31. Adeu Barcelona

Well, I am writing this blog post from my house in Manchester, where it is surprisingly sunny. I have been home for officially two days and I can say that I do already miss Barcelona. I miss waking up and going on my balcony in the morning, the busy streets, the atmosphere and the way of life as a whole, but as everyone says…all good things come to an end.

Over my last few weeks in Spain, I managed to fit a lot in. My boyfriend came over and I got to experience all of the touristy things that I was usually too busy to do. We went to Parc Guell, Parc Ciutadella and even to Castelldefells, which is a lovely beach outside of Barcelona. My dad also came over, mainly for his Sants day (San Juan) and also to help with bring back my many cases; fitting my life in three cases wasn't as easy as it may sound. I also finished my amazing internship at RelevantBCN and received my grades from my time at La Universitat de Pompeu Fabra. Therefore, I spent my final week being a lady of luxury, eating out every day and wondering around the city without a care in the world. I'm not sure where this blog goes from here, but it will always be a diary which I can look back on and relive my amazing year. Thank you to everyone who has read my life throughout the past nine months! Thus, here is a list to sum up what has made Barcelona special to me:

1) The city itself

2) The people

3) The traditions

4) The art and architecture

5) The food

6) the way of life

7) The memories

Hasta luego Barcelona!

30. Andalucía, otro mundo español.

Lonely Planet describes Andalucía as a place with multiple faces. It says it is a parched region fertile with culture, a conquered land that went on to conquer and a fiercely traditional place that has accepted rapid modernization and all I can say is that it is another Spanish world.

From living in Barcelona for 9 months, I have become accustom to the Spanish way of life, well as what I thought was the Spanish way of life, seen as I´m in Spain. However up until now I didn´t realise the extent to the difference between the north and south of Spain and various regions, and therefore Andalucía has not only surprised me but reinforced my love of Spanish culture and all it has to offer.

So, as I only have less than three weeks until my journey abroad ends, me and my flatmate decided to head to the south for a long weekend, which I can say was full of many experiences. We opted for Seville and Granada, seen as we had both never to either of them, and they were the two we had heard the most about.

We headed to Seville early Friday morning full of excitement, with our rucksacks and mini bottles of sun cream. As soon as we got there, we managed to navigate our way around with our very helpful map and went on to discover the south of Spain. Luckily, throughout our whole time in Seville we didn´t use any public transport and therefore walked everywhere, which was fine at the time, but my feet are now hating me. Firstly, we visited El Real Alcázar, which is one of the oldest palaces still in use, in the world. It was spectacular and was surrounding by an amazing array of gardens. We then, went onto the Plaza España and it recreated in my mind, the image I once had of Spain. In between visiting these magnificent places, we managed to stop for some tapas, which were a nice change from the range of tapas up north. Throughout the next few days in Seville we went to El Museu de los Bellas Artes, El torre de Oro, La Catedral and the area called Santa Cruz. All in all, we managed to see our fair share of the landmarks that make up Seville. We even got sung to by a band that looked like the three musketeers and watched some form of very entertaining Spanish story telling. Seville is the image that I had in my head before coming to live in Spain, and I would love to return as it was a nice peaceful break from the city of Barcelona.

Then we hoped onto a bus to Granada and once there, it felt like a different world, nothing like Seville. To start of the day we realized we had booked the wrong hostel, but after all that was sorted out, we could truly enjoy the joys of Granada. Our hostel was in the area of Albayzín, which is composed of winding streets full of markets, which reminded me of Marrakesh. The atmosphere was great and we couldn´t help but to go and explore the streets. Also, one of the myths I had heard was proven true, that you get a tapa free with every drink. This never happens in Barcelona and so me and my friend were over the moon. We also scoured the markets and ended up buying Chai tea and all sorts, it is definitely cheaper than the north of Spain. But obviously the highlight of our trip was La Alhambra, we got up early and headed there on our last day with our reserved tickets. I think we spent about four hours there, but thank god we could put our rucksacks in a locker, or else I would have never been able to handle all the walking and the heat. It was incredible, and even that feels like an understatement. Each castle and tower has it´s own feel, and the gardens take you into another world. Also, the view from up there is priceless. I can´t recommend enough visiting the south of Spain, as it opened my eyes to lot´s of new things. Now I only have two weeks left in Barcelona, before I get dragged onto a plane home. 

29. DocsBarcelona

(Español en los comentarios)

Recently, I have written various articles for RelevantBCN, and I did an interview with Joan Gonzàlez the director of the international documentary festival DocsBarcelona, and so I felt like writing a bit more about this interesting festival of doumentaries.

DocsBarcelona is an international documentary festival created to generate a documentary culture in Catalonia and Spain. However the main focus and emphasis now is their spectators, and through the reality of their documentaries, there is something for everybody.

What is the concept of DocsBarcelona?

The concept of the festival is to make the documentaries known to the largest number of people possible. The concept is to take the books out of the monasteries and bring them down to the city, promoting documentaries.

 

How did the festival start?

The festival began as a festival only for professionals to learn how to produce documentaries as they were being produced in Europe in `96 /`97. This was the beginning, as it began as a training tool for professionals, a project market, and when we got to ten years we decided to start the festival for the spectator. 

 

This is the seventeenth edition of the festival, so how has the festival changed over the years?
The main change in the festival is that it began as a festival only for professionals, and now the most important part is the audience, whilst still being an important part of the documentary industry. But it brings to the majority of citizens a documentary festival, with the specific idea that it's a festival of documentaries. It is the most important in Spain because it brings together two parts, the part of the films with their directors and spectators, and the part of the directors, producers and projects who come for funding. The transformation has resulted in a festival which is not only becomes bigger each year but also attracts more and more viewers.

To read the rest of this inspiring interview read my article, DocsBarcelona.

This festival is a great way to delve into the documentary world and to approach subjects and themes that you may have never thought about before. This event will be running from May 26th to June 1st so check out their website or follow them on twitter to keep up to date on the daily info. Finally if your worried about the language barrier don't be, 90% of the documentaries showing will display English subtitles and the experience will be worth every cent.

28. Museums and Colour

My last post was over two weeks ago and it’s fair to say it has been nothing but non-stop, with a number of flights, a few visitors and a lot of colour.

When I got back from Marrakesh, I was definitely tired of the airport, so it has been nice to stay in Barcelona for a few weeks. Not only that, but I brought my lovely father back with me and therefore there has been many family outings, one of which was to Castelldefells, a lovely beach outside of Barcelona.  Also, one of my friends came to visit me, and with his style, he was full of energy, so for a week I felt like a tourist myself, showing him all the main attractions, but one I will never fail to enjoy is Los Fuentes de Montjuic, every time I see it, I realise why I love Barcelona as a city.

In regards to this blog title, I went to Els Museus del Nits (Museums at Night) which I have been too/worked at in the UK and so it was a nice change to see how they do it over here in Spain. We opted to see the Caixaforum gallery and the Joan Miró, and seeing the galleries at night definitely makes a difference.  However, I can say that the Joan Miró was definitely my favourite; due to the fact his permanent exhibition work was an eye opener as I´ve never been one for contemporary art, but when I read more into the reasoning’s behind his artwork and so, I was definitely amazed. I am glad I finally got to go to the gallery, seen as I have tried to go various times, but once I got lost and by the time me and my friend got there, it was closed. But it was worth the wait.

Alongside a night full of culture, I took part in the 5k Colo(u)r Run, which was very fun indeed. Although it was only 5k, so not the most challenging of runs, it had a great atmosphere and getting colour thrown at you can also be quite fun. It was also a nice route around Barcelona, with nice great views, and as usual I ended up having more photos of the scenery than the race itself. Luckily, this time was a bit easier to wash the colour out of my hair, unlike Holi, which meant I had green in my hair for at least a few days. So if you are ever in Barcelona around this time of year, it is something I would recommend taking part in, although there are many Color run´s around Europe also.

At the moment, I have also been very busy with work as its coming up to summer, so here´s the link to the articles on exhibitions etc that I have written about so far: RelevantBCN

 

27. Marrakech

This time last week I was in Marrakesh in Morocco and it was definitely and eye opener for me. From only having been within Europe and a few times to the Caribbean, there was definitely an immediate culture shock, yet it was a shock I am now glad I have experiences.

Obviously, Morocco is part of Africa, and in comparison to Europe it has a completely different way of life and religion. However, something that surprised me is that the people there speak both Arabic and French, but both equal amounts, which was useful as my I can say a few words in French, although my Arabic knowledge is nonexistent. A few things for me that I found very different to the way of life here in Europe, is that pedestrians do not have right of way, and therefore attempting to cross a road is a bit of a challenge, although zebra crossings do exist, despite the fact that the majority of them don´t actually lead anywhere. Another notable difference is the fact you have the haggle for everything, which actually made me appreciate fixed prices, so that I can look for what I want in peace. Although, a few times it can be a joke with you and the shopkeeper. Finally, when I first arrived in Morocco I was surprised as from the outside there didn´t seem to be any grand parks or buildings, as I began to learn that all the beautiful hidden gems are inside, and therefore the quote ´never judges a book by its cover´ definitely comes into play there.

Minus the differences I have noted about Marrakesh and Europe, it was a really great trip and we managed to get around a fair bit. We went to the Majorelle gardens, Menira gardens and obviously the main square, even though many people led us the wrong way, we eventually got there. One of my favourite places we visited was the Photography Museum, as not only was the inside something to see, but the terrace had one of the best views of Marrakesh. We also went to the Museum of Marrakech which was like a labyrinth of art and The Medersa Ben Youssef, which

was an Islamic college and is named after the Almoravid sultan Ali ibn Yusuf, who expanded the city and its influence considerably.

While I was there I also managed to ride a camel and have a spa experience which included a traditional hamam. Not only that but we managed to haggle for some shoes from the suks and also  typically buy some argan oil that is endemic to Morocco and some Saffron spice, which is about triple the price in the UK. So, all in all it was a new experience for me, but I would definitely recommend Marrakesh as a city escape and I look forward to experiencing more places like this in the future.

Now I only have two months left in the wonderful city,
that is Barcelona, so it´s time to make the most of it.

 

26. Memorias

Well, another week gone, one full of activities and all sorts but especially activities related to food, but I am not going to complain as these are the things that make up memories.

To start, I have learnt a very important lesson this week, one that I think I already knew. I have learnt that it is definitely not a good idea to go on an excursion the day after being out all night, especially ones that involves trains, cables cars and just any form of transport as with a hangover from hell, it just isn’t fun.
So basically, my flatmates and I had a party to celebrate their upcoming birthdays and the next day we headed to Montserrat. It was an experience being on a cable car, feeling like I might be sick any minute, but I guess I can tick that of my ‘experiences in Barcelona list'.  I had already been to Montserrat before, but it is such a lovely place that I didn’t mind one bit venturing there again. It was a lovely day, and to be honest it did cure my hangover, either that or the sun soaked the alcohol from my body.
Also, as I had previously stated, I have started my arts internship at RelevantBCN, and now a few of my articles are up on the website, my articles range from reviewing cafes hidden away in Barcelona to some of the most interesting exhibition on show at the moment and so I feel now wherever I go I feel inspired to write an article.

On that same creative note, here is  quote from the exhibition I saw the other week and to follow, a few of my memories that make up my experience in Barcelona so far, that don't need words.
“An image is only worth more than my words when it is so powerful that it can create an opinion. When it is really useful” – The diary of Colita, 11^th of August 1999

25. Holi Barcelona

(Español en los comentarios)
Well, what a weekend full of sun, lots of colour, and a bit of culture.

This weekend, I headed to a wonderful exhibition of COLITA, a well known Catalan photographer, and her photos from the past took me into a black and white journey of the life that once exisisted in Barcelona.

However, the highlight of my weekend was HOLI Barcelona, a colour festival with a bollywood theme in the mountains of Barcelona. The rule was to wear a white t-shirt and just turn up. We headed there early Sunday morning, and after not long we were throwing colour powder around and after an hour, you couldn’t even see my skin, I looked like a walking rainbow. But it was so much fun, to be in the fresh air, dancing around and watching bollywood dancing. The atmosphere was amazing and the crowd didn’t stop growing. It was a great way to celebrate the beginning of spring, in a city I still can’t get enough of.

Now, I can’t wait for the Colour run in May, running and colour, what more could a girl want.