Peignoir season lasted exactly one day. Valencia has been showering me with sunshine so I’ve been gratefully receiving the rays at the beach and on terraces all around the city. And beyond! I went to soak up some more sun a four hour blablacar drive north of the hometown: in Barcelona, baby!
I don’t remember the last time I explored that dream of a city, but it must have been more than 10 years ago. It felt like discovering a new place and let that be one of my favourite things to do. You need to know I went to visit a friend who is moving back to Valencia this weekend, so I was lucky I got to catch her in Barcelona for her last week there. Things didn’t go as planned. Or rather, the feelings felt. I’ll explain.
From the first moment I stepped out of the blablacar with my waterproof winter boots and umbrella because it was raining like crazy, something magical happened. It just stopped raining and all predicted forecasts were thrown in the trash and burned by the blazing sun that decided to take over. Also, I fell deeply in love with Barcelona and her gorgeousness. With my eyes and mouth wide open, I roamed the streets in awe of so much beauty. Every single random apartment building is a piece of art. I remember I loved all of Gaudí’s works, but clearly I had forgotten about the pretty streets lined with big trees, the hidden squares everywhere, how each and every bar is the definition of cosiness.
It was love at first sight and I think my infatuation was contagious, because my friend who was stoked to be moving back to Valencia, got that twinkle in her eye too. “Shall we look for a place together?” She asked me. “I’m happy with my flat in Valencia”, I said. “No, I mean here in Barcelona”, she laughed. And she didn’t know it then but she sure planted a seed in my head. "I’ll move here one day" was on repeat in my mind for the rest of my stay in the city. I shared that thought with as many people as possible to make it sound more real.
I didn’t even visit any of the Gaudí wonders this time. I wasn’t very prepared and for most of them you need to get tickets in advance. We made it to Park Güell but the tickets sold out right in our faces so we decided to play tourist differently: we let the city guide us and serve us vermut along the way. I came back to Valencia with new butterflies in my belly and another dream added to the fluffy place where dreams reside.
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