Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 29, 1992 TAG: 9203290237
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ELIZABETH GUNN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
You can begin right up on Montjuic, "Mountain of the Jews," where the Olympic stadium is. (The name derives from the Middle Ages, when Moors, Jew and Christians shared Spain, and the Jews had their shops on this mountain). Within walking distance is the Spanish Village, a display village that features the architectural styles of all the areas of Spain, as well as shops that sell arts and crafts from all over the country and many restaurants and night clubs. Because the Spanish dinner hour is late - typically from 9 to 11:30 p.m. or so - you can see flamenco dancing over a late dinner here, and still have time to go to a jazz club from midnight till 3 a.m.
The Miro Museum is nearby, too. Unlike Picasso and Pablo Casals, the other great modern artists from this area, Miro remained in Barcelona through the Civil War and the Franco regime that followed, and bequeathed a treasure trove of his art to his home town. It is displayed with pride in a handsome building on Montjuic, very much worth a visit.
The best way to begin seeing the rest of Barcelona is to buy a city map, take a bus down the mountain to the Plaza Espanya, then ride the underground Metro down to the port. Fast, dependable, clean and cheap, the underground train system is easy to understand: just follow the route maps that are in every station stop. One admission takes you wherever you want to go; transfer as many times as you like. Coupled with the bus system, which is equally efficient, it makes getting anywhere in Barcelona easy and fun.
At the Port, of course, you first must see the Columbus statue, commanding on its high pedestal, insistently pointing to America. From Columbus, walk up the wide Ramblas toward the center of town. Most Barcelonans come down here, on Sundays and holidays, to shop the many stalls selling flowers, birds and crafts; mixed with the sailors up from the port and tourists from everywhere, they create a crowd scene worth watching. Usually there'll be a mime or two, a couple of street musicians and a few artists doing portraits, Moroccans selling belts, purses and scarves off a blanket, at least one reader of Tarot cards telling fortunes at a table, some gypsies hawking posies for your buttonhole and perhaps a serape-clad guitar-and-bongos band from Peru.
After you've strolled through this lively scene for three or four blocks, as far as, say, Calle Ferran, turn right and head for the Gothic Quarter. If you miss Ferran take the next street, or the next - just go to your right through a busy warren of increasingly narrow and jumbled streets.
The glory of Barcelona's Gothic section is that it's not a museum, a reconstruction or a display, but simply very old buildings, many built between the 13th and 15th centuries, and continuously in use to this day. Some streets are almost as narrow as paths, with three- and four-story buildings towering dizzingly over them. Shops are often not much bigger than closets, piled to the ceiling with an odd assortment of goods: pastry and wine, bakery goods and dolls. Laundry flaps overhead on a cat's cradle of lines strung between windows. Restaurants often have three stools and four or five tables, one of which is on the sidewalk. The food and wine will be different in each, most of it very good.
Variety is all, here; every street has its own pattern of cobblestones, or a row of ornate streetlamps unlike any others in town. Students, musicians, artists live down here for the cheaper rents; for the same reason, garment, jewelry and textile wholesalers are here. There are several fascinating museums: Frederic Mares' collection of Catholic artifacts, a Picasso collection of mostly early work and the City Museum of History, under which is an excavated remnant of the Roman town that was once here.
If you can, come down to this section on a Sunday morning, follow the crowds to the many-spired Cathedral about 10:30 and watch the dancing in front of the church. They always dance the Sardana, traditional dance of the Catalan nation, of which Barcelona is the capital. People make a pile of whatever possessions they're carrying, then form a circle around the pile, holding hands. A brass band begins to play, and they dance a hopping, repetitive pattern with hands raised high.
Another day, take the Metro to the Plaza de Catalunya, plunge into the chaotic free-for-all of El Corte Ingles, Barcelona's biggest department store, then walk west (away from the port, toward the mountain) on Passeig de Gracia, a street of posh shops and stunning architecture, much of it from the turn of the century. Notice the madly curving bulk of the Casa Mila, nicknamed "La Pedrera" - the stone quarry - and the gloriously ornate wedding-cake ornament that tops the Loewe's building. There are many private art galleries here, where you can browse and see what Spain's foremost artists are producing, and in any of the bigger book stores you'll find a section of English titles. If you walk far enough, you can afford to give in to the temptations of one of the many bakeries that beckon everywhere, or trying the treats at a tapas bar. Or just rest your feet and enjoy a cafe-con-leche at an outdoor cafe.
Tibidabo, on its mountain overlooking the west side of town, is worth an outing, because getting there is half the fun. Take the Metro at Provencia; at the end of the line walk across the street to the electric trolley that takes everybody up the hill; when the trolley reaches the end of its line, cross the street once more and take the funicular that crawls steeply to the top. It's hard to describe what you find at the summit: a crypto-Roman church, wedded to a proto-Gothic tower, fronted by a carnival, with a ferris wheel and other rides that whirl dizzily into space at the edge of the mountain. If you are lucky enough to have come on a clear day, you will get lovely views of Barcelona.
It takes a bit more navigation and map-reading to get to Guell Park; you might be well advised to take a taxi (they're not overpriced, and the drivers generally own the cabs and are skilled and careful). The Park is filled with odd-shaped buildings and fantastic outdoor sculpture designed by Antoni Gaudi, Barcelona's own quirky genius. It's a favorite place for an afternoon's outing for Barcelona families, so there are baby strollers and toddlers clutching grandparents' hands all around the ceramic towers, otherworldly ceramic animals and strangely-twisting walks and benches. The place is both homey and weird, not your average park at all.
There are several things to do in Barcelona that take a bit more preparation, either through your travel agent at home or with the help of your hotel after you arrive. The city boasts two outstanding music houses, the opera house called Gran Teatro Liceo and the visually stunning Palace of Music, where the world's best musicians come to give concerts. Warning: Barcelona is a music-loving town, so tickets sell out early.
The Monumental bull ring presents bullfighting of excellent quality on Sundays and fiestas; join a tour, or buy tickets at the door. And, finally, if you crave a glimpse of Spanish beach life, take the train from the main station at Estacio de Sants, for a half-hour trip to Sitges, a typical Mediterranean beach resort.
The Spanish have a special verb, "trasnochar," to stay up all night, because they love to do it. You will find plenty of night life in Barcelona, including many jazz clubs, nightclubs with rock bands from soft to heavy metal and several bars that feature ballroom dancing, with live big bands. If you're still having fun when they close, go on to one of the after-hours clubs, which go on till dawn. Buy a copy of LaVanguardia, Barcelona's major daily and consult the advertisements; you'll understand more than you expect. American movies are a huge success in Spain, so if you want to see one, look for the ones that say "Subtitulado;" they have English dialogue with Spanish subtitles.
The most striking feature of life in Barcelona is the utterly civilized way they behave at night. Time after time, my husband and I have walked right across the city, after a concert or a night on the town, at 2 or even 3 in the morning, and found ourselves idling happily along with crowds of quietly chatting people who, like us, had been somewhere for food and music. Watch out for your cash in the subway, of course, wer are not in Heaven, but to an American the soft Mediterranean ambience seems remarkably benign.
Elizabeth Gunn is a free-lance writer who spent last year in Barcelona, Spain.
by CNB