Drum Magazine Issue 3 | Page 38

36

Drum: TRAVELS

1

Photography © Pasq ualantonio Pingue

Clockwise – 1: Close up of seating area in
Parc Guell, 2 . Alleyway in the Barri Gotic
Region 3. Casa Mila Chimneys

Strolling away from
my group and La
Rambla into the back
alleys of the medieval
old town (La Ciutat
Vella), I discovered a
hidden world.
2

3

Our guide for the tour was Robert, a gangly
Scotsman, with a weathered face, who had lived
in Spain for the best part of twenty years. Robert’s
Mediterranean existence became obvious as his
languid voice hypnotically outlined our itinerary
for the coming week.

The following morning was a trek across the city
to discover many of its artistic and architectural
treasures. We walked along the Avinguda de la
Diagonal, a long and decorous avenue that dissects
the city and seems arrogantly to announce its
beauty with every step we take.

The real Barcelona comes to life in the late evening
and the place to feel the pulse of this cosmopolitan
city is along the avenue known as La Rambla. The
scene is chaotic, with an ocean of people moving in
every direction. The variety of shops, cafes, kiosks
and languages adds to the excitement.

Robert deliberately plotted the approach to the
unfinished spectacle that is Gaudi’s Cathedral of the
Sagrada Familia. We came along a quiet back street
and emerged in front of the cathedral with the main
spires peeping out majestically above the trees –
sheer magic.

Strolling away from my group and La Rambla into the
back alleys of the medieval old town (La Ciutat Vella),
I discovered the hidden world of the city’s immigrant
community. On rickety street corners there were large
groups of animated Pakistani and Arabic men hanging
around cafes and black Africans selling a variety of
fake luxury goods from large shopping bags.

The delights of Barcelona are too many to mention
and require more space than I am being afforded,
but the experience of the cable car from Mont Juic
across the city and the astonishing sight of the Palau
Nacional from the Placa D’ Espanya are my firm
favourites.