Barcelona—Traveling is about the people!

After nearly two months on the road, the end was in sight: we were headed to Barcelona, the last stop on our list and the place where Faeth would board her flight home. We left el Monasterio de Piedra early Saturday morning, specially ordering a taxi from the neighboring town since ours was too small to have one. Before we left, though, the shuttle driver who had taken us to the monastery stopped us and gave us a note, asking if we could deliver it to his “friend in Barcelona.” There wasn’t much information to go on: his name was Willy, he had a restaurant on the beach, and they hadn’t met up in years. But the shuttle driver was so nice, we promised to do our best and find his friend.

Getting to Barcelona was a head ache and a half. First, when we arrived at Catalyud, the main transportation hub closest to the tiny town, the bus to Barcelona was full and the next one wouldn’t arrive in the city until nearly midnight. The lady at the counter had sold us tickets for the late bus without bothering to say that the early bus was full, which we thankfully figured out before boarding. So we hurriedly flagged a cab (actually, I begged one of the bus workers to do it—he couldn’t say no to a crying American girl) and managed to make it to the train station, where we were able to buy two tickets with our Eurail pass (finally!).

The train ride took about six hours, and the scenery was gorgeous. When we finally arrived in the city, it wasn’t as big or intimidating as lots of the cities we’d seen in the last eight weeks, but it was definitely one of the warmest! It didn’t help than our cramped hostel room had no air conditioning. But we didn’t stay in the room much—that’d be a waste of time in a gorgeous city like Barcelona!

The first day, we visited Gaudi’s famous Sagrada Familia. Gaudi started it back in 1882, but it’s still not done—the latest projections are for 2040. It might have gotten finished sooner had Gaudi not been run over in the middle of construction. The Spanish Civil War further impeded the process, with arsonists trying to burn the building down. But even half-done, it’s still breathtaking. You had to have the patience to stand in a line that wound around the block (for once, we were okay paying for tickets since they’re funding the continuing construction) and to weave past hundreds of tourists snapping pictures, but it was totally worth it. When I walked inside, I was overcome by the fantastical beauty that surrounded me. It didn’t feel like a church so much—it was more like an art project, like Gaudi had asked, “How can I use the skills I have to glorify my Creator?” The whole building felt like a whimsical, heart-felt gift from a little kid to his dad—but on a grand scale.

130 years down and 30 more to go!

 

I think my favorite parts were all the stained glass windows. Gaudi had used all sorts of different colors, and they spilled into the church like rainbows. Faeth and I paid the extra few euros to take the lift to the top of one of the towers so we could see the panoramic view of Barcelona. The corridors were extremely tight, so tight your shoulders would almost brush the stones as you walked. I didn’t much mind that, except whenever a tourist stopped ahead of us take pictures, we all had to stop. And some people took forever to take pictures!

"Somewhere, over the rainbow..."

 

While we were in Barcelona, we also saw the Barcelona Cathedral, which wasn’t quite as impressive (honestly, it was pretty stuffy!), and tried to see the Museum of Catalan Music (though we decided not to when we learned we had to pay for a private tour). But the most interesting part was definitely our trip to the beach. The beach itself wasn’t that great. We were looking forward to wading into the famous Mediterranean Sea, but unfortunately, so were about 10,000 other people. Well, they weren’t so interested in wading as tanning. We couldn’t even get to the shore, since there were so many human bodies piled up in front of it (and many of the women thought bikini tops weren’t all that important). So, after hiking the beach for some time, we decided to skip the afternoon swim.

But we still tried to hunt down Willy’s beachside restaurant. It took a while, but finally a pharmacist was able to point us in the right direction. When we found the restaurant, we discovered it was one of the ritziest in the area. We had been given strict instructions to give the shuttle driver’s note to only Willy himself, so we stubbornly held onto it until he appeared. He was a loud, blustery, jolly old Spaniard who reminded me a little of the mob bosses from 1930s black and white movies—and he was utterly delighted to receive our note. It turns out, he and the shuttle driver hadn’t seen each other in four years and didn’t have each other’s phone numbers, but the shuttle driver had written his number on the note. Willy was so excited, he invited me and Faeth back to his restaurant that evening for a party.

So we came back that evening, duly dressed up for a night on the town. And he gave it to us! He remembered us right away when we showed up, declaring, “My memory is good!” (He even sounded like a mobster!) He gave us one of the best tables, tucked into the corner of the restaurant where we could watch the people walk by on the street. We tried paella, one of Spain’s best-known dishes, and it was delicious. If you’re going to try paella, try it at a beach town, where the fish, crabs, oysters and mussels are fresh. There was enough food for four people, but Faeth and I almost ate it all because it was so good. Willy kept refilling our glasses with sangria as well, a tangy-sweet Spanish liquor. The best surprise came at the end, when Willy told us the 60 euro meal was on the house!

A night on the town

It was a great way to end the night and a great way to end our 2-month trip across Europe. Of all the places we’ve seen and things we’ve done overseas, our night with Willy stands out as one of my favorite memories. Really, all the fancy buildings and breathtaking scenes don’t matter without the people. People like Willy, Neil and Father Tommo are what made the trip so memorable. Don’t forget that next time you’re in a new place—reach out and make connections. You never know who you’ll meet!