FC Barcelona experience:
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Oh, Barcelona…this was the moment Javier had been waiting for. We arrived from Salamanca, and opted to stay close to Camp Nou for this visit rather than in the tourist area. When we arrived at our apartment, there was no water and no wi-fi. Of course we realized this after our host left us to return to his wine shop. We were hungry and decided to grab and bite and find his wine shop to get some help. He had told Javier the name of the shop, and what street it was on, but being as we had no wi-fi, it was impossible to look up, so we did the next best thing- we hit the street and started asking around. Eventually, we found someone who knew where the street was located. It was actually more like an alley off the main road- no wonder no one knew where it was! We found our host, and he apologized profusely. He told us how to turn on the water, said he would stop by later after work to check the wi-fi. Well, great! Let’s eat! We stopped by a restaurant for some pretty gross tapas, and headed home to turn on our water and take a much needed shower!
Our host never arrived that night, but he was sure there bright and early the next morning! As it turned out, the wi-fi was broken, and needed to be fixed by the company. So we were wi-fi-less for about three days. At one point, we were standing on the street at 9pm, trying to FaceTime Javier’s sister, Angela, using wi-fi from a cafe that we had patronized earlier, but was now very closed- like every other building on the street. Kind of ghetto, we know.
FC Barcelona Megastore
The majority of the day was spent in the FC Barcelona store. Javier wanted to buy paraphernalia for the upcoming games, so we dedicated an entire day to get ready. I have to admit, I was a little leery of spending so much time in a store, but the way they have that place set up was so entertaining! I had no problem keeping myself busy wandering through the floors, looking at all the goodies. After several hours, and several euros later, we happily walked home with our heavy laden bags. Just when we thought the day couldn’t get any better, Javier spots a Peruvian restaurant right next to our apartment. Of course we went, twice actually, and had some pretty yummy Peruvian to end our great day.
Messi
On our first game day, we stopped by a Lebanese restaurant before heading out for the game. We were wearing our Barcelona best, and Javier was itching to get to the stadium. Our first game was the Catalan Derby- FC Barcelona vs Espanyol. Javier had spent a good amount of time listening to the hymn and trying to learn as much as he could. Of course, he tried to get me to also learn this hymn, but I guess my drive wasn’t as strong as his- go figure. We arrived early enough to get to our seats without rushing, found some snacks, and watched the team practice. We took lots of pictures and sang as much of the hymn as we could. The game was very entertaining. Messi scored a hat trick. Javier was absolutely beside himself, and I have to admit, I had a really, really good time too!
Cathedral
Since we had a day in between games, we decided to take our favorite walking tour. Our guide was Billy, an English kid who, like many, visited Barcelona and just never left. Billy was one of our better guides, and gave us some great history of Barcelona. Since it was around Christmas, we walked by the Cathedral and saw the Christmas market, and the most peculiar looking log with a face on one end and four little legs attached to it. This is when Billy told us the tale of Caga Tió. He started by explaining the the Catalans have a weird thing for poop. We didn’t really believe him at first, but once he started explaining, it all started coming together. So now, boys and girls, I will tell you the tale of Caga Tió…
Caga Tio
Catalan boys and girls do not believe in Santa, or any fat man wielding bags of presents, for that matter. Instead, they believe in Caga Tió, the magical log. Every family has a Caga Tió, which literally means “pooping log.” He comes in all sizes, but is basically a log on its side with a happy face on one end and four little pegs sticking out of the bottom to look like legs. He usually comes adorned with a cute little red sock hat as well. On the days leading up to Christmas, the children feed Caga Tió, and cover him with a blanket to keep him warm at
He shits wrapped gifts
night. On Christmas morning, the children go to another room and pray that Caga Tió will poop out presents for them. While they do this, mom or dad throws all the presents under Caga Tio’s blanket. When the children return, they grab their sticks (think of a baseball bat) and begin to beat Caga Tió with their bats while singing a special Christmas song. After a decent beating, the parents pull back the blanket to reveal all of the pooped presents- thank you Caga Tió. I cannot make this up.
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La sagrada Familia
But back to the tour! We walked by the major sites in Barcelona including the Gaudi house, la Padrera, and last but definitely not least, la Sagrada Familia. What magnificent structures! I really wanted to go inside, but we decided to wait for Javier’s family, and all go together. We ended our tour at the park, and found a fountain that showcases one of Gaudi’s earlier works. Since we were staying far from the downtown area, we decided to make our way back home before it became too dark.
We decided to take another tour the next day. I enjoyed this tour much more than the day before, even though our guide seemed like he was high the entire time. He took us to the Music Palace, which is one of my favorite buildings in Barcelona, pointed out some weird building that looks like hundreds of little black eyes have been stuck all over the
Gaudi genius.
building in the name of art, and he took us down one of the oldest streets in Barcelona where there are little tiles on the walls that depict what type of business was conducted in that place. Our guide told us that many of the businesses today still have something to do with the original business hundreds of years ago. He also pointed out that the much of the sidewalk in Barcelona was designed by Gaudi. Gaudi designed tiles that all fit together to form a pattern. Most people have no idea that they are walking on a such a special sidewalk! That night, thanks to a package deal, we took a tapas tour. We visited three or four different tapas bars, which allowed us to sample a wide variety of tapas and wine. At one of the last places, our guide brought out a porron. A porron is made of glass and is a pitcher with a long spout coming from the base of the pitcher. The porron is usually filled with wine. We had three, one with red wine,
Porron
one with cava, and the last, with water. We used the water porron to practice, and quickly moved on to the others. The purpose of the porron is that it can be shared by many people and no one has to share germs since it never touches your lips. You open your mouth, tilt back your head, and a small, steady stream pours into your mouth. At our last stop, Javier and I played pool with a German couple who were also on our tour, and walked to see some sights with our new friend, Akanksha. It was getting pretty late, so we decided to call it a night. We dropped
Akanksha and Jackie
Akanksha off at the train station, and made the long trek home, in hopes of walking off some of the alcohol. 🙂
The big day had finally arrived! We spent the first part of the day walking around our neighborhood and visiting Plaza Espanya. The Catalan region has outlawed bull fighting, and the former plaza de toros in our neighborhood had been converted into a shopping mall, so we decided to have a peek inside. When the time was finally upon us, we readied ourselves for the Champions League match- FC Barcelona vs PSG.
The Chaaampiooons!!!
You know…Javier writes a short synopsis of each city to help me remember when I finally get around to blogging, and for this portion of the story, he simply writes, “glory.” 🙂 We had very good seats for this game, and again, Javier was in heaven. One thing we learned from our tour was that at 17 minutes and 14 seconds into the game, the red and yellow catalan flags come out, and the crowd chants “In-inde-indepedencia!” 1714 was the year Catalan lost their independence to Spain, and every Barcelona game, the chant rings out for a few minutes starting at 17 minutes and 14 seconds.
Barcelona FC vs. PSG
We noticed it the first game, but didn’t know what was going on. Once we knew, and were waiting for it, it all seemed pretty darn cool. PSG scored first, and there were a couple of fans right in front of us who were slightly obnoxious in their cheering, but I have to give them credit, when Barcelona scored, they were very gracious and gave credit where credit was due. All in all, it was a great night. Javier couldn’t be happier, and again, I had a really great time as well. I told Javier, if we ever live in Barcelona, we need to become season ticket holders. As you can imagine, there was no argument from him. 🙂
Bye-bye Barcelona…for now.
To see more pictures of Barcelona, click HERE.