Barcelona must breed crazy people, as Picasso, Dahli, Joan Miró, and Gaudi are all from the city. Ohhh, Gaudi. I love Gaudi. It’s as simple as that. Well, not quite, actually. It’s more like I love Gaudi’s ingenuity. I found his style to be so fun, colorful, and expressive within its oddness. It may come as shock, but the twisted wrought-iron, mosaics, architectural structures, and eccentric chimneys and other roof decorations all take direct inspiration from nature. Waves, palm trees, pine cones, corncobs, tree branches, flowers, berries, animals–they’re all there.

His works are scattered throughout the city (mostly buildings and a big park), but his overall influence is seen in the city facilities and mentality. Most Americans haven’t heard of him (myself included), but I have been hearing about him in my classes so it only seemed appropriate to plan (er, book a flight and place to stay…”planning” happens on the plane ride over) my last trip within Spain to his hometown, Barcelona.

Since the Summer Olympics in 1992, Barcelona has become a European and even worldwide destination. Hosting the Games forced them to develop and spruce-up the city to be tourist friendly. Tourists and deluxe shops abound (though I missed the main stretch on Avinguda Diagonal because I was so engrossed in Gaudi). At the heart of the city is La Rambla, what is supposed to be the world’s perfect street, but I was not impressed by the people-statues or pets for sale. Just off the street was Mercat Boqueria, also bursting with tourists, but I was intrigued as usual by the presentation and preparation of fresh fare.

Despite being such a hotspot, there exists a tension between Cataluña and the rest of Spain. The Catalans speak their own language (mix of French and Spanish) among themselves and use it on all the signs, but also know Spanish to communicate with the rest of Spain. Madridleños have the most difficult time getting along with Catalans, as my host-mom claims that if a Catalan finds out this fact, they will only speak with you in the Catalan that you can’t understand and insist that they don’t know Spanish. There is also a strong separatist movement in the region, with the belief that they are more European and better off without the Spain they don’t think particularly highly of. Though, I might add, this is not a unique thought in Spain as many other regions are fighting for their independence and constantly stirring up trouble (e.g. ETA and País Vasco).

As with every other weekend trip I have been on, rain and cool weather was overwhelmingly predicted–the best way to crush the atmosphere of the city and force everyone into museum hibernation. Somehow, though, the stars were aligned for me because there was only sprinkling on my first evening when I stumbled upon the musical fountain at the Montjuïc palace turned art museum. The 60% storm predictions for Saturday turned out to be sun and cotton ball clouds so I was able to keep exploring Gaudi’s pieces without fear of misery or ruining my camera. Thanks to this fabulous weather and my fascination with Gaudi I was not too annoyed with the swarms of tourists playing in Europe’s playground. If I had my way, I would go back for a day trip because it’s an easy, 1-hour flight but I just don’t think the bank account nor my sanity will allow that to happen.