Gaudí and pickpockets
My husband woke me up with the information that the neighbours already have our breakfast ready. Jean-Jacques had promised to make coffee for us the night before. But we didn't think it would be a full breakfast.
Within a few minutes our stuff is stowed in the motorbike bags and we are ready for our farewell breakfast. It is so sweet, there is fruit, coffee, juices, tea and already toasted toast. With jam and butter. I am overjoyed and Medina takes a photo of us, which, when viewed later, shows that I am beaming with happiness.
When paying at the reception, Gerd manages to coax a smile out of the constantly grumpy receptionist, who is obviously the boss. A short one, but at least she can smile.
But now we get on our packed Felix and head off to Barcelona. The drive is a bit long, as we want to drive along the sea. We take the C31 along the sea. On the way there, we already drive along this beautiful coastal road. And once again we feel the power of the sea and are simply thrilled.
My happy cow app shows me a vegan burger restaurant and we head straight for it. We are a few minutes early or the owner is a few minutes late - either way, when we order our food there, we quickly strike up a conversation with the owner.
Okay, we are the only ones and there is no one here at 12 o'clock. She advises us, she tells us about the vegan scene in Spain and the much work that still lies ahead of us to take the vegan idea further. Esther, that's her name, spoils us with culinary delights and tells us in passing that Catalonia and Spain don't always see eye to eye, that Catalonia has banned bullfights for a few years now and that bullfights in the south of Spain are more of a financial issue than a joy for the masses. She thinks that if you asked the population, more people would be against the bullfights and also against this bull-driving through the city. We didn't really notice any of this on our trip, and to be honest, I'm very happy about it.
After about 2 hours with Esther and her food and stories, we set off for the last few kilometres to Barcelona. There may be many people who think Barcelona is great. I apparently need a little more time to get enthusiastic about it. Our hostel is a disaster, but at least it's central and Felix can park in the side street.
Gerd sleeps for an hour and I check the news of my little world and then it's off to the hustle and bustle of this huge, noisy, sunny and not least historic city by the sea.
First of all, we walk along the Rambla. That's the big promenade that leads from the Plaza de Catalonia directly to the sea, with the sky and people running around on it. All nationalities, all kinds of people, half-naked with hot pants and hooded with burkas. You are warned that there are many pickpockets here. If I were ever to show anyone Barcelona, I would never never never start with this Rambla. I find it so creepy and crowded and annoying. If that's the first picture of this city, it's not a good one. I would probably start in the Gothic Quarter.
So down the Rambla to the harbour and here we buy a two-day pass for the city and can use all kinds of tourist buses for two days. They are great for the big overview and for the routes you have to cover in Barcelona, these buses are really good. Plus some city information. I have the feeling that people here in Barcelona prefer to talk about Gaudí. About Gaudí and pickpockets.
We take a wonderful tour through central Barcelona and learn a lot about the city. Since we can get on and off again and again, we made an incredibly beautiful stop on the Monjuic. This is where the Olympic Games were held in the 90s and where one of the most beautiful buildings, which glows warmly in the evening sun, is the MNAC, the state museum. In front of the impressive building, its grandeur reminds me of the Reichstag in Berlin, a large flight of steps descends into the city, accompanied by huge gates and a large fountain that constantly changes its water feature and looks really kitschy-beautiful in the evening sun.
We sit on the stairs, listen to the street musicians and think that it doesn't get any more romantic than this.
We continue towards the harbour again, I feel quite dozy, we walk a bit through the old town and look into the shops left and right. Our luggage concept, which forces us to be minimalist, makes us just look around and not buy anything. That actually makes me happy again and again. The little we have with us (and it still seems too much) is quite enough for us. And souvenirs are somehow strange. For us, we carry the memories in our hearts; for everyone else, there are no real memories of the city associated with the things here.
Later in the evening, we discover a vegetarian restaurant in a lovely square a little off the Rambla and have a nice dinner there. And watch the people. We are particularly taken with the children in the adjacent playground, especially a little girl who has so much energy and demonstrates such elegance and athleticism that we almost can't look away and keep watching her in admiration.
We talk about our travel experiences. About what we would do again and what we would probably do completely differently. We agree that we would travel much much slower if time and budget allowed. We would like to speak the local language more and connect with people even more. We would like to learn more about life here and we would like a better tent. We would go again with our super Felix, we would travel together again, we would cook more and we would possibly want to be online less. Personally, I would travel with a guidebook again. The experiment of getting involved with the country and its people without a guidebook didn't convince me. Because no one tells you about interesting history and architecture at the kiosk. And that's what I'm interested in. So I downloaded a travel guide onto my iPad and read it from time to time. Furthermore, since we are travelling low-budget for the first time, I find that quite a few interesting things cost a lot; entrance fees to churches, museums and parks are very expensive. In Barcelona alone, we spent well over 150 euros on entrance fees alone. That was not included in our travel budget. In the past I never thought about it and just paid, now I think about it, it's probably a shame that people who don't have the money available never have access to these things. Of course, welfare recipients or students can get in at a reduced price, but only in their own country.
All in all, we think we can travel together quite well and it fits. We have both become much more relaxed. Me especially, I think.
Okay, sometimes noise, smells, unclean rooms or unfriendly people still annoy me. I know that I could be above that and accept it as a given. But I don't. Not always. But travelling educates and I'm getting better and better at being calm. But just imagine if I had already finished the exercise. What peace of mind Gerd would have and what task he would still have with me...
Later, after dinner, we walk across the Rambla again, because we have to cross it to get to our posh hostel. Off to bed and sweat. Because the only window of the air-conditioned room opens onto the hostel's only smokers' balcony. And that's where the smokers stand, perfuming our room and enriching it with grass fumes and conversations heavy with content. So close the window. Sweat. Open the window again. Noise. Window closed again. And so it goes all night. At some point I fall asleep, a little annoyed...
