Rowdy for Gaudi

What do you know about Barcelona? I didn’t know much except that I wanted to go there after watching the diving at the ’92 Olympics set against the amazing background of the city and Mediterranean Sea.*

Before we arrived the dominant message was: Barcelona: Land of the Pickpocket. On their visit Trish and Paris got hit with the famous ‘Excuse you me, I’ve just spilt some tomato sauce on your jacket – now let me try to steal your bag while I pretend to help you clean it off’ scam and our travelling companions Ben and Lisa also had their ‘it happened to a friend of mine’ story. While in most cities you can usually expect your hotel to provide you with a map and maybe some restaurant recommendations, ours had an A4 laminated sheet of all the tricks people will try to pull on you to separate you from your wallet. We were alert (yet not alarmed) and escaped unmolested. In fact, we didn’t even glimpse anything looking remotely dodgy. In a way this was somewhat (very slightly) disappointing – just because we were expecting it as part of the Barcelona experience (seen this – tick, done that – tick, got pick pocketed – no, didn’t get around to it).

A major highlight of the city is the architecture of Gaudi who embraced natural forms, the sea and colour in his design. The creations are so interesting and uplifting, but I guess practically has meant that buildings like these are the exception rather than the norm. The church La Sagrada Familia has been a work in progress since 1884 and they are trying to get it finished by 2026 to celebrate the centenary of his death. On the other hand, the stunning and spectacular Palau De La Musica Catalana designed by architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner was built in under 2 years which proves that beautiful and interesting spaces can be built in a sane amount of time... we just choose not to.

*this was also the Olympics that had the archery guy lighting the Olympic flame by shooting an arrow into the cauldron – if any sporting performance ever deserved a gold medal surely it was this.