaging kids in an increasing mobile world not to be able to speak Spanish?
It was really kind of her to spend time with us, especially as she was about to head off on a fundraising driving odyssey across Africa with her group Hot Chili Chicas. The Hot Chili Chicas are 4 women who live in Barcelona who are driving 9000km in 19 days across 7 countries in Southern Africa as part of the Put Foot car rally. They are fundraising to buy locally made and very durable school shoes in South Africa and will then deliver them to children in remote schools who, because of ill fitting shoes, often suffer feet infections or get parasites through their feet. Go Chicas!
On our first morning in Barcelona we set off on a “Gaudi Electric Bike Tour”. First time on an Electric bike led by the lovely Manu.
The Barcelona grid has stood the city in good stead, and has guided the development of the city for over 150 years. It is currently allowing for the installation of IT infrastructure, light rail, bikeways and in some precincts shared heating and cooling and vacuum waste systems
Alex was sad to leave the bells of Italy, but once in Spain has decided that “Fountains are to Spain what bells are to Italy”.
It makes sense. The late Janet Ker Conway, the girl from Coorain, remarked it would have been much better if Australian architecture had adopted the fountains of Spain, rather than Victorian terraces as it makes the streets and houses so much cooler and lovely. Coming soon to Toms Crescent Ainslie?
Park Guell
This is where Gaudi decided to turn his imagination to landscape and gardens. It was one of the few rainy days we have struck and we were caught without our rain jackets. Rookie mistake, but the enterprising street sellers had us in their sights, blue ponchos which may as well say “Hola Turista”.
We were well and truly warned about pickpockets. We’d passed what appeared to be a mother and daughter at the top of the stairs, the older woman struggling for breath, and the younger one assisting her.
But distracted by the rain and wanting to descend the stairs without slipping, Alex was holding the rail instead of her bag.
Who would ever think the ripping sound of velcro would be one we’d welcome? Alex turned on her personal pickpockets with fury, which shocked both the thieves and her. It happens, luckily we didn’t lose anything.
MIRO foundation
This beautiful building with views out across the city was built to house Miro’s collection. It beautifully integrates art and architecture with some of works of art and sculpture created to fill particular spaces.
Miro’s work spanned such a long period and was so influenced by the politics of the day Spanish Civil War, Franco, the rise of Fascism with parallels to some of what we are seeing today. He was fiercely Catalan, “His work may seem apolitical and pure, but he remained all his life a fervent Catalan (his notebooks are in Catalan or French, but not in Spanish), and he made his left-wing sympathies clear during the Spanish civil war and under the Franco regime. He had many friends, but, despite a connection with the surrealists, he was a member of no group, and remained a deeply independent figure.” The Guardian
It was an inspiration to see kids and teenagers so engaged
Museum of Contemporary Art
Just round the corner from where were stayed on a courtyard packed with skateboarders and university students. Continues the edgy artistic expression with a series of more contemporary exhibitions including one by – Oscar Masotta exiled from Argentina found refuge in the artistic community in Barcelona.
Frithy and Franny
Hospital Sant Pau
This incredibly beautiful Art Nouveau Site, is one of the foremost work of Lluís Domènech i Montaner, one of the most important architects of Modernisme, the Catalan Art Nouveau, and the product of one of the most outstanding rehabilitation processes of recent years. Sant Pau’s focus was to be a beautiful place for healing. You walk though white tunnels which look like imagined “pathways to heaven” to emerge to beautiful mosaic rooms, some with stained glass. The gardens too were versions of paradise.
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Parental Gap-Year 