Our first taste of the Spanish Mediterranean culture that we are now so used to came back in 1992 when we first visited Barcelona. It is fitting therefore that our final stop before leaving Spain is the same city. Having left our car in Valencia we travelled here by train and at 9pm tonight we catch the overnight train to Paris in order to connect with the Eurostar.
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| Columbus points out across the Med |
1992 was a seminal year for Barcelona. It was the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus and it was to Barcelona that he returned to report on his trip to King Ferdinand & Queen Isabela. His statue stands at the end of the Ramblas, pointing out to sea with his back to the rest of Spain - very much the Catalan view of the world. 1992 was also the year that Barcelona held the Olympic Games and put itself back on the map, and when FC Barcelona won the European Cup for the first time, at Wembley. Since then the explosion of tourism here has brought wealth and the city which has emerged from the shackles of Francoism to reclaim its proud identity, including its formerly banned language. For me, the twin badges of this identity are the football club (now European Champion for a fourth time having, coincidentally, won at Wembley again in May) and Gaudí's incomplete church, Sagrada Familia. Work on this incredible building began in 1892 but stopped on Gaudí's death in 1926. Intermittent work recommenced in the 1950s but, when we visited for the first time 100 years after work had begun, it was really still barely a shell with a few dreamy towers. Since then we have seen it grow on our many visits and it was finally consecrated last year by the Pope. Much work remains however but completion is on schedule for the 100th anniversary of Gaudí's death in 2026!
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| Sagrada Familia |
We have visited this city more than any other so there was no need for much sight-seeing on our one-night stay. Instead we retraced our steps to some favourite old places: Sagrada Familia, Los Caracoles, the cavernous institution of a restaurant we learned about in Floyd on Spain, and El Rey de la Gamba, the Barceloneta seafood restaurant with its improbably huge shellfish dishes.
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| About to do battle with the "Plato Real" |
The formerly deserted beach is, like the rest of the city, crowded with tourists and illustrates how the city has grown up since 1992 - I guess we've grown up too. An awful lot of water has flowed past the Columbus statue since then and a lot of (mostly good) things have happened to us. This is the city that first drew us to Spain, even if Valencia is now our first love. It remains a beautiful, lively and fascinating place, neatly encapsulated by the song recorded for the Olympics by Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé, which still rings in our heads as we walk around. It speaks to us of the things we most prize: love, happiness and optimism for the future:
"I had this perfect dream
This dream was me and you
I want all the world to see
A miracle sensation
My guide and inspiration
Now my dream is slowly coming true
Such a beautiful horizon
Like a jewel in the sun
Viva Barcelona"
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