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Street Art and Architecture in Barcelona

THE DETAILS
Location // 
Barcelona, Spain
Length of stay // 4 days
Travel companions // Jorge
Purpose of trip // Long weekend city break

“Allow me to state here how much I love Barcelona , an admirable city, a city full of life, intense, a port open to the past and future.” – Le Corbusier

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We burst through the clouds over London into a Crayola sunset sky, deep amber, gold and pink ripples through a sea of midnight blue.

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And that about set the tone.

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The next four or so days in Barcelona were definitely colourful and definitely relaxing.

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(Note that the photos throughout this post don’t necessarily correspond to the words directly above or below them. They are pretty random, as you’ve probably already noticed!)

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In the mornings, the kettle would boil and Jorge and I would bring steaming mugs of tea out to the balcony.

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We’d sit for a while, watching the business of the day unfold in the narrow streets below.

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They were slow mornings, beautifully lazy mornings, sun pouring through the railings.

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People stood in groups around doorways, smoking the first cigarette of the day.

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There were men pushing carts piled with boxes, women walking dogs, birds fluttering their wings along the clay coloured Spanish rooftops.

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There were some stunning flowers I’ve never seen before.

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Once we’d finished our tea, we’d make our way down to the edge of Plaza de la Vila de Gracia for breakfast.

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Coming from cloudy grey London, it was amazing to be soaking up the early sunshine.

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Most mornings it was pan tumaca, crusty bread with olive oil drizzled on top, rubbed with ripe tomato, a bit of garlic and sometimes toastie style with ham and cheese.

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We could sit there for hours, talking or not talking.

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It didn’t matter.

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We did nothing touristy.

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Well, apart from a 10 minute stroll up Las Ramblas, looked around the colourful Boqueria Market and stopped at Happy Pills if those things count.

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We just soaked it all in.

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I didn’t see Palau Guell or Sagrada Familia or climb up Montjuïic or watch any flamenco dancing.

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Sometimes when you travel, there’s a to do list, a tick list of museums and attractions, but you don’t get a real feel for the city and what it could be like to live there.

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This time, though briefly, I did.

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It was simply four days of enjoying life.

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No internet. No phone. No work.

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Knowing people who lived there (and had lived there) definitely helped!

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The afternoons we spent with friends mostly.

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We wandered along the beach with the pretty palm trees, twisting through the narrow alleyways of El Gotic or El Raval.

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Beautiful buildings with tremendous amounts of detail.

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People watching.

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We watched swing dancers in the square and Castellers building a giant human castle.

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One day we both got our hair cut – mundane, but I enjoyed it!

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I kept an eye open for street art, of course.

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There were quite a few C215 pieces and some from Alice.

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There are many others as well not posted here.

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And there was shopping. Jorge’s friend Virginie runs a boutique called Mushi Mushi.

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I bought a blue skirt by French designer Jad and a blue and orange dress by Sessùn, both of which Mushi Mushi stocks. Later, I bought red strappy heels from Uterque that still smell like leather.

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The food we had on this trip was delicious, from Spanish tapas to Japanese, Italian and Nepalese restaurants.

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Evenings sometimes wound down with a few bottles of wine and an entire fuet sausage shared between a few of us.

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Jorge lived in Barcelona for a few years so I was introduced to plenty of new people who were all lovely and mostly multi-lingual people who lead interesting lives in this vibrant city.

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There were mojitos, long nights in bars, late mornings.

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A couple days I went off my myself to take pictures and walk through random shops.

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I quickly learned to look up as much as possible.

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If you don’t you miss so much of the architectural details, and there are plenty to be seen.

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One of my favourite things to do when I travel is just to observe the local people going about their daily activities.

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Some up to dodgier activities than others.

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I always go to markets.

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They are full of hustle and bustle and bartering and often locals more than tourists depending on the city and market.

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They are incredibly colourful.

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There are always a few tasty treats to bring home.

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And they make for some vibrant photos.

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But besides meeting Jorge’s friends, having breakfast in the sun and just relaxing, the best part of the Barcelona I had the chance to see was a mix between the street art and the buildings.

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I was content to walk for hours, getting as lost as possible.

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There was always the possibility of simply hopping in a cab to find my way back.

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After only four days in the city, it’s definitely a place I will find my way back to because there is a lot more to explore.

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Hopefully soon!

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If you have any Barcelona tips or recommendations to share, let me know in the comments.

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