I took the Sant Joan funicular up to the top, the Natural Park of Montserrat—what a steep ride! Full disclosure: I did not google what to visit here or where to walk, preferring to experience via exploration. Perhaps not the smart tourist thing to do…but it felt right. And I had an absolute blast, crawling up sketchy trails that were first laid five hundred years ago or more, discovering ruins, and photographing beautiful scenery! Barely anyone passed. It was like being a kid, finding adventure around every corner. Later research described the area I explored as the Hermitages trail or medieval hike. Fun stuff! There is so much on that mountain to see, but I contented myself with the hours long quest, even finding (and leaving) a shard of old pottery. Montserrat is a special place, go visit!
The next day it was time to patron the Picasso museum. It’s a small exhibition and spans his entire career. He was an extremely talented person, even from a young age, and his stylistic experiments were broad. I had to smile while listening to the audio guide. The way that art historians idealize the working process of artists makes it sound so romantic, with every stroke a planned expression of angst and wisdom. As an artist’s daughter, and having known a number of artists, this is not always the case. Sometimes they draw for pleasure, others to work on brush technique, others mindlessly doodling, others to pay the bills. Yes, there is dedication and passion, absolutely, but not the way that it is often romanticized. Anyway, the Picasso museum is worth a visit! (It’s nestled in or nearby Barrio Gotic, a part of the city that continues to be one of the best places to visit. Old, ancient, and new all blend together here.)
The weather has been fantastic and it would have been a shame to spend all of it indoors following the museum…so off to the beach it was! Barcelonetta is a popular area for its seafood and seaside. It was a nice walk. I expected the Mediterranean Sea to be much warmer than it was, remembering its temperature from a visit to southern Italy as a child. Nope, chilly! There are also no shells, for some reason, only a good amount of sand with small stones and pebbles along the shoreline. And was the sand was filthy. Cigarette butts, discarded cups, plastic, glass, etc. Perhaps the other beaches I’ve visited in other countries have some kind of trash service or clear rules on littering, but this one clearly doesn’t. I sat on the beach for a total of forty-five minutes and during that time span was harassed by six different beachside vendors to buy whatever they were selling, sometimes two of them talking to me at the same time. One woman offered a massage for five Euros and refused to take many “no”s for an answer, going so far as to start touching my shoulders. It was necessary to yell and move away at this point. She finally left. Things settled a bit and the rhythm of the waves started to lull away the stress. A few people passed along the surf and something started to tickle my awareness. Oh, there’s a naked person. The dude strolled past, mid-conversation with the an invisible companion, making his way to the far side of the beach and then crossing back again. Not a problem, but not an expected sight in Barcelonetta. Altogether it was a bit of an odd trip to the beach.
The next day I took another trip to Sitges to visit friends and finally got some nice pics!
We all decided to go back to Barcelona and go see Font Màgica. The fountain show is incredibly touristy, but so worth a viewing. It’s absolutely beautiful. Go if you can!
Tomorrow I fly back to Amsterdam, then next day to New York, and the day after that to Montana. So. It’s the last full day here and I’m a bit sad to be leaving this adventure behind. But the trip length has been perfect—not too short, not too long. Goldilocks would be pleased. It’s a big world out here and I’m so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to see a part of it!
Until the next adventure,
Immanuela
