the Flavor of Barcelona

One of the things I love about Barcelona is the flavor of the city. I'm not talking about the flavor of the food (although that is divine as well) but the personality of Barcelona. Walking along Barcelona's main avenue, Las Ramblas, it is like stepping into a carnival. Starting at the beginning you are whipped into a frenzy of people snapping photos of the costumed people posing along the street. The costumes, everything from Flamenco dancers to gold angels, melts into the flowers of Las Ramblas; men sitting amongst all types of flowers selling bouquets and seeds. Keep walking down the avenue and the street is flanked on each side with men selling exotic birds, fluffy rabbits, newborn chicks and turtles, but my favorite part of the carnival is to the side of the main avenue at Mercat de la Boqueria.

I love authentic market places. I've been to them in different places and I find them to be a hub of flavors and culture, where you discover authentic foods, hear the language and meet the locals of the place you are visiting. In Barcelona, Mercat de la Boqueria is colorful and bursting at the seems with authentic Spanish food. Walking past the stalls displaying everything from homemade chocolates to fresh sorbet, everything is worth a photo-op. 


After Las Ramblas it was a hop, skip and a jump to Gaudi's La Pedrera and Casa Batlló. I enjoyed La Pedrera for its wave-sculpted like surface and seaweed-like balconies, while Casa Batlló really showed off Gaudi's whimsy and taste for pizazz. Moving up the scale of Gaudi's work, I went to La Sagrada Familia next.


La Sagrada Familia began in 1882 and is still an ongoing project. Gaudi's architectural diamond is so intricate and detailed that it is overwhelming at first. Gaudi's genius shines in his planning of each facade, the oldest of which is the Nativity facade--sporting everything from symbolic turtles for land and sea to chameleons for change.