Just Go to Barcelona

I was going to do part two of traveling through Spain, this time from Barcelona.  But let me just say this.  I lived in Madrid for a year; I've been to Barcelona for only two days.  I felt more welcome in Barca.  So here's my (revised) take on traveling through Spain.  Go to Madrid and thereabouts to see Spain.  Along with Leon and Toledo, Madrid has been the capital of what everyone in the English-speaking world knows as "Spain" for nearly a thousands years.  Barcelona ain't part of that.  Castilians fought the Reconquista against the Caliphates of Cordoba and Granada for control of the deserts of La Mancha and Murcia.  The Aragonese (and the Portuguese) thought that was a complete waste of money.  They built merchant fleets and set up trading routes.  Oh, and they speak different languages.  Catalan, spoken in Barcelona is closer to French than the lispy Castellano that the rest of the world calls "Spanish."  So don't go to Barca to see "Spain."  Go to Barca to see Catalonia and its beautiful coast and mountains or as a gateway to the forests of Asturias.  But do go.  By sea, if possible.

As you approach Barca from the Mediterranean, you immediately notice two things: first, there is a magnificent (and sprawling) castle overlooking the industrial port; second, the beaches here are actually enhanced by the infrastructure, the broad placas inviting people to enjoy a communal beach experience.

Geography, history, and culture conspire to make Spain's two great cities rivals and, sometimes, incomprehensible to each other.  While Madrid has neo-Roman monuments everywhere, Barcelona's intersections and roundabouts have whimsical statues and... well, I'm not sure what to call an installation that arches from one boulevard to another.  Whatever this project technically is, I like it.  And it damn sure beats Madrid's Valley of the Fallen.  The palm trees of course, don't hurt.

The Las Rambles promenade... well, go and see for yourself.  Where else are you going to find pet shops and gladiators on the same street?