Travel Bugs

I have always been curious about the country of Spain because of two artists I have studied: Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. I also imagined Spain to be a sunny place with delicious tapas, passionate dancing, and inspiring architecture. These things are true, but we didn’t have the most ideal experience in Spain. In fact, I got the distinct feeling that we weren’t really wanted in this country. I guess we did enter into Barcelona which I have since found out is famous for the locals protesting tourism in their city. It is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world and the locals find the over-tourism difficult to welcome. I don’t blame them, but I don’t think they have to be rude, which we found some people to be. Of course we didn’t let those losers dictate our experience in Spain, and we did do some fun things.

We rented an Airbnb in the city and were instantly happy because it had a lot of space. I decided to fully unpack and make myself at home for the four days and five nights that we were going to stay. We had a kitchen for the first time on our travels and the ability to buy groceries and actually cook for ourselves. This was very exciting for us, as we were ready to have autonomy about what we would eat and the freedom to stay in rather than venturing into the cold streets searching for our dinners.

We liked Barcelona as a whole but didn’t think there were enough activities for tourists to do that were of interest to us, and to our economic situation. The two major attractions in the city were both very expensive—prohibitively so.

Our attempt at visiting Park Guell started poorly as the gate we tried to enter from required us to pay the fee (a hefty $18 Euros per person) using a QR code, something that is fine as long as there is an option to pay with credit card as well. As we were having trouble with our e-SIMS, and there was no Wi-Fi available, this proved impossible for us. We stood in line to find out that the ticket booth didn’t have the option at that particular gate to pay with credit card or cash. Why? No idea. They had people working there and a structure built for them to sit in. To make matters worse, I was desperate for a bathroom and when I asked for some humanity to be shown and for my entry to be waived while I searched for a toilet, the answer was an unsympathetic ‘no’ and that I ‘should have gone before coming to the park’ and that ‘it wasn’t her problem that I had to use the toilet’. All of this was infuriating for me. We had to retrace all our steps (a big deal since the park entrance is at the top of a series of hills) and I had to beg an elderly shopkeeper to allow me to use his toilet, which thankfully he did.

We walked to another gate entrance and the kiosk seemed closed. Same story. We needed to pay via the QR code. We walked down another hill to another entrance. The story was repeated a third time, but if we just walked up the hill we had just come down, we could pay with cash or card there. I explained that the kiosk had nobody at it, and we were told to come down. He apologized and explained that if there was only one person, then maybe we were out of luck. I said ‘no, there were two or three people there’. He didn’t know what to tell me but suggested I go back and try again.

We did, and there was by then a line of people at the kiosk all successfully paying with credit card. It was so maddening!

Once in it was frustrating because we didn’t really know what we had paid for, exactly. The pathways were all blocked and we could only walk in a certain direction, unable to use certain sections because that was the ‘salida’ only. We were starting to feel scammed. I looked at the Guadi architecture, at the pigeons, at the mosaics, and the pillars, and tried to enjoy myself. We got Wi-Fi briefly and googled what sights not to miss while in Barcelona. Half of them were in this small park. By the way, if we wanted to tour any of the actual buildings, that would be another charge, and a separate line. I am astonished we were able to use the toilets for free.

Park Guell is a must-see when visiting the city, but I’m not sure how much of a ‘must’ it is…because the ticket price is very high based on how free you are to move around and what you have access to. Callum doesn’t remember paying anything when he visited for the first time in 2011. My theory is that Spain is making things very pricey to discourage tourists to visit. I must say on this day I was thinking to myself, ‘well, I won’t come back, so I guess it’s working.’

We left after a brief visit because there wasn’t much to do or see there and walked a long way in the direction of the Sagrada Familia to have lunch. I chose a taco place and the second we walked in the proprietor greeted us as friends in English. We hadn’t said a word, but we both have light hair and eyes so that might have tipped him off. We did eat the most scrumptious tacos I have had in quite some time. I would include this lunch at La Quesadilla by Fernando Sanz as one of the best meals I had in Europe.

After filling our bellies, we walked onward to the iconic church, which is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Construction began in 1882 and is expected to be complete next year (2026). This will mark the 100 year anniversary of Antoni Gaudi’s death, the chief designer of the project whose designs are seen all over Barcelona.

We walked around the perimeter, marvelling at the amazing sculptures and height and talked at length about whether or not spending over $200 AUD to go in was worth it to us. I wasn’t so sure. You have to understand that we are travelling for 7 months and need to think about daily expenses really objectively and carefully. What we spend in a day matters to us. I am not opposed to paying hundreds of dollars for a single experience—but only if it is really worth it, or a once-in-a-lifetime type of activity. We were not convinced walking around in a church was worth the cost when we’ve seen lots of cathedrals and churches before. I decided to save the money for a nice meal or something instead. I was happy seeing the outside of the church and then going home to a simple home-cooked dinner and catching up on some TV. I was content to save the money. I’m sure there are some people who read this who don’t respect this decision, and that’s okay!

One evening we got tickets to see a soccer game. We watched FC Barcelona play Valencia. The booing of the opposing team was something we haven’t experienced before, both coming from countries where that is frowned upon. They had different chants and songs to sing directed at the opposition, one of which when translated was basically “F*ck you Valencia, F*****ck youuuuuu”. We had a chuckle and a shake of our heads over that one.

Callum figured it’s one of the most popular soccer teams in the world and that it was important to immerse ourselves in that side of the culture. I really should be calling it ‘football’ as that is what much of the world calls it, and certainly Spain.

Watching this match was indeed an experience and we couldn’t help but compare it with other arenas we’ve been to—mostly just the stadium in Perth. There were not many snack options, and the toilets didn’t have proper doors or seats, so I declined to use them. It was a very chilly night, and it was a very far walk, even after taking the metro. I was astonished at how many people were committed to sitting in the freezing cold in tiny seats just to watch a bunch of grown men kicking around a piece of leather. Look, I’m not a sporty girl. I went for the culture and inhaled a lot of cigarette smoke. Spanish people smoke all the time everywhere and if you don’t like the smell, bully for you.

 “Our” team was clearly winning and with about 20 minutes left in the second half, we decided to get an early move on, to get ‘home’ to our apartment and get warmed up. We did enjoy hearing the crowd go ballistic every time their team scored a goal, and I managed to capture on my phone one of these goals as it happened. We were surprised at the amount of security which were stationed in instalments around the perimeter of the field, apparently to prevent crowds rushing onto it. Also, there was quite the police presence, and, the opposition supporters were ‘caged’ in their section, protected against the local fans and their physicality in a way that if you think about it, is quite frightening! I am not sure I would agree to go to a Sydney Swans game in Perth with Callum if we needed to be sequestered in a separate area, boxed in to avoid being hit with flying drinks or half-eaten hotdogs, whilst being sworn at and bullied.

One of our days in Barcelona was spent on a train to and from the tiny town of Figueres about two hours away, in order to visit the oft lauded Dali Theatre-Museum. This town is where the artist was born and grew up and where he bought an old theatre destined for demolition and turned it into his garden of peculiar artworks and half-baked ideas. I like him a lot, but I must admit that this particular collection felt randomized and curated without thought. It certainly did not showcase any of his best work, and there was very little explanation (or even titles/mediums/year placards) in Spanish or English about what we were looking at. I would have been very curious if we did not make the trip, but if you aren’t really into Art, I would suggest it could be a miss. If you were on a road trip and stopped in this little nothing town for an hour, great. Go visit. It’s fine. But we devoted a whole day since we prebooked our train tickets without knowing how long we would want or need in this museum and town and couldn’t go home on an earlier train. We had to kill three hours in a tiny coffee shop since it was raining, and, of course, everything else was closed for siesta time.

We were lucky we had a coffee shop to sit in. We stretched out our sandwiches, pastries and coffees for as long as possible. We used the time to reflect on our first few weeks of travel and talk about what had been good and what we were looking forward to. There are always going to be moments like that one, where you aren’t having the best time, but you have to just adjust and make the best of it.

One of our nights we went out for tapas at a petit and therefore crowded local pub where we were quite lucky to get two seats together. Callum had read reviews and suggested it. I was happy to go, and a crowded place is always a safe bet. We managed to order several dishes since the waiter knew a little bit of English and we were treated to some delicious tapas. It was a great experience.

Our next adventure was leaving Barcelona for Madrid. We took the 2.5 hour train, and I really enjoyed the journey and the changing scenery as we moved inland. We even saw some wetlands from our train window with flamingos! In Spain! Who knew?

Once in Madrid, we stayed across the street from the Reina Sofia which houses the famous Picasso piece ‘Guernica’ which is a 1937 grisaille canvas showing the horrors of war and the unprovoked attack on an innocent village in Northern Spain, which Picasso opposed. This piece was his entry into the World’s Fair that year and was inspired by a newspaper story he read about the bombing of Guernica by the leader of the Spanish Nationalists, Commander Francisco Franco. It’s a piece that I have talked about in my teaching and so it was gratifying to see it in person. We managed to get free tickets since we went after 7pm, which is something the gallery offers. We were there with many other people also taking advantage of this deal and so getting a whole picture without any people was impossible for me. We skimmed through a few more rooms but didn’t feel the need to spend too much time there, since our entry was free. Again, if art is only marginally interesting to you, you could do the same. Save money by going at night and stay for 30-45 minutes total.

Spend your time and energy and money instead on The Prado Museum, by far my favourite art gallery that I’ve been to in some time. This gallery was not far, and we easily walked to it from our accommodation. We didn’t know what to expect for this and were therefore happily surprised at how much good art there was on offer. We ended up staying about four hours total at this museum.

The only downside is that pictures are not allowed. I always find this so strange, when most galleries around the world allow photography—as long as you don’t use flash, of course. I did manage to sneak a few pics since it was sort of a game to me to do so without being caught. I mostly loved seeing Hieronymous Bosch paintings such as “The Garden of Earthly Delights”, and “The Descent from the Cross” by Rogier van der Weden, “The Third of May 1808” by Francisco Goya, as well as works by Dürer, Jan Van Eyck, Caravaggio, and Rubens.

We were surprised by copies of Da Vinci paintings when trying to make our way out, and I found the Mona Lisa hanging on its own wall in an empty room, which I found so ironic, since the one painted by Da Vinci himself (at the Louvre, in Paris) is behind bullet-proof glass and a perpetual sea of people with raised arms and phones snapping pictures all trying to get cramped selfies with the lady. Here, in this museum, the copy painted by Leo’s apprentices (at the same time and in the same room as the original, I might add) and which looks brighter and in better condition than the original, hung lonely and unadmired by anyone but me.

We ended our time in Spain with our curiosity sated and very much looking forward to a warmer climate.