{"id":3699,"date":"2011-12-19T16:03:15","date_gmt":"2011-12-19T14:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/?p=3699"},"modified":"2011-12-19T16:03:15","modified_gmt":"2011-12-19T14:03:15","slug":"second-impressions-of-barcelona-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2011\/12\/19\/second-impressions-of-barcelona-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Second Impressions of Barcelona, Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"

First impressions can mean a lot. It’s taking your knowledge of something or someone (probably close to 0) and filling that cup entirely in one shot. But I don’t believe first impressions are the definitive insight into that person or place, and with time you can peel back all the layers.<\/p>\n

Barcelona has a secret place in my heart because it was the first destination on my move to Europe and Italy. You can read what exciting thing happened to me the moment I landed<\/a>. Years later, the things that stick in my mind aren’t the museums and sights of Barcelona but the time I spent with other people, and how I was getting to know myself in an unfamiliar place.<\/p>\n

Here’s an excerpt from a post when I first landed in 2003 (now private, I have to keep some secrets!) on a day when I wandered in Barcelona and found Gaudi:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I have hours to kill before I have to be back at the train station, so I stash my big bag and head out to see Parc G\u00fcell<\/strong>, where I was eager to see all of Gaudi’s designs. I am armed with a metro map and a guide book with no metro indicators or information. I take the metro stop that looks to be the closest, get off, and start walking. After missing a few signs, I finally find one that says Park Guell and I follow\u2026follow\u2026follow. I see the last sign pointing to the right, and then a dirt path. I start walking up it, and then stairs, and more stairs, and then some more stairs. Each level of stairs I get to has a dirt path running off each side, around the mountain I am scaling. After a while, I imagine the mountain beginning to taunt me.<\/p>\n

Pretty soon, I’ve done more stairs than a Power Hour of Buns of Steel, and I’ hot and thinking that I am not lost, but hoping I will end up somewhere in the vicinity of where I am trying to be. I see not a single person, so at least I won\u2019t get mugged. After getting my day\u2019s exercise, I stumble out onto a clearing, of a breathtaking view of Barcelona from up high. I am actually above Park Guell, and I get a great view of the city as well as the undulating bench that I love.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is close to what I saw after an hour of wandering (from this latest trip):<\/p>\n

\"Panorama<\/a><\/p>\n

That said, my first trip to Barcelona was full of the things I was experiencing at the time: utter freedom, lack of direction, and fear of making mistakes that led me to hang out with four Irish guys for a few days while we took in the sights, drank beer & absinthe, and tried to stay up all night and lose myself in the party that is summer in Barcelona.<\/p>\n

I had a great time. Barcelona showed me a side of herself, the fun-loving, party side.<\/p>\n

This trip to Barcelona was completely different (much like my second trip to New York City<\/a>…seeing a pattern here?). While before I stuck to easy questions like “What’s your favorite color?” and “Name 3 places you’d like to visit before you die,” our second date was completely different. We got inside each other’s heads, shared embarassing pictures our moms had been saving, and leaned on each other while we waited for the bathroom. Like old girlfriends.<\/p>\n

I lost a few pictures of my first trip to Barcelona, but I’m sure the majority of the photos were like the one above – looking at what was around me, thinking it was making an impression on me, and using those pictures as reflections of what I thought was the makeup of the city.<\/p>\n

This time around, I have very few scenic pictures, and a whole lot of people pictures. A lot of people like me, taking in doses of the city as background settings for the real memories they’ll have – of the people they met, shared a moment with, and absorbed their impression of Barcelona through reflections in their eyes.<\/p>\n

I was lucky to be there with two of my favorite people in the world, who were visiting Barcelona for the first time, and who were also so cool that I didn’t have to play tour guide or pack a week’s worth of sightseeing into a weekend. We threw away the Top 10 lists and pared it down to a Top 3 with a whole smattering of eating, drinking, and enjoying the city thrown in. A short weekend, but at such an easy pace we enjoyed ourselves.<\/p>\n

That’s how we found ourselves in a bar in the middle of the center filled with only locals who drew us into their jokes, their love stories, their amazing 3-piece band, and had us stumbling home after 4am after passing an entire night with new friends.<\/p>\n

That’s how we found ourselves in the middle of Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria (or La Boqueria), all crowded around a small corner of a bar table and one bar stool, sipping Cava and munching on fried artichoke chips, and waiting for the time when we could all sit down and eat at El Quim and stay there for the next 3 hours, without a care in the world.<\/p>\n

I can’t wait to share that meal with you, but for now I’ll share my second impressions of Barcelona with you.<\/p>\n

What’s a city you gave a second chance to?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow Ms. Adventures in Italy<\/a> on Facebook, follow Sara on Twitter @Rosso<\/a>, and learn more about her other websites<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Old<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Onlooker<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First impressions can mean a lot. It’s taking your knowledge of something or someone (probably close to 0) and filling that cup entirely in one shot. But I don’t believe first impressions are the definitive insight into that person or place, and with time you can peel back all the layers. Barcelona has a secret…<\/p>\n

Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[121,7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3699","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-spain","7":"category-abroad","8":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4uB1-XF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3688,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/30\/what-im-craving-fried-artichoke-chips-from-la-boqueria-market-barcelona\/","url_meta":{"origin":3699,"position":0},"title":"What I’m Craving: Fried Artichoke Chips from La Boqueria Market, Barcelona","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"November 30, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"These crispy, hot bites with a tender finish and that sweet aftertaste artichoke hearts leave in your mouth when you eat them alone. These particular fried artichoke chips, or in Spanish chips de alcachofas fritas, (even more fun, in Catalan: xips de carxofes fregides) we devoured (and then savored when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Favorites"","block_context":{"text":"Favorites","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/favorites\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fried Artichoke Chips eaten at La Boqueria Market, Barcelona","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7155\/6431693621_871ec92e4f_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7155\/6431693621_871ec92e4f_z.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7155\/6431693621_871ec92e4f_z.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4253,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2012\/09\/24\/what-im-craving-quail-eggs-and-sobrasada-from-el-celler-de-can-roca\/","url_meta":{"origin":3699,"position":1},"title":"What I’m Craving: Quail Eggs and Sobrasada from El Celler de Can Roca","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"September 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I didn't think I'd end up going to Spain 3 times in the last 12 months, after having waited to visit it until I moved to Europe in 2003, and then not again until last year, but there you have it. I have a soft spot in particular for Barcelona,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discovering Food"","block_context":{"text":"Discovering Food","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/discovering-food\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Quail eggs and Sobrasada from El Celler de Can Roca in Spain","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_7960_s.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_7960_s.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_7960_s.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/IMG_7960_s.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":366,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/07\/16\/eggplant-melanzane-sottolio\/","url_meta":{"origin":3699,"position":2},"title":"Pickled Eggplant under Oil – Melanzane Sott’Olio","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"July 16, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"It's funny the things that make you nostalgic. It's sticky hot here in Milan, and for the first time I won't be going back to California for the summer. This time four years ago, I had already left California for Italy, and I made a pit stop in Spain since\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Appetizer"","block_context":{"text":"Appetizer","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/recipe\/appetizer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Pickled Eggplant under Oil - Melanzane Sott'Olio","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.static.flickr.com\/1327\/825013157_00ce1f2d2d.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3713,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2012\/01\/02\/2011-year-in-review-in-pictures\/","url_meta":{"origin":3699,"position":3},"title":"2011 Year in Review in Pictures","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"January 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I started my Year in Review in Pictures in 2009 (2010's review, 2009's review) as a complement to my text-heavy Year in Review full of tools, sites, and statistics I started in 2006 - I'll be posting that later this week. In January, I started to share some pictures from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Me"","block_context":{"text":"Me","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Thai Coconut Ice Cream on a Hot Dog Bun in Bangkok, Thailand","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm6.static.flickr.com\/5123\/5348824772_5ff1fc07f1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5050,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/08\/what-im-craving-chocolate-chip-cookies-from-eric-kayser-in-paris\/","url_meta":{"origin":3699,"position":4},"title":"What I’m Craving: Chocolate Chip Cookies from Eric Kayser in Paris","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"September 8, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Two months ago I had a quick trip to Paris. And now, I can't stop thinking about a chocolate chip cookie. A chocolate chip cookie? Not a macaron, a croissant, or a lovely little tart? In France? I had good intentions in France, I really did. I went in search\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Food"","block_context":{"text":"Food","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/food\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Paris Opera House, on Ms. Adventures in Italy by Sara Rosso","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_2914-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_2914-1024x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_2914-1024x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":393,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/09\/24\/pasta-alla-norma-and-welcome-to-sicily\/","url_meta":{"origin":3699,"position":5},"title":"Pasta alla Norma and Welcome to Sicily","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"September 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Wait, we're in Sicily already! 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