for the first time in a while, i'm spending the weekend in zaragoza. it feels nice. relaxing. two of the last three weekends, i've taken a bus to the coast and spent the weekend in barcelona with a few friends from depaul, who are now living there. so to wake up and have nowhere to go or nothing to do, is a nice change of pace.
barcelona is quickly becoming my favorite city in spain. it's a very unique place. it sits on the mediterranean coast, so landscape-wise is full of hills. in some respects, it feels like san francisco. but it also feels like chicago, with all the outdoor cafes and streets full of people on sunny days. it has all you really need in a city. great public transportation, a beach, great nightlife, a great sports team (barcelona!!!), and great food. but, it's also very different than madrid or any other city in spain.
first, barcelona is located in the autonomous region of catalonia, where catalan NOT spanish is the primary language. because of spain's murky past, and the suppression of the catalan language and culture by regime of francisco franco last century, catalans suffer from what i call "texas syndrome." ask anyone in catalonia to identify themselves, and 9 times out of 10 will say they are catalan not spanish. they are extremely proud of where they come from, to the point of alienating other spaniards. the language itself is a hybrid of french and spanish (although say this to a catalan and you will receive a stern lecture about how this couldn't be further from the truth.). the language, though, is close enough to spanish that you can understand for the most part what all the signs around you say (tomate = tomaca, calle = carrer, etc.) while the streets are always full of people, barcelonès are very closed. unlike people in madrid or even zaragoza, where people seem very open and outgoing, my experience in barcelona has been the opposite. it reminds me of the difference between people in guayaquil and in quito.
outside of exploring the gràcia neighborhood (where my friend mike lives), the gothic quarter, barceloneta beach, camp nou (barcelona fc's football stadium) and la boqueria (a huge outdoor food market), i haven't done much exploring of the city. i've yet to visit la sagrada familia, olympic village, or many of the other sites. but i have a feeling i'll be spending many weekends in barcelona this summer, especially as it gets hotter and hotter here in zaragoza.
last weekend, mike, his roommates aneliza, alfredo, and i rented a car and took a day trip two hours north up the costa brava to a town called cadaqués. the town itself is incredibly small--only 2,000 plus people live there. but it's also amazingly beautiful. picture a town on the mediterranean coast, white houses, blue water, rocky beaches. that's cadaqués. small enough where you can see the entire town in a day and not feel bored. the beauty of the coast and the town itself is breathtaking. the town is also famous for hosting a home of the famous spanish painter salvador dalí. other famous artists, including pablo picasso, are said to have spent time in the small town on spain's costa brava.
the trip has inspired me to explore more towns on the coast, and within spain. ok. time to go be productive today. may 1st. happy may day everybody!
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