Leg 5 · Spain · complete

Barcelona

Sep 19 – Sep 23 · 4 nights · Solo (Sep 19), Carlie, Miguel, Zavier, Scott, Jennifer, Julie · ★★★★★

Stumbling into a correfoc on my first night, a long beach day with the whole group, and a morning climb to the bunkers above the city. Too short, and next time I'll book ahead.

“What an amazing experience, and a total accident.”

Day by day

1. Sat, Sep 19

   Arrival & a correfoc

   Follow the fireworks.

   My first night, I was on my own: garlic shrimp and padrón peppers at a bar near the hostal, then a night walk past the Palau de la Música and the Cathedral. I heard fireworks in the distance, went to see what was going on, and ended up walking with a correfoc through the narrow streets of the Gothic Quarter to Plaça Sant Jaume: really loud fireworks, costumed devils, and people dancing in the sparks.

   It was super exciting and thrilling. The adventure had already begun, and there I was in the middle of this wild display. Once I learned what it was, I was amazed that it happens fairly regularly. It was a great start to Barcelona.

   Planned: Vueling from Venice · Aerobús to Plaça de Catalunya · check in at Hostal Mayerling

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

2. Sun, Sep 20

   Sant Pere, El Born & the beach

   Seven of us, one table.

   Most of what I really wanted to do needed timed-entry tickets, and the Sagrada Família and Park Güell were both sold out. With seven of us it was hard to coordinate ahead of time. Now that I know what I know, I'd schedule things out better.

   So I wandered instead: the sgraffito façade of the Casa dels Velers, the gegants (festival giants) out on display, Santa Maria del Mar, a first look at Barceloneta, and the painted shutters of El Born and Sant Pere. I also found "The World Begins With Every Kiss" on my own.

   Then everyone arrived, and the seven of us (Carlie, Miguel, Zavier, Scott, Jennifer, Julie and me) moved into the same Airbnb in Gràcia for the rest of the stay. The first family dinner was my favorite meal in Barcelona, at La Barreta. The owners were so nice and accommodating, the food and wine were really good, and it was lovely to sit outside in a neighborhood and people-watch. It was a really good start to the family part of the trip.

   I'm very go-with-the-flow, so the shift from traveling alone to being one of seven was easy for me. I can be happy doing just about anything, so this part of the trip was about being part of the group and enjoying that, wherever it took us.

   Planned: Sagrada Família with towers 09:00 · Park Güell 11:30 · Passeig de Gràcia at night

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

3. Mon, Sep 21

   The mosaic with the family & the Sagrada from outside

   Up close, thousands of tiny photographs. From across the square, a kiss.

   "The World Begins With Every Kiss" had reminded me of the Lennon Wall in Prague, which I visited with Carlie on my last trip to Europe in 2017. I hadn't planned to take anyone back, but we were in the area and it was a short detour, so I showed it to Carlie and Miguel. It's a mosaic of thousands of tiny photos that only becomes one image when you step back. Seeing how different art looks through the camera than in person was a repeating story in Barcelona, with all the painted shop shutters too.

   Late afternoon at the Sagrada Família, outside only.

   Planned: Barri Gòtic · Cathedral · El Born · Picasso Museum · La Boqueria · Barceloneta paella

   

   

   

   

   

4. Tue, Sep 22

   Bunkers at sunrise, a beach day, Port Vell at night

   Summit, in flip-flops.

   My favorite surprise was a morning walk. I went out looking for coffee and ran into Julie at a coffee shop. She went off in search of food; I kept walking up toward Parc de les Aigües and got coffee at OTTO. I took it through the park, noticed the Mirador de Can Baró with its view of the Sagrada Família wasn't far, and walked there. Once I was there I figured I might as well keep going to the top of the Bunkers del Carmel.

   It was another "by chance" experience that turned into so much more. The sun was breaking through the clouds over the water, and you could see the entire city. I was in flip-flops, since I'd only gone out for a quick coffee, and around me were people who'd come up for a workout. I'd just casually climbed to the summit like it was no big deal. There was a sense of accomplishment in that, and pride in taking care of myself well enough to do it. But mostly it was nice to look around and not think about anything, just take in the sights. From up there you could see everything.

   Our best day together was at Barceloneta. We rented chairs and umbrellas and sat by the water all day with drinks, and a few people even got massages. Then the police came and told us we needed to leave: most of what we'd been enjoying wasn't legal. They were really nice about it, and once we knew we weren't in trouble, it turned into a funny adventure we all shared. The "how that could have gone badly" thoughts, when it didn't, made it something we'd all been through together. It was a good time to pack up anyway, so it didn't feel like a loss at all. It was just something that happened, and we all laughed about it.

   That night, at Cal Pinxo Palau de Mar, we ran into people from Neo4j who were hosting a bar event after the AI Summit, the conference I'd decided to skip. Miguel and I chatted with them for a while and were introduced to some of the executives from their Barcelona office.

   Leaving for Majorca was exciting. After a partial beach day in Barcelona I was ready for a real one, and I was looking forward to the island. With more to look forward to, the departures were easy to manage. But it did feel strange knowing I was going back to being on my own after being with the group.

   Planned: AI Summit Barcelona at WTC (business block) · farewell tapas with family

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

More photos

Getting here & staying

Playbook from this leg

• Do differently The chairs, drinks and massages on Barceloneta beach may not be legal
• Worked If you hear fireworks, go find them
• Worked Walk up to a viewpoint in the morning

׋

›