Beautiful Barcelona: Oh, The Places We’ll Go!
The Buttontapper Challenge is back! This month’s challenge is Seussily titled “Oh, the Places We’ll Go!” and will feature a new destination, daily, with inspiration from film and literature.
Today we’re traveling to Barcelona.
What makes Barcelona unique?
Barcelona is a Spanish city and the capital of Catalonia. Unlike the rest of Spain, where Spanish is primarily spoken, in Catalonia the primary language is Catalan.
Did you know that Spain actually has four official languages? They are Catalan, Castilian, Galician and Basque.
Barcelona is home to many amazing architectural sites, many of which are designated as World Heritage Sites, such as Antonio Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia:
In addition to its cultural contributions, Barcelona is also a great place to hit the beach! Barcelona’s beaches have been named some of the top 10 city beaches in the world by National Geographic and the Discovery Channel.
Films featuring Barcelona
One of my favorite films set in Barcelona is L’Auberge Espagnole – a French-Spanish film about a bunch of different students who all share an apartment during a year studying in Spain. The film touches briefly on the Catalan/Castilian language divide, as well as the melting pot of languages spoken within the shared household, and of course the various stereotypes people from different cultures have about one another – and how to handle them when you all live in close quarters!
More films set in Barcelona include:
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- Biutiful
- Barcelona (1994)
- Barcelona: A Love Untold
- En Construcción (Work In Progress)
- Food Of Love
- Inconscientes (Unconscious)
- Mujeres al Borde de un Ataque de Nervios (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)
- Pourquois Pas Moi? (Why Not Me?)
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Books about Barcelona
Instead of shamelessly stealing a list from Rick Steves’ website, I recommend you go there to check out his suggestions! And to those I will add:
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- The Angst-Ridden Executive by Manuel Vasquez Montalban (isn’t that a great title?)
- Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
- Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
- The Lonely Hearts Club by Raul Nunez
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Have you ever been to Barcelona?
What did you most enjoy about visiting this city?
