Barcelona #2

If you are traveling to Barcelona by plane and take the bus to the city centre, you will most probably get to Plaça de Catalunya (the two photos above) and continue your way from there. It is a large and very busy square, surrounded by shops and restaurants and iStore and banks and everything else basically. It is dividing the city in two quite different parts, I would say. For me it was almost always the central point from where I got everywhere I wanted. To La Rambla (which was not at all full of tourists at that time of the year, yey!), to small and narrow streets of the old part of the city centre, or to the sea. Even thought it is a very busy place to be in Barcelona, it can actually be beautiful with its fountains and nice green areas. And in any case you can't really avoid it :)

Če potuješ v Barcelono z letalom in se z avtobusom odpelješ do centra mesta, najverjetneje prideš na trg Plaça de Catalunya (na zgornjih fotografijah) in nadaljuješ od tam. Gre za velik in zelo živahen trg, obkrožen s trgovinami in restavracijami in iStore in bankami in vsem ostalim pravzaprav. Sama bi rekla, da deli mesto na dva precej različna dela. Zame je bil skoraj vedno neke vrste glavna točka, od katere sem šla povsod, kamor sem želela. Do La Ramble (ki sploh ni bila polna turistov v tem času leta, jupi!), do majhnih in ozkih ulic v starem delu mesta ali do morja. In čeprav je res zelo hiteč del mesta, je v resnici s svojimi fontanami in zaplatami trave in nizkih dreves zelo lep trg. In v vsakem primeru se mu skoraj ne moreš izogniti :)

Barcelona differs very much from Paris. This can mainly be seen by the architecture. Barcelona is full of mediterranean flair. A lot of buildings resemble Arab rather than continental European world. Also, just a few steps from Horta and from the forrest, for instance, you find yourself passing the palm trees and in the city centre orange trees. The sea also plays a big role, having nothing in common with parisian Seine.

Barcelona je precej drugačna od Pariza. To se predvsem pozna po arhitekturi. Barcelona je polna mediteranskega pridiha. Precej zgradb spominja bolj na arabski kot evropski celinski svet. Par korakov iz Horte in gozda, na primer, hodiš mimo palm in v centru mimo pomarančevcev. Morje prav tako igra pomembno vlogo, ki nima nič skupnega s pariško Seno.

What Paris and Barcelona have in common is the Arc de Triomf. Nevertheless, apart from the name they don't have much more in common. The one in Barcelona, though, is a very interesting way to a really beautiful park, Parc de la Ciutadella. They say it is usually packed with tourists but in my case the park was a calm oasis with a few joggers and mothers with strollers. The park which also accommodates a zoo is very diverse - form the lake, ducks and geese to the red carpets of flowers and diverse architectural styles. It is really worth visiting, even thought there are no Gaudi "benches" (as in the park Guell). Even more, on the way there from Plaça de Catalunya you can pass the neighborhood El Born, a really nice, a bit funky part of the city with small shops, galleries, tapas, of course and a special charm.

Kar je skupno Parizu in Barceloni, je slavolok zmage, barcelonski Arc de Triomf. Razen imena sicer nimata veliko skupnega. Je pa Barcelonski slavolok res zanimiva pot do čudovitega parka, Parc de la Ciutadella. Pravijo, da je park ponavadi poln turistov, ampak v mojem primeru je bila to mirna oaza s parimi tekači in mamicami z vozički. Park, v katerem je tudi živalski vrt, je zelo raznolik - od jezera, račk in gosk do rdečih preprog rož in do različnih stilov arhitekture. Vsekakor vredno ogleda, čeprav ni Gaudijevih "klopc" (kot v parku Guell). Kar je še boljše, je do parka prideš od Plaçe de Catalunya tako, da prečkaš El Born, res prijeten del mesta z majhnimi trgovinicami, galerijami, tapas, seveda, in posebnim čarom.

What I miss now here in Paris (apart from the sea) are Spanish colors. In Barcelona there is really a lot of colors, even in January. Houses are often colored, the washed clothes, which people even in not-so-summery January dry outside, are colorful, and I could keep going. Maybe Gaudi left more to the Spanish people than architecture :)

Kar pa zdaj včasih pogrešam tu v Parizu (poleg morja), so španske barve. V Barceloni je barv res veliko, tudi v januarju. Hiše so pogosto barvaste, perilo, ki ga ljudje tudi v ne-tako-poletnem januarju sušijo zunaj, je barvasto in še bi lahko naštevala. Morda je Gaudi Špancem pustil več kot samo arhitekturo :)

I could go on and on with my Barcelona, my favorite spots and my experiences. But if you ever travel there, you need to make it yours to enjoy it. Still - two secret tips that you cannot read in any Lonely Planet guide:

1/ Go visit Palo Alto
Its gardens have served as a backdrop for films, including Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona. It's a cool Spanish arty Silicon Valley and if you don't take the metro to get there, you will walk through a very untypical industrial part of Barcelona. I was wondering where I was going at some moments on my way, but it was worth it.

2/ Rooftop of the Hotel 1898
It is closed during the winter but if I go back, this is where I will go first :)

Lahko bi pripovedovala še in še o svoji Barceloni, o svojih naljubših kotičkih in svojih dogodivščinah. Ampak če kadar koli potuješ tja, moraš najbolj poslušati sebe, da doživiš največ. Ampak vseeno - dva skrivna namiga, ki jih ne moreš prebrati v nobenem Lonely Planet vodiču:

1/ Pojdi pogledat Palo Alto
Vrtovi Palo Alta so večkrat služili kot prizorišča v filmih, vključno s filmom Vicky Christina Barcelona Woodyja Allena. Je res super španska malce umetniška Silicijeva dolina, in če ne greš tja z metrojem, te pot do tja vodi skozi zelo nenavaden industrijski del Barcelone. Sama sem se parkrat vprašala, kam grem, ampak se je splačalo.

2/ Terasa Hotela 1989
Pozimi je zaprta, ampak če grem kdaj nazaj, bo to prvo, kamor bom šla :)

And last but not least… I actually enjoyed traveling with Ryanair. There it goes, I said it. I can’t really believe it after all my unpleasant experiences with this company, but this time I really can’t complain about anything. And the morning airport was just beautiful. What more can you wish for when you leave a city...

In za konec… Priznati moram, da sem v bistvu uživala v potovanju z Ryanairom. Evo, pa sem res napisala to. Po nešteto res neprijetnih izkušnjah z Ryanairom (in nešteto obljub, da z njimi ne bom več potovala), kar ne morem verjeti, ampak tokrat se res ne bi mogla pritoževati nad ničemer. In jutranje letališče je bilo res čarobno lepo. Kaj več si lahko želiš ob odhodu iz mesta...