Back to Barcelona

I went to Barcelona, Spain last week for a few days to attend the International Word of Mouth Conference. I have decided that the next place I am living in the world is Barcelona.

I arrived Wednesday night to much fanfare and welcome -- they were really happy to see me! There was cheering, singing in the streets, fireworks...a teenage girl even ran up to me on the street and threw her arms around me in a long and tight embrace yelling tearfully, "BARCELONA!" I just figured they were all really glad to see me because I had been away for awhile. But then someone told me that Barcelona had just won the European Cup football (soccer) championships -- for like the first time in 14 years. So it was, needless to say, a big freakin' deal in Barcelona and the locals were totally losing their minds.

Unlike American sports when a team wins and fans celebrate in the stadium or in their homes over a six-pack and some high-fives, Europeans (or Spaniards, at least) take to the streets in a major way. Literally, everyone -- thousands of people -- all run into the city streets cheering, singing, setting off fireworks, honking their horns, partying, hanging half-naked out of car windows, waving flags, guzzling beer, holding up makeshift trophies, and of course, hugging complete strangers who just arrived from far-off places.

My hotel was on Las Ramblas, the most famous thoroughfare through Barcelona, so I was in the center of the action where the biggest crowd had gathered. The noise was unbeleivable (all night long), the energy was crazy strong, all the news channels were covering it. I called my mom at one point from my mobile phone in the street so that she could feel part of the action...after I told her of course that it was celebrating she was hearing -- not rioting -- and that I was perfectly safe. (Actually, I read in the paper the next day that there was some rioting, but I must have called it a night before those good times got underway.)

The conference was good for the most part -- I got some new ideas and met some interesting people. It was all about what's new in the world of "buzz" and word of mouth marketing. We spent a lot of time discussing the impact of blogs and other emerging viral communications tactics.

The conference was a block away from the Boqueria -- Barcelona's most famous food market. So I spent my lunch break both days wandering the stalls, enjoying the sights and smells, and sampling the food at some of the many counters set up to feed tourists. There is everything there...fish, meat, fruit, veggies, cheese, nuts, candy, juices, eggs...heaven.

Friday, after the conference ended, I took a stroll through the Gothic Quarter to La Seu, Barcelona's magnificent Gothic cathedral. I couldn't beleive I had missed this on my first visit, until I made my way out to the cloisters, saw the geese and palm trees, and had a flashback and realised I hadn't missed it -- I had gone there before on my first visit but seemingly lost all memory of it. Hmmm...early Alzheimer's perhaps? A little disturbing...but how is one to absorb and remember everything??

After La Seu, I went to Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat (Museum of the City), where I saw artifacts from the old Roman city of Barcino (now Barcelona), then I went a few levels below ground where I actually got to walk through the old Roman city ruins from back in the day. It was really cool and the ruins are so well excavated. There are even the remains of an old Episcopal complex where the bishops lived complete with mosaic floors. What's even cooler is that the old city is located directly below the Placa del Rei, the palace where Ferdinand and Isabella welcomed Columbus back after his triumphant voyage of 1492. I also got to see a few rooms in the Placa del Rei, including the grand, vaulted hall known as the Salo del Tinell.

After the museum, I wandered through an architecture exhibition that I really didn't understand, then I found a few art galleries that I really enjoyed. Next time I go, I am shopping for art -- you can get reasonably priced original works in Barcelona by up-and-coming artists. But I had already blown my shopping budget on a pair of Chanel sunglasses that I had been coveting since Christmas, so maybe art can be for next time -- when I actually have a house/apartment of my own to hang it in and everything.

I ended the evening with a dinner stop at Taller de Tapas -- a yummy restaurant chain in Barcelona. I had a glass of Rioja and some assorted tapas, including ham croquettes, spinach with chick peas and pancetta, and some grilled prawns.

Saturday I stopped for a quick breakfast, then went to Santa Maria del Mar -- another gothic cathedral (more stark and bare than La Seu, but still very beautiful). Then I toured the extremely well-curated Picasso Museum (on a particularly atmospheric street in the Gothic neighbourhood), as well as the Museum of Contemporary Art. The Picasso Museum was very cool, boasting some of his earliest paintings as well as a large collection of his ceramics (I had no idea he did ceramics). They looked a bit like the pottery my neices make in their craft classes, but I guess that just means they have great potential! My favourite part of the museum though was a whimsical portrait he did in honour of his wife Jaqueline, as well as a room dedicated to about 40 paintings he did as a tribute/mockery/study (?) to Velasquez's "Las Meninas" painting. It was fabulous, I could have sat in that room and enjoyed it for another two hours...very fun and unique.

After museum hopping and a bit more browsing down Las Ramblas, I stopped at a cute cafe called Carmelitas where I had a bite to eat and a glass of wine. I kinda zoned out and people-watched for an hour or so and wrote some postcards.

Barcelona is such a warm, friendly, sunny and lively city. I feel a serious love affair with Spain coming on....must get to Madrid and Seville asap. I really think I would love to live there for awhile.

After graduating from college, I went backpacking through Central America with a friend, Barbara Seasholtz. She was half Spanish and I beleived moved to Barcelona soon after our trip. I need to look her up sometime and see if she is still there -- would be neat to see her again.

I had a bit of an irrational fear when I got to Barcelona (not related to the futbol frenzy). Did you see that movie "Memento" where the guy has no short term memory and literally wakes up every day not knowing who he is or what he's doing? He has to write himself notes every minute of the day just to keep his life together. Well, I had a fear that I might wake up one day in some random place in the world and not know who I am or what I am doing and would be totally lost and in trouble -- and that would be awful! So, I wrote down some vital information and put it in my wallet, just in case -- one can never be too safe.