Thursday September 23, 2010 (I know, I know, I'm reallybehind!):Today started La Mercè, the activities of the day started with the opening parade that featured giants, devils, eagles, a monster and traditional Catalán music. I had a meeting to get all the information for my upcoming Morocco trip and therefore missed that first parade. Nikki (my roommate) and I headed to the Gothic quarter(which is one of the main places for things during the weekend) to meet up with our friends Lauren and Amy. Everything was packed but we managed to meet them for some sangria and tapas before heading to the beach for fireworks. Every night of La Mercè a different firework company from different countries does their best to wow the Catalans. Again, the metro was packed and it took a while to get down to the beach. We caught the end of the fireworks which were cool butnot all that impressive, sorry France or Canada. After wards we walked along the port and enjoyed the carnival that had been set up. We jumped on a ride called "The Frog" that spun a bunch and went up and down and we felt like little kids again, it was quite fun! Then we decided we wanted some cotton candy and convinced the cotton candy to make us one that was 2 or 3 times bigger than my head! (Picture to come). We ended our night there and headed home to get a good night's sleep and gear up for the rest of the weekend!
Outside there is a huge fountain that puts on a water and light show every Sunday night during most of the year. Because it was La Mercè it was basically a Magic Fountain Show on crack. There were tens of thousands of people there and not only did they have the water show with the light show, they also had music incorporated into it with fireworks accompanying it. It was by far and away the greatest show that I have ever seen. The Fireworks easily surpassed the Rosebowl fireworks on 4th of July and the music ensemble was fantastic, mixing American oldies with Spanish music. I have videos if anyone wants to see some of the show just email me! It was the perfect end to the greatest weekend in Barcelona.
Friday September 24, 2010:
So that early morning we had planned to get up for to see the most tradition part of the festival didn't happen. We slept in a bit and then got ready and headed back down to the Gothic Quarter for the Castells which are human towers. This tradition started in Tarragona, another city in Catalunya (the region of Spain where Barcelona is located).
So that early morning we had planned to get up for to see the most tradition part of the festival didn't happen. We slept in a bit and then got ready and headed back down to the Gothic Quarter for the Castells which are human towers. This tradition started in Tarragona, another city in Catalunya (the region of Spain where Barcelona is located).
Each neighborhood in Spain has a team or Castellas or the people who make up the towers and it is a great honor to be a part of this group. These towers can be any of a number of tiers and that is determined by the organizers (I think based on their previous performances). There are many ages represented in each tower and very young children are at the top. My neighborhood (Gracia) did really well and had one of the highest towers! It was a lot of fun to see some of the local traditions in Catalunya and some of the things that people of Barcelona pride themselves in. After the Castells finished, Nikki (my roommate), Amy (a friend in my program) and I headed out to walk around Barcelona. We came across a great Crepe place and had crepes for lunch. Afterwards Nikki and I did some sightseeing around the city and learned some of the easier ways to get from place to place avoiding the metro/busses/taxis and enjoyed a gorgeous day out in Barcelona.
Later that night we headed down the to beach and enjoyed fireworks once again. These were better than last night but still nothing all that special. It was also pretty windy and a little colder than desirable. We headed up to the forum to see GoldFrapp perform and that was a lot of fun also. Afterwards we headed back down to the beach to go to some of the discotecas and met some of the most obnoxious people on the metro. Luckily we went our separate ways and didn't see them again. We spent the night clubbing and getting soaked by the rain then made our way home.
Saturday September 25, 2010:
After the first two days of La Mercè, we were all pretty exhausted and needing to refuel so we decided to spend the day on the beach. It was a gorgeous day on the beach and then we headed home to enjoy a great dinner with our Señora Rafaela. After dinner we headed back into the city for what is truly the greatest thing I have ever seen and participated in, called Correfoc. It translates to "fire-run". Whatever that makes you think you are probably right but it's even crazier. The city sets up gates on a major street that become the opening to the gates of hell.
"Diablos" (people dressed as devils) walk the streets carrying chandeliers with roman candles on them. They proceed to light the roman candles and explode them into the crowd. There are also animals in the parade that that breathe fireworks. It was so much fun running through the fireworks and dancing in the streets with all the locals. American definitely needs to pick up on this tradition!
Afterwards we headed to the beach again to watch the fireworks from Valencia, another region in Spain that is known for their pyrotechnics. These were quite a show of fireworks, very very impressive. After the fireworks we headed to the Estrella (beer) factory and got cheap Barcelona beer and listened to the concerts that were going on near us. After that Nikki and I decided to call it a night and headed home to gear up for the last day of the festival.
Sunday September 26, 2010:
The marks the last day of La Mercè and another great one! I spent the day shopping in the tiny alleys of Barcelona and down at the port with Nikki. We got some great jewelry and great gifts for friends and family. We spend some more time at the beach and then went home to shower and get ready for the closing event of the weekend, The Magic Fountain Show. In one of the PLazas in Barcelona called Plaza Espanya, there is an old Royal Palace that has been turned into a museum for Catalan Art.
Outside there is a huge fountain that puts on a water and light show every Sunday night during most of the year. Because it was La Mercè it was basically a Magic Fountain Show on crack. There were tens of thousands of people there and not only did they have the water show with the light show, they also had music incorporated into it with fireworks accompanying it. It was by far and away the greatest show that I have ever seen. The Fireworks easily surpassed the Rosebowl fireworks on 4th of July and the music ensemble was fantastic, mixing American oldies with Spanish music. I have videos if anyone wants to see some of the show just email me! It was the perfect end to the greatest weekend in Barcelona.In an attempt to ride out the crowds we headed to one of our favorite bars in Barcelona afterwards called the George Payne. It is an Irish Pub that shows sporting events from around the world and has cheap drinks and good snack food. We had a couple of beers and talked about the amazing-ness of what we had just seen and how crazy it was that this is where we live.
It truly was an amazing weekend with amazing people!
No comments:
Post a Comment