After a much needed
good night’s sleep, they woke up to a bustling hostel. She went down to the
common kitchen to see young people from almost all around the world. She met an
incredibly sweet and innocent looking couple from Serbia, from whom she got the
inside information about places to see in Barcelona and the damages to the
pocket involved. They gave her some good tips, as they were on a really low
budget like her. Soon they got to talking about India and Serbia. She was
shocked to know that their currency was valued even lower than the rupee. She realized
the significance of that on their trip, and somehow felt connected to them. Talking
to them was a pleasure - their English was so beautiful and clear. She would
have loved to chat with the other inmates too, but everyone was quite busy with
themselves and not really interested in making conversations.
They started the day
searching for the Picasso Museum. Well, neither of them had much knowledge of
art, but then Picasso was a famous name. It was fun walking through the streets
of Barcelona. In the broad daylight, it didn’t so much look like the cities in
India. Here the buildings were huge, and quite European in structure. The
architecture was quite amazing, and she couldn’t stop taking pictures of them
despite the fact that they were just normal buildings. Finally they reached the
street which housed the Picasso Museum. She hadn’t expected that a museum can
be located in such a small lane, that it was accessible only by foot. However,
even such lanes were named as well as marked on the map. Also the names of even
the tiniest and shortest lanes were marked on the buildings – so it was close
to impossible to get lost in Barcelona. Their visit to the museum was short;
modern art was not something they had developed a taste for. They were more
excited about the fact that they got a discount on the entrance fee because
they were less than 25 years old.
Their visit to the
Gothic centre was much more fruitful. The cathedral here was quite beautiful
and majestic, but the famous Familia Sagrada was absolutely breathtaking. It
was immense, and still under construction, even after a 100 years of work. She
admired the dedication those people had to their work. It was evident in the
architecture, the carvings and the statues. There was a long wait for entering
the building, and they were not interested in spending hours in a queue. After
having seen many cathedrals and churches till now, they both had decided that
the outside of the structure would be far more interesting and unique compared
to the inside. Hence, they circuited the structure slowly, drinking in the
sight of the manmade beauty. She wondered what kind of person Antoni Gaudi
would have been – to dare to build something so unconventional. They walked to
the other buildings by Gaudi, and were astonished by each. Each was completely
different from the other, with very beautiful and strange colorings and
carvings. Many of those buildings were occupied by banks, but had some sections
open to the public. Unfortunately the entrance fee for most buildings was as
much as 10 Euro. They contended themselves to walk around and admire Gaudi from
outside.
By evening they reached the most happening street in Barcelona – La Rambla. The street was alive as if a carnival was going there. There were street musicians, people selling souvenirs and other wares, people dressed up as mascots, and so on. What impressed her most was those who painted themselves and stood like statues. She was awed at how still they could be, despite the bustling street. Her favorite was the invisible man – dressed in all silver including his hat. They found a small, quaint Italian restaurant, where she ordered Ratatouille pasta – that was the only name she could recognize in the menu due to the animation film of that name. Her friend warned her that people either like that dish a lot or just hated it. She was happy that she was among the former. It had been many days since she had a filling meal – being a vegetarian is quite difficult in the western world. That would be her best meal in the entire trip – she already knew that.
As they slowly walked
back to their hostel, she observed the people around. Again she couldn’t but
admire the fashion and style exhibited by people. It was more pronounced in
Barcelona compared the previous two places. Unlike the other two places, she
saw many people on the heavier side of the scale. Maybe it had to do with the
city life, which tends to be similar across the world. Sedentary lives spent in
the pursuit of money and power leading to increased inches around the middle of
one’s body.
She had been
surprised to see so many Indians in Barcelona. It was quite strange an
experience – to see familiar looking faces among the strangers. And to hear
sudden greetings like “Sasriyakaal” among the sea of fair skinned people
dressed in business formals. She realized that though she was enjoying the trip
immensely, she missed her home and people around. Not anyone in specific – but the
general exuberance and liveliness of Indians – who cannot stop chattering in
trains, who would not smile when their eyes meet with a stranger but would tell
the story of his life within minutes of being introduced, the tastes and smell
of the amazing street food, the warmth she felt even when she was among
strangers there. People in Spain were so much more polite, ordered and nice –
unlike Indians. But every attempt she had made to talk or know them had been
rejected very politely by them. They liked their privacy, unlike Indians.
She smiled, as she
tried to clear her mind of those thoughts. She loved her time in Spain, but
still wanted to go back home. She knew that it was exactly how every Indian
must have felt being anywhere other than India. Western world is amazingly
comfortable – clean, and organized and easy. But it lacked that one thing,
which no one can describe in words. The one thing which differentiates your
home from others.
To be continued…..
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