The past week has been a complete blur (or maybe more than a week depending on when I post this), and that is thanks to trying to take in all of Barcelona AND attending Primavera Sound music festival over a five day period (plus negotiating Madrid on zero rest as well as figuring out the rest of my trip...but that is another story for another time).
But it was completely worth it - Barcelona was easily one of the best places I have ever been, and Primavera Sound was an insanely good time.
First off, Barcelona was a beautiful and vibrant city, especially thanks to one man - Gaudi. This architect started the Modernism movement and his works are omnipresent in Barcelona. I loved them all, but in particular I enjoyed Parc Guell (where my Gaudi and Primavera experiences intertwined as I met Wayne Coyne - lead singer of The Flaming Lips - here), a majestic and dreamlike landscape in the Eixample section of the city.
Existing in opposition to the heavenly layout of Parc Guell was the massive and oddly scary Sagrada Familia. This incredibly detailed church was the crown jewel of Gaudi's work, yet in the 43 years before his death (he started it in 1883) he worked on it he never completed it. Since then, work has continued to finish it. I spoke to a woman from England who had been there 30 years previous and she said it barely even looked the same as when she had come in the past. Whatever was happening with it, it seemed as if it rose from some circle of hell to take form on Earth...but in a way that is insanely awesome. I thought it was one of the best and certainly the most unique church I have ever seen.
The rest of his work was great, as was the remainder of my experience. It was highlighted by an unfathomably cool restaurant named La Cerverceria Catalan that excelled in making food that made me say "WOW!" I went there three times thanks to the recommendation of my one-time camping mate Lucy Raskin (of the Megatron Bieber family), and enjoyed it more with each successive venture. I tried nothing more than once, but everything was incredible, from the liver served on artichoke with some fancy sauce (LIVER!) to the Oeufs "Cabreaos" (fried potato strings with two fried eggs on top and a spicy tomato sauce) to the just absurdly good calamari - this place redefined tapas in my mind. All in all, in three days I had 9 dishes, two cappucinos, two beers (one was bought for me!) and a lot of good conversations with the diners next to me (who were from Spain, the UK and San Francisco respectively). This place was a blast with great service, amazing food and very reasonable prices. If you are ever in Barcelona, I highly recommend it.
Now, as for Primavera Sound, this bad boy was a bit of a mess at times (I am uncertain as to how well this thing is run), but the experience was an awesome one that found me making my way back to my bed past sun up multiple times, making a bunch of friends in a hurry (from Ireland, Dubai, Canada and England in particular), and enjoying some varied performances.
I say varied because the music itself was pretty up and down. There was the predictably amazing performance (The Flaming Lips). There was the surprisingly incredible one (James Blake - so much soul!). There was the big disappointment (Animal Collective - three songs anyone knew and no encore in an hour and ten minutes). There was a lot of good (Of Montreal, Big Boi, Explosions in the Sky, DJ Shadow, The Walkmen, tUnE-yArDs, Matthew Dear, Caribou, Interpol, Belle & Sebastian) and some just eh performances (The National - third time I have seen them, essentially the same set every time). It was a ton of fun and a bit hard to get used to thanks to the crazy schedule - Girl Talk went on at 5 am! - but I recommend it as a festival overall. Besides Animal Collective, it seems as if this festival pushes bands to give it their all, and that is an awesome, awesome thing if you are a regular festival goer.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of my whole time in Barcelona was the experience of watching the Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona live at the festival. The Llevant stage was converted into a place for the slew of Barcelona fans (and the small contingent of Man U fans who would identify themselves) to watch, and myself and my Saturday festival mates Josh and John (from Bristol - THE HOME OF DUBSTEP!) watched the whole thing, soaking in the celebration as Barca won 3 to 1. It was a joyous thing, and it was best experienced there (rather than in the main place for it - Placa de Catalunya - which ended up having visitors forced to stay until 5:30 am by Barcelona police).
Five days of pure awesome in Barcelona, filled with surprise and just amazing experiences right and left. While I wanted to continue on my Spanish adventure and the start of it in Madrid was nice enough, it felt right to head out and head east now. Barcelona was going to top everything anyways, so might as well get my Switzerland on sooner rather than later (did I mention I changed my itinerary again?).
Music of the day: The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize?
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