Street Art #2

Second batch of art snapahots collected from the streets of Barcelona coming up!


This time, it's about the little details, tiny pieces which are scattered all over the city, probably in thousands. 

An Afternoon in the Ciutadella

The Ciutadella is easily Barcelona's best park. It's always full of activities, most of which happen spontaneously: people dancing, playing all kinds of insturments and singing, slacklining... And most of all, there are people from all over the world there. In the summer, one can easily spend a whole day there without getting bored for a second.

It's really like one huge picnick.

Noel, the 26-Year-Old Kitty

I love cats. I have two at home in Bulgaria. I miss them. That's the reason that one of the first things I noticed in Barcelona was a cat. Today, about a year later, I finally met that cat and his owners, and I learned his story, and it was touching.

Random Snapshots #1

As I've probably mentioned in previous posts, it's next to impossible to be bored in Barcelona. Especially in summer. Even if you've been living here for years. You just need to take a walk around the center and it's likely to see things you've never seen before in your life.
 

Like today for example, I ran into a group of about 20 people on bicycles, completely naked, casually strolling around Barceloneta. Well I didn't take photos of that. But anyways, I've decided to document things like that. So here are some random snapshots of things that I stumbled upon in the last couple of days.

Street Art #1

I am a real street art junkie. And this city is a real street art heaven. It's like a huge gallery in the open, with artworks scattered everywhere, hidden behind the corners or in tiny narrow streets. One of my favourite things to do is to walk around this labyrinth of a gallery and "collect" the art I stumble upon by taking pictures of it. It's like a treasure hunt.



Street art is such an essential part of the environment in Barcelona that this blog would not be complete without it. So here is the first post in the series on that topic.

Todo a Un Euro! - The Flea Market

We've been having an eventful day in Barcelona today! Summer is here and the city is brimming with life and events. There was lots of stuff going on, especially in Raval and Paral.lel. One of the events was the monthly flea market, which I love so much!

This lovely event usually takes place in an open space near Drassanes, but it has also been held on the beach, inside the French railway station, in culture centers, etc. Basically, people bring everything they'd like to sell (and by that I mean everything, which you'll see in the photos below) and exhibit it in creative ways, using suitcases, tables, drying lines. There are no stands provided. Sometimes stuff is just scattered in big piles all over the ground, with pieces of paper flying around saying loudly "2 x 1 Euro" or something of the sorts. You'd have to dig through the whole thing and then usually bargain for your picks, as there are no set prices. As I said. It's awesome.

World's Longest Sandwich

Ever wondered what the world's longest sandwich looks like? Well let me tell you, it's almost 4 km long (3865 m, to be exact) and it has chocolate and almonds on the inside.

The Gotic

So let's continue the series of posts on Barcelona barrios with probably the most popular and touristic one: the Gotic.

The Gotic reaches up to Plaza Catalunya and it's bordered by the Rambla, so includes some crowded shopping streets and very commercial places which I won't talk about. I prefer the labyrinth-like tiny hidden streets with small cozy bars and interesting shops. Of course, nothing here is ever tourist-free, but at least this part is tolerable.

Cacti Expo

I love cacti and succulents. And apparantely Barcelona loves them too, which I'm so glad about.

They are being sold everywhere, from tiny ones as cheap as 1 euro, to big exotic ones that cost over 40 euro. And then there is this aqesome cacti garden in Montjuic, where I go every now and then to marvel at huge, scary south-american ones.

And today, while having a relaxed Sunday and enjoying free concerts, danses, spontaneous markets and all other fun at the Ciutadella, I stumbled upon a cacti expo!

This made me so happy. It was small but I still spent a good hour wandering around.

Barceloneta

Starting off with a post on my barrio – or at least the barrio in which I’ve stayed the longest so far – beachy Barceloneta! 

 

















There is so much to love about this place, at least for me. It has such a relaxed atmosphere, even when it’s brimming with tourists in the summer. Walking around here for the first time about a year ago, the first thing that caught my eye was that people would leave the doors to their houses open, and stand outside having a coffee or a cigarette, or just enjoying the sun. And since for most houses in Barceloneta the front door leads straight into the living room, I could actually see the families inside having lunch or relaxing on the couch. And not just that – they would also leave their laundry to dry out in front of the house, on the street, even if they were not around, without being afraid someone would steal it. That’s just how chill and friendly the atmosphere is in this neighborhood. 

Hello World

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Welcome to the blog of yet another guiri that travelled to Barcelona somewhat randomly, fell headfirst into the allure of this city, and – like so many others – returned and is not leaving anytime soon. 

All I’m offering is an inside glimpse of life in Barcelona. A glimpse that is just as chaotic, random and unexpected as that life. I’ll be ranting about places, people, bars, crazy nightlife, chill hidden cafés, dark narrow streets, beaches, cactuses, streetlights, cervezabeer, calcotadas, castellers, art, festivals, nationalism, street music, and other Barna-ish things, and if you’ve just skipped reading this long and somewhat random impressionist list, I forgive you. 

So if you’re planning your first trip to Barcelona, or your second, or your third, or you’ve just arrived here with the intention of staying longer and are looking for some useful info, or if you’ve been living here for years already but would like to get to know someone else’s crazy life – and if you think you can handle my unnecessarily complicated manner of writing and weird sense of humor – this blog might be of interest.