Barcelona Day 2

Ok so it has still been a while since my last post, but luckily Mar decided to take up the reins and write a few posts of her own (as you probably have seen). I love the tiny grammar mistakes she makes. They don’t break the cadence of her story at all (at least not for me), and they lend even more authenticity to the blog!

It was another day to explore. Today Mar decided to ditch the thesis and come with me (sorry thesis). We took the tram to the metro on our way to the outskirts of the downtown area. When we arrived, Mar took me to the area of UB (University of Barcelona) where she took classes for her masters degree in biomedicine (not to be be confused with the masters in nutrition or the masters in film... apparently she likes getting masters degrees). We went into the building with classrooms and the nearby library. The campus at UB is very spread out, not confined like the campuses I am used to. It also seems more modern than most big universities I have seen in the states, which seemed strange to me in a city as old as Barcelona. It almost seems as though the university is breaking from the city’s Gothic style for a more modern look. I found myself a little disappointed in this, but the library was far more satisfying - big stone pillars that transformed into arches at the ceiling filled the room. Yes, I rather enjoyed the library.

A little later we walked to Barceloneta, the main beachfront area of the city. Mar showed me the Olympic Village (the center of the 1992 Olympic Games held in Barcelona), the main port of the city, the Museum of Catalan History (which overlooks the main port, and other things in the area. To tell you the truth, I was not too crazy about Barceloneta. It felt far to contrived and inorganic to me, standing in blatant contrast to the nearby Barri Gotic, which is the exact opposite.

To cheer me up Mar took me for patatas bravas (the Catalan version of french fries) at a nearby tapas bar called El Vaso de Oro, which sits in an alleyway in Barceloneta. This place, although in Barceloneta, felt very right to me. It is a tiny bar staffed by only a few men. There aren’t any waiters or waitresses - you just go up to the bartender and order whatever food and drinks you want. They bring the food to you (or just have a chain of customers eating/drinking there pass it back to you if it is too crowded). It is an authentic place that knows its role (simple food and drink) and does it very well. My frown quickly turned shortly after arriving here!

That day turned to night and we did other things around Barcelona that I can’t quite remember at this point since it was last week. I didn’t get the chance to update as soon as I had liked to, but a week without posting is better than a month.

Love always,

-Greg