Barcelona: Let's get ready to Ramble!

Las Ramblas runs for over a mile down the heart of the city, from the central Plaza de Catalunya to the Harbor Front.

Late Sunday night we arrived into Barcelona, and less than 24 hours later it is already one of my favorite big cities in the world.  (However, as a quick editors note: BE CAREFUL when flying in Europe on Budget Airlines -- our flight from Milan on Ryan Air, Europe's cheapest carrier, delivered us to an airport 100 km from Barcelona!  After taking an hour-long bus ride into the city, we now know not to assume that 'Barcelona' on your ticket actually is... just be sure to cross-check your ticket with the 3 letter airport code of a city's major hub, like LHR for London Heathrow, etc...)

Travel inconveniences aside, we awoke to a bright sunny morning in Barcelona that set the tone for a great day.  Barcelona is very similar in layout to Los Angeles - sprawling urban grid underneath the sun and sandwiched between the beach and the mountains.  However, the heart of the city is near the water, with the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic) housing tiny streets filled with shops and restaurants around a grand cathedral, the Eixample District just uptown with designer clothing stores and chic tapas restaurants, and its main artery Las Ramblas running from the bottom of the Eixample from Plaza de Catalunya (the central point in the town) down to the water.

If Barcelona could be summed up in a word, it might be Ergonomic.  It is the best example I have come across of blending the natural world with urban design.  Here the gas lamps have an eery resemblance to the trees above them. 

For 1.2 tree-lined miles, Las Ramblas is an incredible mix of locals and tourists - all darting around with eyes wide open.  It could be the Super Bowl of People-Watching.  On Las Ramblas, street performers catch the eye ever 50 yards, cool cafes offer inviting concoctions, warm rays of the sun sneak through the overhanging trees, and everyone seems to play a role in this real-time drama.  The name Rambla in both Catalan & Spanish means "Flowing Water," the plural form Ramblas comes from the many small sections (such as those selling flowers, birds, artwork, etc...) that make up the Grand Boulevard.  Here the people are the river... all riding the wave of Barcelona life past the Highs (Grand Opera Houses & Lively Markets) and Lows (Picketpockets and Thieves).

I think the Spanish Poet Frederico Garcia Lorca summed it up best when he said, "Las Ramblas is the only street in the world which I wish would never end."  We couldn't agree more. 

Christie finds a soulmate on Las Ramblas.

Ducking into a side street of Barri Gothic - these are the same roads used hundreds of years ago by the Romans and later the Moors.

The Bright Paintings for sale were more impressive than almost anything I've seen in a gallery to date.  Tomorrow: The Picasso Museum!

~ J. Twice