Barcelona | An embodiment of Cosmopolitanism

On the train from Valencia to Barcelona, I sat across a violinist. An elegant lady, she copied my (inelegant) way of sleeping at a train by lying flat on the entire row of seats, with feet up on the, of course. We chatted for a while, as the train speeds across the Andalusian landscape. She described Barcelona as "a cosmopolitan city. Probably the most cosmopolitan city in Europe. There are many people from different places. Not many Spanish people. You're more likely to meet a foreigner as you'd meet a Spanish." She was German herself.


I forgot to note. I have been traveling with no guidebooks and only a minimal GoogleMap research. So, here's the fastest way to get to know the city's main attraction, by the postcards!


The great street of La Ramblas. It's an invert of the regular street: it has a narrow vehicular road on the side, and a broad pedestrian avenue in the middle (see? urban planning utopia!). I would not appreciate the sociability of this place without walking it with found friends from the hostel. It was a modern version of the Italian passegiata.There's a lot of buskers on both sides, and peddlers of live pets. Fishies, bunnies, kittens, parakeets or a full sized hen is up for grabs (don't think that they'll pass through the x-ray scans though). A selection of sights:


Happy evil buskers!


Sad man on a toilet...


A lively musical choir kept us entranced for over a good half-hour. Whatever they were singing about, it was fun! They acted well and the music had narratives.


As the selection of live poultry is being sold on La Ramblas, with a detour to your right, you will find an even more diverse choice of meats being sold at the market.


Something like a mussel... I remember seeing on some bio textbook. I wonder what it tastes like.


Muy dulces = Extra sweet. Do you believe it?


Fresh dedication. Every day.


Paella dinner with friends from the hostel. Left: seafood paella. Middle: Melon cream with bacon. Right: Asparagus and mushroom paella. And Yumm... they really know where to go.


La Ramblas at night, humming with light and liveliness.


Day 2. Casa Milà, nicknamed La Pedrera (the quarry) by Anroni Gaudí. Barcelona is a city of Gaudí, the architect who has created most of Barcelona's famous landmarks (Sagrada Familia, Casa Battló and Parc Güell).


Looking up to its balconies as I queue for tickets. The inspiration behind the architecture of this building comes from nature. Imagine. The windswept hills of the desert sand. The spine and ribs of a snake. A seaweed growing from the ocean floor.


From the interior of La Pedrera, one of those noisy school-tour boys look out, quietly.


The undulating terracotta rooftop of La Pedrera.

Arritey, another bye-bye message. I'll be flying to HK, NY and then Houston tomorrow for the long awaited internship. There are a few more posts to go for the coming weeks: Oporto, Brussels, Copenhagen, and Cinque Terre. Next week, I would have to start writing a blog for internship too. When it comes I'll link it up *wink!*