Wandering in Barcelona, Lusting for More
Wanderlust has become more than just a popular phrase, plastered on Tumblr or Instagram, romanticizing travel. I feel it in my bones. One week in Barcelona was not near enough. In a country so different from where I come from, I felt a sense of home. Perhaps it was the beach, but more likely it was the friendly and leisurely nature of everyone around me. I felt all at once an incredible passion for life and the ease with which to enjoy it.
My last day there was the one I loved the most. I spent the day in Park Güell and Sagrada Família, unconsciously beginning a love affair with Antoni Gaudí. I saw not only artistry and skill in his architecture, but also an understanding of life, death, and spirituality that I have never seen before. I’ve never experienced such a metaphysical connection to a place before visiting Sagrada Familía, and learning about his passion for not only architecture but also nature and the heavens was incredibly inspiring. I’m not a particularly religious person, but somehow I felt that he captured how I feel about spirituality and life through his work. For me, Gaudí is everything I love about Barcelona, travelling, and being.
Barcelona was a huge catalyst for me in continuing my experience abroad. I felt self-sufficient in an almost effortless way; navigating the metro system and communicating with others had become a second nature. But I learned that I could do more than survive in a new city. I could find passion and love for a new place, even when I was far from the people I love the most. Writing from Edinburgh over a month later from being in Barcelona, I can tell you that the loneliness from travelling alone cannot parallel the sheer amazement I feel for these experiences.
Barcelona did more than just make me want to return to Spain. My experience in the city made me more excited than I’d ever been to continue travelling and find love for new things. I wanted to stay forever and keep moving on at the same time. I wanted to know Gaudí, but I wanted to meet new people and experience their work as well. Barcelona helped me forge a love affair with not only Gaudí and the place itself, but with myself as a traveller. I fell in love with the people, the food, the beach, the architecture, and the parrots among the trees. I’ve been to Paris, but Barcelona is the city of love.
Barcelona, you were so good to me.
I can’t wait to return. And I can’t wait to see more.
