Als 90 vaig anar a Barcelona molts cops, per molts motius – és una ciutat molt interessant que m’encanta. Però des del naixement dels nostres fills i altres factors, hi hem anat molt poc en els últims anys, ja que tenim altres prioritats. A banda de les manifestacions i altres actes de la PDE i a favor de l’independència (als quals intentem no fallar), crec que només hi hem anat 2 cops amb els fills en els últims 10 anys, i sense ells, cap. Però l’altre dia vam decidir fer un cap de setmana de parella (sense xiquets) per a “fer alguna cosa diferent”, cosa poc habitual en mi!
Malgrat tenir una
llarga llista d’hostels per a triar, vam decidir quedar-nos en el centre més cèntric
possible, a l’Hotel Continental, a les Rambles mateixes! Bàsicament perquè no
m’agrada perdre hores comparant i mirant, i aquest era el primer que vaig
trobar, i, segon, perquè m’agradava l’idea del buffet i cervesa “gratis” 24
hores al dia, i last but not least, per ser l’hotel on Orwell va quedar durant
la guerra civil. L’hotel, una mica car pel nostre pressupost, però un dia és un
dia, i molt xulo. Habitacions netes i bones – encara que suposo que no eren de
color rosa quan estava Orwell –el buffet excel·lent, i l’ubicació immillorable
– a 20 metres del Metro de Plaça Catalunya.
Vam dinar en un
petit restaurant al Carrer Santa Anna, La Lluna. Us ho puc recomanar, menjar bo
i normal (res de plats quadrats amb invents revolucionaris), i quantitats
adequats, i moltes opcions per a vegetarians. I l’edifici, molt interessant.
Evidentment vam
passar una bona estona al FNAC i al Carrer Tallers (botigues de discs), però la
part més interessant va ser passar tota la tarda, i diumenge de matí, voltant
el barri de Gracia. Quan la Sílvia hi estudiava a Barcelona, hi anàvem molt però
ara feia 20 anys que no hi havia anat a passar temps. Infinitat de botigues
interessants i petits bars i comerços, una Barcelona molt diferent del que
normalment veig quan acompanyem els visitants de família i amics a veure els
llocs emblemàtics. Vam trobar moltes llibreries i botigues de discs – pels que
voleu llegir en anglès, aneu-hi al Hibernian al Carrer Montseny!
La visita
coincidia amb el fet de que acabo de llegir La Plaça del Diamant, per fi, tant
en català com en una traducció a l’anglès. Aquest llibre m’ha deixat sense paraules
– un altre dia intentaré escriure alguna cosa – és el millor llibre que he
llegit en molt de temps! Així que evidentment, hi vam tornar a la plaça per a
fer una foto (20 anys desprès d’una altra foto que no trobo) amb la Colometa.
Per cert, si això fos a Anglaterra, n’hi hauria souvenirs, botigues, visitor
centres, rutes senyalitzades per atreure “turistes literaris”...
Dissabte a la nit
vam anar de concert ! A més, un concert de peu, com anàvem quan tenia 20
anys ! L’idea del cap de setmana i concert era com un regal per a
l’aniversari de la Sílvia i vaig triar un grup que no coneixíem però que era
evident que ens agradaria – els Kitty, Daisy, and Lewis. Blues, rock ‘n’roll,
soul, amb continus canvis d’instruments i un bon toc d’humor negre, una
passada! 2 hores de peu, com en els vells temps, però aquest cop se'm van adormir els peus! En acabar el concert vam comprar el seu disc (en vinil, of course), i
vam fer fotos amb tots tres :)
Diumenge vam voltar més i vam acabar en una fira de roba
« vintage » dels Susi Sweet Dress i ho vam passar molt bé – la Sílvia
va comprar algunes peces, i ens van regalar una cervesa - i desprès no vam
dinar ja que ens havíem fartat al buffet-esmorzar de l’hotel. Desprès cap a
l’autocar (ja no ens fiem de Renfe) per a tornar a la normalitat.
(Fotos a sota)
..................................................................
Living just
a 2-hour trip from Barcelona means I have seen plenty of this magnificent city
over the years. Having said that, though, most of my time there was in the
1990s, or specifically pre-kids, pre-mortgage, pre-2003. Since our kids were
born, I think we’ve only been twice as a family for “pleasure” – though we have
kept going to river Ebro campaigning activities and events related to the
independence of Catalonia! But, we now have other (economic) priorities!
However, much to my own surprise as well as everyone else’s, I organized a
(kid-less) weekend visit there recently as a birthday gift for my wife, Sílvia
–a much needed and well-deserved break.
We wanted
to get away from the tourist crowds we normally see when we do “the sights”,
but still booked a hotel right bang in the centre of the Rambles! The Hotel
Continental. Basically because (a) I hate searching and comparing all day on
internet and have a tendency to book the first half-decent thing I find, (b) it
has a “free” 24-hour buffet and bottomless beer barrel, and (c) Orwell stayed
there during the civil war –though I don’t think the bedrooms were pink back
then... it was a little over our budget, but carpe diem, as they say. I can
recommend it, though – perfect location (20 yards from Plaça Catalunya Metro
stop), nice enough rooms, great balconies and seating areas, interesting decor,
and the buffet and beer!
We did a
bit of shopping in the centre – records, books, looked at musical instruments
–and then had lunch at La Lluna restaurant, again slap bang in the centre of
Barcelona. A great place, really nice building with excellent staff, and good
wholesome “normal” food (none of these fancy inventions on square plates) with
decent quantities – plus they had many veggie options. Another recommendation
for you there!
We then
went to the “inland” part of Barcelona, the Gracia neighbourhood which is like
a different town, only two Metro stops away but rarely visited by tourists.
It’s well worth it, though, for the excellent small shops and bars and cafes,
and “normal life”. We spent ages in second hand and new bookshops and record
shops again and just wandering the streets. I also wanted to visit the Plaça
del Diamant square (20 years after my last visit) to see the statue of
Colometa, the suffering heroine of my favourite Catalan novel (more on that in
a later post). Don’t tell anyone I recommend this area of Barcelona as the
locals like to keep it tourist free, but believe me you won’t regret it! I’d
suggest avoiding the socks and sandals look so as to blend in better...
After that,
concert time! Yes, we relived our youth by going to one of those sweaty noisy
smelly beer-drenched concert halls where you stand up and get crushed from
start to finish (I got pins and needles standing up for 2 hours – hardly a
rock’n’roll ailment!). I’d got us tickets to see Kitty, Daisy and Lewis who
we’d never heard of, but judging by a couple of music videos I checked out, I
knew we’d love them – and we did. Two sisters and a brother, constantly
swapping instruments and mics around, gave us some good old-fashioned blues,
rock’n’roll and soul with a sound dose of black humour. Afterwards we bought
their album (on vinyl of course) on the way out and had our photos taken with
the band. A grand time!
Sunday
morning consisted of stuffing ourselves with a triple breakfast at the hotel
buffet, and then more street-wandering before ending up in a vintage clothes
fair where Sílvia purchased a couple of things and I got a free beer. Still
full, we skipped lunch, and then caught the coach back to our normal lives.
Photo of Sílvia taking a photo of the restaurant.
Blurred photo of Sílvia in the cool restaurant, La Lluna
Buskers in Gràcia
Yours truly with Colometa - the main character in my currently fave book
Hobbit-esque windows
Second-hand English language book shop in Gràcia
Groovy band kickin' some ass (does that sound suitable?)
Sílvia (on the right) with Daisy (on the left)
Interesting decor in our hotel
Shops close on Sundays in Barcelona -wandering colourful back streets
Experts in fashion say this is "vintage clothing"
More windows in Gràcia
How many cities have graffiti-pictures of authors? Merce Rodoreda, author of the Plaça del Diamant book I mentioned above.
And the final word, from the band themselves:
