Spain and Barcelona were places which I had always avoided. It was due to my notion about Spaniards from my educational exchange. The Spaniards whom I met there were a closed group which refused to speak English and mingle with other nationalities. That was the reason I hadn’t wanted to visit a country where I couldn’t find out anything about local people.
My second notion was that they are disorganized as well as it is a place where trains have a siesta from 14:00 to 17:00 and everything is delayed. Are these notions based of facts of fiction?
Immerse in a series of 6 articles about Spain:
- Spain, Barcelona and San Cugat (this article),
- Zaragoza (Aragon), thieves and high-speed trains (2),
- Girona, Montserrat and a grilled pigeon (3),
- Spanish cuisine and overall impressions about Spain (4),
- Spanish pronunciation and dictionary (5),
- Spaniards, Catalans, integration of foreigners and capitalism (6).
If there isn’t a link to the article yet, it means the article hasn’t been published yet. Wait for a while please.
This article, 1st out of 6 is about general information about Spain, Spaniards, the city of Barcelona and a walking trek to a city San Cugat. There is also information about receipts and tips in restaurants, how to get around in Barcelona as well as information about a folk dance Ball de bastons.
There is a link to a map with all points of interest written about at the end of the article.
How is it actually with Spain?
Some countries are monolithic. It means there is one nation (ethnicity) and one language with very few other ethnicities or nationalities. The typical example is the Czech Republic. Czechs who speak Czech live in the Czech Republic. It was not always the case. The Czech Republic used to be multiethnic state before 1938.
On the other hand, most countries are multiethnic. It means there are multiple ethnicities, nations and languages. This type of a country is more of a standard.
Spain consists of 17 autonomous communities (regions). Each community has their own parliament with a varied level of delegated rights and responsibilities. The level of delegation is directly proportional to nationalistic tendencies in each community.
The division to communities stems from the past. The Spanish kingdom consisted of many small kingdoms. These kingdoms were: Catalonia, Basque country, Aragon and so on.
Each of the aforementioned community has their own language. Its use varies in comparison with the Spanish language. Catalan language is widely spoken (9,2 million of speakers). It is the principal language of Catalonia. All public signage is written in Catalan first, then in Spanish and most of the time in English as well.
However, Aragonese language is only used in one region which is a part of Aragon in the north (around 50 000 speakers).
Thus, the conclusion is that Spain can look like “One Spain” from the outside. However, the point of view from the inside is that it encompasses many small ethnicities under one international identity called Spain.
Barcelona
Barcelona is the capital of the autonomous community Catalonia. It is a quite big city. It is famous for buildings which were designed by Antoni Gaudí. It is not necessary to give you directions on a map to them. These buildings are recognizable by hordes of tourists standing in front of them listening to theirs guides via hands-free sets.
Barcelona is an agreeable place for taking a walk. Most of buildings are aesthetically pleasing. They are in both an old and a modern architectural style. Barcelona consists of many districts. Each district has a slightly different architectural style. The districts are: Ciutat Vella, Eixample, Grácia, Sants-Montjuic a Sant-Marti.
Ciutat Vella is a historic district. The Eixample is a district where streets are laid out symmetrically based on designs of Ildefons Cerdà. Due to Cerdà designs, it is somehow clear where to walk.
There are many museums and galleries. I visited Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB). An exhibition Word Press Photo was taking place there at that time.
It is a photo exhibition from press photographers about events which took place in the last year. Majority of the photos show brutality of people and regimes. Such photos are rarely seen in the mainstream media. The same applies to real and factual information. One example is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 94 journalists have died since the onset of the conflict. 89 of them were Palestinians. None of them was a Westerner. Why? Israel banned an entry to all Western journalists to Gaza [1], [2] and on the picture below.
There is Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar to see in the Ciutat Vella. The basilica was built between 1329 and 1383.
I always got confused with architectural styles. However, the basilica is in the gothic style. Many Spanish religious buildings are in this style. That is the reason why it was easy to memorize the gothic style just by looking at them. There is another style which is easily recognizable. It is Art Deco. Typical example are: Théâtre des Champs-Élysées or the Chrysler Building. The typical feature of the style are curved shapes. Art Deco buildings elicit a warm and a welcoming feeling. This is in a stark contrast to a box-grey soviet style design of blocks of flats, Panelák (They seem to be more similar to rabbit cages than a human habitat.)
There are many marketplaces with groceries as well. These are La Boqueria or Mercat de la Llibertat. It is possible to buy fresh fish, vegetables, fruit as well as small snacks which can be eaten straight away. It is a surprising finding that there are not many TESCO and alike supermarkets. I can hardly remember one. I saw many small business groceries.
Where locals live and go
Barcelona reminded me of “Matryoshka-style” Prague tourism. Especially when it comes to restaurants and souvenirs. There are huge differences in quality of restaurants. Where do local people eat out and where is it possible to have a proper local meal? There is a district named Sants-Montjuïc with a neighbourhood/quarter named El Poble-sec. It is located right next to Montjuïc hill.
This quarter is not filled with tourists as a Subway baguette garnished with various types of vegetable but meat. Spaniards live in a very liveable and social way. Spanish cuisine is adjusted to it. It means it is full of small snacks which are eaten with wine while talking and socialising.
There are two establishments which you can visit in the El Poble-Sec. They are Bota bar and PinchoJ bistro. They are located almost to the opposite to each other.
However, if you desire something spicier, you can pop into Bagdad club. The building and its named caught my attention. While I was taking a photograph the building, a woman, whose head was covered with a scarf, was passing by. When she caught a glimpse of me photographing the Bagdad club, she smiled. I could see that even conservative looking people have a sense of humour on such a topic.
Take a walk in Sants-Montjuïc
The hill Montjuïc with castle and a part of Barcelona where a public swimming pool Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc is located offer a spectacular view on the city. It is an ideal place for a walk.
If you head in the direction of Gibraltar, you will see an industrial freight port as well as anchored cruise ships.
One of the MSC cruise ship was puffing out so much fume out of its diesel engines that it created mist above the city.
It can interest you that it is possible to find date palms trees there and pick dates. They are very small, just to lick. However, you pick them in the wild nature by yourself.
Restaurants and billing
It is necessary to be cautious at restaurants. Especially what you are billed. Tips are not customary and taken for granted in Spain. They are given only if you are satisfied with service. Spanish restaurateurs and café owners got inspired from Americans. When you speak English very well, which is almost everybody in comparison with Spaniards, they assume you are American. It is customary to give tips in the USA. In the USA, restaurant owners are only required to pay $2.13 per hour (minimum wage). It means most of their salaries consist of tips.
I visited Café de l’Òpera where I asked for a bill. I got information from the bartender that the total was 17 € including tips without a paper receipt. I asked him for the receipt. The total was 15,4 €. I told him. He confirmed it.
I gave him a 20 € banknote. He returned some change to me and quickly disappeared. He gave me only 3 € back. I tried catching his attention for a while. I told him how much he had returned to me. Finally, he gave back the right amount.
This was not a rare case. During my stay in Spain, I saw many people discussing their bills and additional tips with waiters.
Get around
Barcelona and Catalonia have a dense public transport network. The best and the easiest means of transport is metro in Barcelona. There is a ticket machine at each station. One-way ticket costs 2,55 €. Barcelona-El Prat airport is directly connected by metro to the city centre. This line has a special fare of 5,5 €. Both types of tickets can be bought at the ticket machine.
While I was travelling on metro, I noticed passengers talking to each other a lot. There was no silence at all. I found it pleasing.
Trek to Sant Cugat
Sant Cugat del Vallés is a city located in the direction to inland. There is a forest between Barcelona and Sant Cugat. There are multiple walking trails. They have a length of around 15 km. Here is a link for one of them. The trails are mostly used by locals. No tourists there.
San Cugat is a city where the rich live as I was told. You can visit a monastery Església de Sant Pere d’Octavià which includes San Cugat Museum.
After entering the museum, it is possible to see the interior of the monastery. If you get hungry, there is a restaurant La Bodega 1860 at the Placa d’Octavia square. The restaurant has very tasty dishes which surpass by quality all typical tourist restaurants on La Rambla street in Barcelona.
After a good meal, walk on the street Carrer de Santa Maria towards a train station Sant Cugat Centre. You can take a local train to Barcelona arriving at Catalunya (Placa de Catalunya) station. This type of local trains is operated by FGC (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya). Tickets can be bought in ticket machines at train stations. Just enter your final destination, perhaps the word final can frighten some of you, just destination, in this case Placa de Catalunya and pay for the ticket.
Balls de bastons
When I was in San Cugat, I got lucky. A local folk dance festival was taking place there. The name of the dance is Ball de bastons. Dancers were dancing in local folk costumes while holding wooden sticks. They were hitting the sticks against each other which made a clicking sound. Other participants of the dance were playing on a shawn and a Tabor pipe / galoubet and something similar to bagpipes.
To be continued in the next article
The series continues with an article: Zaragoza (Aragon), thieves and high-speed trains (2).
Here is a link to all points of interest written about in the article.
