When I first found out I was going to be coming to Barcelona, everyone told me I needed to get used to eating dinner at midnight and not going home until the sun came up. The funny thing is, I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to late nights. Usually I get sleepy around 11pm to midnight and that means it’s time to find my bed. I had a bit of a laugh at first because the thought of me partying until the early hours... well I found it pretty unlikely.
Since I've been here however, I've become somewhat used to 3-4 hour dinners that last into the early hours and I've gotten home after 2am more often in the last couple of weeks than I have in the previous 5 years. I couldn't tell you what it is about this city that makes late nights seem like nothing, but perhaps part of it is that everything is delayed. For example, in my marathon classes last week, we would stop for breakfast at 11:30. Then lunch around 5 which them makes dinner at 10 or 11 seem much more reasonable.
This weekend has been a very important festival for Barcelona -- Fiesta de la Mercè. Apparently Spain has a mixture of national holidays like the US, but also city-wide holidays. Fiesta de la Mercè is in honor of Barcelona's Saint Mercedes -- which in Catalan is Mercè. Here on September 24th, the whole city is shut down and there are street fairs, live music, the parade of giants, human towers and a bunch of other things. Being Barcelona however, having a one day holiday is nonsense, so in reality the festivities are spread out from Wednesday night to Monday. People don't go to work and everyone is out in the streets partying and having a good time. And that leads me on to another difference I noticed here. You rarely see drunkenness in the streets -- and if you do, it tends to be the tourists. Now the Spanish do know how to drink, but like everything else, it’s much more laid back and occurs at a slower pace. While the activities for the Fiesta are important, most of the locals enjoy the holiday and sort of let it wash over them rather than going to every little thing -- again it seems that that is for the tourists.
Last night I reconnected with an MSB alum who one of my good friends in DC introduced me to. The alum is from Barcelona originally but spent many years working all over the world. He has been an incredible tour guide but has also helped me understand the Spanish mentality and culture a little more. Last night he showed me the Magic Fountain of Monjuic at Plaça d'Espanya. I highly recommend this spot -- on certain nights of the week at around 9pm they have a 1 hour show where they put the dancing fountains to music and lights in the foreground of the beautiful castle.
Following the show, we had a little tapas and then headed out to a party on a roof terrace just by las Ramblas. Once again I was warmly welcomed and managed to butcher my way through a few conversations. We got to the party around 11pm, food started coming out around midnight and a wonderful home-made tiramisu around 2am. Dancing started soon after and we headed out around 3:30 even though most people were still going strong. After a refreshing ride home on the back of a scooter I finally made it to bed around 4:30. So much for my 11pm bed time -- now I guess I really am going native!
Since I've been here however, I've become somewhat used to 3-4 hour dinners that last into the early hours and I've gotten home after 2am more often in the last couple of weeks than I have in the previous 5 years. I couldn't tell you what it is about this city that makes late nights seem like nothing, but perhaps part of it is that everything is delayed. For example, in my marathon classes last week, we would stop for breakfast at 11:30. Then lunch around 5 which them makes dinner at 10 or 11 seem much more reasonable.
This weekend has been a very important festival for Barcelona -- Fiesta de la Mercè. Apparently Spain has a mixture of national holidays like the US, but also city-wide holidays. Fiesta de la Mercè is in honor of Barcelona's Saint Mercedes -- which in Catalan is Mercè. Here on September 24th, the whole city is shut down and there are street fairs, live music, the parade of giants, human towers and a bunch of other things. Being Barcelona however, having a one day holiday is nonsense, so in reality the festivities are spread out from Wednesday night to Monday. People don't go to work and everyone is out in the streets partying and having a good time. And that leads me on to another difference I noticed here. You rarely see drunkenness in the streets -- and if you do, it tends to be the tourists. Now the Spanish do know how to drink, but like everything else, it’s much more laid back and occurs at a slower pace. While the activities for the Fiesta are important, most of the locals enjoy the holiday and sort of let it wash over them rather than going to every little thing -- again it seems that that is for the tourists.
Last night I reconnected with an MSB alum who one of my good friends in DC introduced me to. The alum is from Barcelona originally but spent many years working all over the world. He has been an incredible tour guide but has also helped me understand the Spanish mentality and culture a little more. Last night he showed me the Magic Fountain of Monjuic at Plaça d'Espanya. I highly recommend this spot -- on certain nights of the week at around 9pm they have a 1 hour show where they put the dancing fountains to music and lights in the foreground of the beautiful castle.
Following the show, we had a little tapas and then headed out to a party on a roof terrace just by las Ramblas. Once again I was warmly welcomed and managed to butcher my way through a few conversations. We got to the party around 11pm, food started coming out around midnight and a wonderful home-made tiramisu around 2am. Dancing started soon after and we headed out around 3:30 even though most people were still going strong. After a refreshing ride home on the back of a scooter I finally made it to bed around 4:30. So much for my 11pm bed time -- now I guess I really am going native!
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