Tuesday, March 15, 2016

#1626 travel Tuesday: thinking about Barcelona

It's been six months since I spent two weeks in Barcelona, Spain with my mom and my sister and you know what? I'm not over it. I think about Barcelona every day. Of course, I am surrounded by reminders of the days we spent there. The first thing I see when I wake up in the morning is the calendar I made with photos from the trip. Today I wore a scarf that I bought on La Rambla. The cover on my beloved iPhone says Barcelona and was purchased at the same time as the pretty scarf. The wallpaper on my computer at work shows a Gaudi-inspired mosaic scene of Park Guell. It's very colorful and very similar to the photo I have on my iPhone wallpaper. The mouse pad at work is from the Sagrada Familia gift shop as is the little mosaic tile turtle that watches over everything from the windowsill in my office.

I miss everything about Barcelona. I miss the way it smells. I miss the patterns in the sidewalks. I miss riding the subway and emerging onto La Rambla. I miss watching the people. I miss walking all around, never forgetting to look up to see the graceful, unique architecture. I miss the food. I miss eating jamon serrano and ordering a canya (glass of beer) at an outdoor bar. I miss the contrast of old and new. I miss the narrow streets of the Barri Gotic and the wide boulevards of El Eixample.  I miss catching sight of Tibidabo or the Torre Agbar (even though I don't care for that building at all).

Usually when I go on vacation, I can think back on the trip with fond memories. I can say, "Yep, I've been there and it was fun. I liked it a lot. Maybe I'll go back there someday, but maybe not. The world is a big place. There's lots to see." With Barcelona, though, I just think, "When can I get back?" I find myself frequently thinking about how I can manage to get there and when would be a good time to go. I think about whether MT would love it as much as I do. I think about whether my sister and I will go there together when the Sagrada Familia is completed. Will I get to go there again with my mom? Will T be interested in going there and discovering that amazing city?

There are a lot of places where I would like to go on vacation, but something tells me that I will always want to go back to Barcelona. It feels right to me. 

1 comment:

mamacita said...

Even though we had been in Barcelona quite a few times before, it seems in this last trip everything came together just perfectly. Not only we got along so well the three of us, but we did just about everything we set up to do.
I am thrilled that you two got to love my hometown as much as I love it. :)