Tapas Tourism

In the culinary world, tapas are the Spanish version of appetizers. Typically, tantalizing tastes meant to be enjoyed in small portions served prior to a full meal. But, just as often they are combined into an array of savory samplings serving as a meal unto themselves. My stay in Barcelona served as a bit of tapas tourism as it was clear from the outset that three days was not nearly enough time to fully consume all that the city had to offer. Instead, I opted to settle for small, satisfying bites of Barcelona's most succulent offerings.

If there was a chef for this tapas-style tour of Spain's second largest city, it would certainly be Antoni Gaudi. He is Barcelona's most celebrated son and world-renowned architect. I think he also just became my favorite architect. His imaginative architectural style is instantly recognizable for it's unique flourishes of twisted steel, swooping roofs, and bulging windows – among other things. His stunning structural creations are found throughout Barcelona proper, accenting this already vibrant city.

Gaudi's most impressive creation is also Barcelona's most recognizable landmark, La Sagrada Familia. It's a stunningly innovative take on the Gothic-style church, which also made for my first sampling of the city. The browned-stone facade seems to rise directly out of the ground, formed and molded directly from the earth below. Intricate details ooze out of every square inch, each stone having been twisted and shaped to play it's integral role as part of the larger whole. Those minute elements combine to form expansive, mesmerizing facades adorning the exteriors directly above each entrance. Rising over those facades are eight stunning spires that bring the structure to a towering crescendo far above the ground below. Adding to it's otherworldly appearance, the entire building seems to be slowly melting beneath the sun's decades-long glare.

From Barcelona '07

But, perhaps the most fascinating detail of La Sagrada Familia is the one you can't see. Some 125 years after construction began, the building remains just slightly more than half complete. Another ten (larger) spires, a third grand facade, and a significant portion of the interior have yet to be constructed. Given the level of detail already on display, I'd be inclined to say things might be a bit ahead of schedule. It's testament to Gaudi's phenomenal design that the building has already received world-renown and endless adulation in it's half-finished form. Thankfully, modern construction techniques have sped up completion which is now slated for 2026. It seems that my travel calendar has it's first entry for that year.

My next “taste” was a project of Gaudi's that actually was finished in his lifetime. On a hill on the north side of the city, he took a once barren landscape and developed one of the most imaginative parks ever conceived. If the imaginary world of a Dr. Suess book ever came to life, it would likely resemble something akin to Park Guell. In fact, I half expected to see a Lorax or Sneetch or even the Grinch himself as I walked through the exquisite grounds. The park is filled with mosaic-tiled dragons, gingerbread-style houses, sweeping colonnaded bridges, and a serpentine bench that winds itself completely around the park's grand terrace which provides an expansive view of the Barcelona skyline. Ingeniously, the architect still allowed nature to provide most of the wonderment, but framed it so uniquely that even a typically mundane bush or tree seems entirely re-imagined. The enticing blend of natural landscape and surreal man-made works was instantly my favorite place in the city and the one most likely to lure me back to the city one day.

But, walking through Park Guell wasn't the only memorable stroll I took in Barcelona. I often found myself returning to the tight, twisting streets of the Barri Gothic and La Ribera neighborhoods where I spent hours just letting myself get lost . To be completely honest, I wasn't always “letting” myself get lost. Both neighborhoods, once the epicenter of Barcelona, are some 3,000 years-old and their labyrinth of narrow streets often managed to spin me around enough that I just stopped trying to figure out where I was and explored whatever was around me instead. Walking their old cobbled streets, I encountered an array of store fronts, restaurants, bars and various other businesses seemingly hidden from the tourist throngs among the tightly packed homes and apartment buildings. Thankfully, each turn down a new street provided an enticing environment to explore, making me quickly lose interest in attempting to figure out how to return to those places I'd been previously.

My wanderings through the Barri Gothic and La Ribera neighborhoods provided additional enjoyment as each excursion seemed to spit me out in a new part of the city. One day it was the well-manicured Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona's version of a central park. The next it was La Barceloneta, one of the city's most popular beaches along the Mediterranean which was unsurprisingly sparse on a cool mid-March afternoon. Yet another day, it was La Ramblas, Barcelona's tourist-laden pedestrian thoroughfare that stretches from Plaza Catalunya, the city's de facto center, down to the Mediterranean shoreline.

However, as my time in Barcelona wound down, I only had time for one final sampling. For that, I returned to a familiar purveyor, Antoni Gaudi. Proving his genius yet again, Gaudi managed to re-imagine the notion of an apartment building with a captivating design both aesthetically and functionally. The building, La Pedrera, seems to be honeycombed out of a giant block of limestone, replete with his tell-tale flourishes such as swooping roof lines, twisted iron balconies, bowed windows and doors, and swirling chimney tops.

But, the genius may be even more in the concept than the aesthetic design. La Pedrera is one of the first self-contained apartment communities in the world as Gaudi sought to foster socialization through his design elements. Thus, the building features interior courtyards, communal rooftop patios, and interior-facing entrances and hallways, all meant to foster positive relationships among inhabitants. Having been an apartment dweller for most of my adult life, I was attracted to Gaudi's unique perspective on apartment life and secretly wished more modern day apartment complex architects would take their cue from La Pedrera's inventive design.

As is always the case with any good tapas experience, I found that my sampler platter of Barcelona was more extensive and fulfilling than I imagined at the outset. Each of the small “tastes” of the city provided unique and enjoyable experiences on their own, but it was the combination of those varied and extraordinary “tastes” that left me immensely satisfied with my brief stay. Perhaps more than anything, it served best to whet my appetite for a return visit to take a more substantial bite out of this remarkable city.

BARCELONA PHOTO ALBUM (click photo):

Barcelona '07