We occupied the day by taking the standard bus tour of the town stopping off to stroll around the centre of town, inhabit coffee shops and visit the Barcelona Cathedral.
I am not sure if Barcelona knows what it wants to be – it seems to want to be part of Spain but to be fiercely Catalonian. It wants to be both modern and historic but does not have the style of the French to carry it off. . It is proud of its alternative architectural examples but seems to have tolerated them as individual structures rather that as part of city scape. As an example the modern, rounded, ceramic tiled roof of the city markets while attractive in itself looked to me like a piece of graffiti on the side of a church. It might have been good graffiti but it hardly does anything for the built environment.
As another example … there are two adjacent hills near the sea to the south west of the city. One is occupied with 15th-16th Century Church, the other by a 1970’s communication tower. As beautiful are both were they simply were never meant to sit beside one another.
The wharf area, the site of the 1992 Olympic games and the city’s equivalent of Darling Harbour while nice enough, all make you feel like they are in need of some tender love and care. As mayor of Barcelona I think I would buy each of the local street supervisors a high pressure washer. “It is not that the city is dirty – it is just that it needs a clean”
I hope none of this sounds like I don’t like Barcelona – that is not the case – the people are really nice and obviously proud of their city, the facilities are very good (with the possible exception of the parking) and there is a vibrancy about the place that is endearing. I got the sense that this is a place that has just lost its way a little and may need some redirection. Clearly the Olympic Games provided some drive for the city … at the moment perhaps it needs a final of the World Cup.
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