Barcelona: The Spanish Sydney

By
Nadia Owen
– June 22, 2010Posted in: Featured

Spain’s cool, there’s no doubt about it. I feel like I can say that with some authority, despite only having been there twice, and both times to Barcelona. It’s got excellent food, fairly good-looking men, great weather, and they came up with the word siesta, and you know that that can only be a good thing.

Parc Guell

When I first went to Barcelona in 2007, it became the only city I had ever been to that made me homesick for Sydney. And when I went back there in early 2010, I was still convinced of the similarities between the two cities.

Sagrada Família

Barcelona’s cityscape is incredibly unique, influenced by both the Catalan architectural style and the hugely controversial style of Antoni Gaudí, whose style of design continues to unite and divide opinions globally. Major streets like La Rambla draw crowds in to enjoy the market atmosphere, where you can buy a canary or a cactus, art or sangria, or soak up the atmosphere while watching the street performances. The shopping is fairly decent too, on and off the major streets -Barcelona has a multitude of buzzing laneways and unique shops can be found in the Gothic Quarter, and mainstream clothing stores can be located in any of the shopping centres.

La Rambla

With an enviable beach culture, this city by the sea has got such a positive, relaxed vibe. Despite being a strict 7:30pm diner, it comes naturally to have dinner after 9pm. Any of the restaurants around La Rambla tend to compromise quality over financial gain, so I would recommend down around the Fossar de les Moreres (closest train station is Barceloneta) – try “Cal Pep” at least once. Surprisingly though, there are some substantial and decent cafes and restaurants down the Ramblas del mar in and around the shopping centre.

Churros

My must see sites:

- Sagrada Familiar (at day and night)
- Portal de l’Angel
- Casa Batllo
- Casa Mila
- Torre Agbar
- Parc Guell
- Barcelona Cathedral
- Olympic park (stop in to see the pool where Kylie filmed the clip for “Slow”)
- the view from La Font Magica

Mosaic

Images by Nadia Owen

About Nadia Owen

Nadia Owen is Sydney born, but has lived in London for the past 4 years, where she trawled the cocktail and canapé scene working in PR & Events. She enjoys baking, travelling, 1970s disco tracks, pouting, playing hide and seek with her pet Turtle, crying at any film, and rubbing shoulders with the rich and fabulous. Or the drunk and hilarious. Either way, she likes rubbing shoulders. Nadia has an unhealthy obsession with moving to Iceland, investing in costume jewellery, and buying shoes that she’ll never wear. A qualified hair and makeup artist, she also runs a business called Urban Gloss in her spare time, and has worked weddings as well as the London theatre scene including “Wicked”. Nadia is single-handedly trying to date her way through the United Kingdom in order to one day settle down with the Prince of some inconsequential Eastern European country and be famous for being awesome.