January 2, 2012
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Barcelona, Spain
It’s the third time that I spent New Year’s Eve in Barcelona. Back in 2008/2009 I went to the Plaça de Catalunya and watched the countdown and the subsequential uncorking of bottles of cava there, on the city’s and Catalonia’s most central square. In 2009/2010 I stayed in my hotel room on New Year’s Eve… and that is exactly what I did now as well. I’m not coming to Barcelona for New Year’s Eve as such. I don’t care much for the celebration of the start of a new year anyway, but my main motivation for coming to Barcelona at this time of the year is twofold: I love Barcelona and it’s great to start the new year in a warm climate in a beautiful city (while my colleagues went back to work today) and the other is that it’s a relief not to be in Amsterdam on New Year’s Eve. Anyone who’s ever been in the Netherlands on New Year’s Eve knows that the country turns into a war zone. With everyone firing off their own fireworks it is just no fun walking through town. With the exception of when Andy and Colin visited Amsterdam, I typically stayed in on 31 Dec. Going to Barcelona is a pleasant alternative to that option.
So what have I been doing so far during this trip? Walking. That’s how it can best be described. I have my hiking shoes with me and I’ve put them to good use. Helped by fantastic weather, with temperatures close to 20C (and 21C to one sign I saw), blue skies and generous sunshine, I have explored the city on foot. I created some Google Maps to show where I walked… (told you, nerd I am)
On 31 December I walked 10.4 kilometers / 6.5 miles:
View Barcelona 20111231 in a larger mapThe first day, 31 December, I left the hotel (blue placemark at the top of the map) and mainly stayed in the touristy city centre. El Gotic is the city’s gothic quarter and my favourite part by far. It’s a great way to avoid the Ramblas (packed with tourists, pickpockets, living statues and con artists alike) and its streets are timeless and quiet. I did venture out to the Park de Ciutadella (right side of the map) but that was basically it. It was just a pleasant day, getting to know an old acquaintance, namely old Barcelona again. I had breakfast, lunch, coffees and dinner in various locations along the route in what have become my favourite places in town. A very pleasant and sunny last day of 2011 it was.
On 1 January I walked 14 kilometers / 8.8 miles:
View Barcelona 20120101 in a larger mapThe first walk of the new year was already longer than the last one of last year. I actually walked down the Ramblas in the morning, while most of Barcelona still seemed to be sleeping and for some weird reason it was mostly Italians walking everywhere. When I reached the harbour area at the end of the Ramblas I started walking northeast towards the cozy Barceloneta district and from there all the way to Poble Nou, where the beaches are that I usually go to when I’m in town on summer days. Mind you, the weather was surprisingly close to ‘beach weather’ and there were actually people lying on the beach as if it was July, and also swimming in the sea. The sea was a bit too wild for my liking, otherwise I wouldn’t have objected to a new year’s dive in the Mediterranean. I returned to my hotel in the early evening and went out for food later on… but that short walk is not shown in the map.
Today, 2 January I walked 17.4 kilometers / 10.8 miles:
View Barcelona 20120102 in a larger mapIt’s still less than what we walked on our first day of the West Highland Way last year… but I’m getting closer! And walking in a city, carefully avoiding tourists and other pedestrians, waiting for traffic lights and passing cars, is actually quite tiring, I found out. I walked towards Montjuïc, the hill south of the city, via the El Gotic and the Raval neighbourhoods. The view from Montjuïc over the city is simply fantastic. The above picture is of the Sagrada Familia as seen from the castle on top of Montjuïc. Via the busy and not very elegant Plaza d’Espanya I then returned back to the hotel, only to head back into town for an evening visit to the Raval. It truly is a fascinating neighbourhood. Run down, with prostitutes in the streets, shady and dodgy people in dark corners, run-down hotels and dilapidated buildings, badly lit streets. I love it! It really is as if I’m walking on a film set. And I’ve found that, as long as you walk with a determined step, as if you’re going somewhere in particular, you basically get ignored. I admit that it’s a bit strange that it’s this Barcelona I love best, above the uber-famous tourist destinations, but there you have it… Mind you, Montjuïc, with its amazing views was also pretty impressive.
