There are many neighbourhoods, or Barrios in Barcelona. Each famous for one thing or another. We ended up renting an apartment in El Raval, in the Ciutat Vella, where buildings and people are in dense proximity. The Raval, famous for its vibrant nightlife, immigrant community and supposedly prostitution is also the home of the Boqueria, Barcelona's largest food market. It's border is La Rambla where it turns into the labyrinth of the Barrio Gotico.
Considering our place is a 5 minute walk to a sewing co-op, playgrounds, language schools, clandestine puppet theaters, the Museum of Modern Art, the library, a woman run smithy, the Opera, hardware stores, art supplies, the metro and bus lines, clothing shops, some of our favorite expat friends, and a host of excellent restaurants and bars as well as the Boqueria, it really is unbeatable. It has just the right amount of grit as well, which I appreciate.
Our Barrios landmark, the Raval Cat by Fernando Botero.
Kodiak is impressed with his balls. Indeed spaying and neutering animals here seems unusual, and most dogs I have seen are fully intact. Not that there is an overpopulation of dogs though..
The elaborate entrance to the Boqueria, in November, ie. not the high tourist season. I brace myself for the amount of people this city will hold in the Summer.
Newly dead fowl, and fresh rabbit, ready for cooking.
...and of course fish and octopus....
El Raval is also conveniently close to the Ocean. A walk to the beach is about 25 minutes. We walk a lot every day and after a few weeks of serious shin splints, I have noticed that we are joining the ranks of Catalans with calves of steel.
The Ocean is such a welcome respite from the hustle and the bustle of the big metropolis.
Every morning before day break, when Barcelona actually sleeps, I can hear the squawking cries of the seagulls, I take a breath and I remember where I am.
Kodiak is impressed with his balls. Indeed spaying and neutering animals here seems unusual, and most dogs I have seen are fully intact. Not that there is an overpopulation of dogs though..
A note on children in Barcelona. There are a lot of them! And there are playgrounds seemingly on every corner. And the playgrounds are not some old rusty swingsets, rather an array of modern wood style contraptions in various shapes and colors. They are incredible. And the kids here are out and about all day and night. It is clear that children are revered here and it is common to find a playground next to a tapas bar, where the parents are sharing an afternoon Vermut while the kids are monkeying around on high tech playground engineering. So civilized.
Newly dead fowl, and fresh rabbit, ready for cooking.
...and of course fish and octopus....
El Raval is also conveniently close to the Ocean. A walk to the beach is about 25 minutes. We walk a lot every day and after a few weeks of serious shin splints, I have noticed that we are joining the ranks of Catalans with calves of steel.
The Ocean is such a welcome respite from the hustle and the bustle of the big metropolis.
Every morning before day break, when Barcelona actually sleeps, I can hear the squawking cries of the seagulls, I take a breath and I remember where I am.
