Even after visiting it twice, I can’t decide if The Rambla is fascinating or repulsive. Maybe it’s both, in equal measure.

Some of the street performers are magnetic - drawing crowds of tourists, cranky old Spaniards, and a few drunks. Others are simply sad. Painted head-to-toe in suffocating metallic paints, squawking or jerking robotically, hoping for a few Euro. Among the street vendors selling tourist-trap souvenirs are those selling live animals. The lines of cages filled with birds - pigeons, doves, chickens, peacocks, finches - make me unhappy. I want to buy them all and then simply open their cages and let them go. Who puts a peacock in a cage? Or a pigeon for that matter.

Ignoring the gauche glare of the Rambla, Barcelona is a showcase for the more… inspiring work of architect Antoni Gaudi. The Sagrada Familia, under perpetual construction, is one of the most fantastic things I’ve ever seen. From what I understand, it’s strictly a love or hate experience. I loved it. Not exactly one to come easy by such feelings (I used to spend church pulling up my sisters’ dresses and making up new words to the hymns), I was struck with such an awe and reverence. It’s the kind of place you want to have all to yourself. But good luck with that. Even with the 8 Euro entry fee, the place is packed.

As is Park Guell - or Gaudi Park. On a hillside, a good two-mile walk from the buzz of Placa del Catalunya (take the walk - it’s gorgeous and the subway only gets you so close anyway), the park is an amazing sight. Your camera will love it. But don’t set your hopes too high on getting off a shot of the famous dragon sculpture. Unless, of course, you don’t mind having fifty strangers make a cameo in it. Park Guell is also a nice spot to get lost in the quiet. You won’t have to walk too far uphill from the Gaudi Museum to ditch most of the other tourists. You’ll share the walking paths with the locals - mostly older folks and their dogs. And some old men who will talk about your bum as you walk by.

Funny, the things people will say when they don’t think you understand.

Thursday, October 25, 2007 | general