Europe is complicated. And it seems to become more complicated with each passing year. A return to France and Spain (Paris, Barcelona and Granada) has left me with mixed feelings. Paris is damaged. Barcelona is so overwhelmed with tourists and frustrated with its own complex politics that it is no longer the gracious happy place I’ve come to know. And November is a surprisingly good time to visit Andalucia.
Concerned about the October 31st Brexit deadline and the October political demonstrations and riots in Barcelona before traveling, I arrived in Paris on Brexit day to find Brexit delayed, and a few days later I landed in a calm though uncomfortably crowded Barcelona. I expected to see a lot of small-scale destruction related to the protests in Barcelona which ended just before I arrived, but, in fact, I saw much more damage from the year-long Saturday gilets-jaunes demonstrations in Paris. Broken plate glass windows which have not been entirely shattered are common. I also walked down to take a look at Notre Dame, which had suffered a major accidental fire since I had been there last, and found the building in much worse shape than I had anticipated. On the other hand I found Granada to be just about perfect.
I stayed in a couple of new-to-me neighborhoods in Paris, Saint Lazare at the beginning of the trip and Denfert at the end. In Barcelona a friend was fired while I was there and the overall vibe of the City was different. Many ordinary residents have lost their apartments to airbnb, or are struggling to pay tourist-influenced escalating rents. Large organized clots of tourists following and connected by bluetooth headsets with guides are everywhere. In some parts of the Barri Gotic, I commonly saw three or four groups with fifty or seventy people within the limited confines of a small square. I did get out and spent a pretty crazy night bar-hopping with another old friend in the Raval. My relationships and familiarity with Barcelona date back to some time I spent there in language schools several years ago when the world economy was very weak and Barcelona was in an interlude of relative quiet. It is sad to see the city change and I hope it can solve the problems posed by large-scale organized tourism. I still love Barcelona. Once it becomes part of you, it is very hard, probably impossible, to let it go.
After Barcelona, Granada was charming, beautiful, quiet, and a little boring. I toured the Alhambra twice, spent a lot of time ambling up and down the steep streets on both sides of the fortress, visited a half-dozen churches, basilicas and cathedrals in the city center, and had a marvelous day wandering around the lovely Carmen de Los Martires gardens. I suspect my next visit to Spain will be to Granada, Cordoba and other southern cities in the Spring. I’m ready to let Barcelona go for a while. But just for a while.
Areas visited in Paris include the Church of Saint Augustine, Saint Lazare rail station, the old opera house, ile de la cite, ile saint louis, galleries lafayette, Montparnasse cemetery, and streets in the Denfert, Montparnasse, Clichy, Les Battignolles, and Saint Lazare neighborhoods.
Areas visited in Barcelona include el Born, Barri Gotic, Barceloneta, Gracia and El Raval. Areas visited in Granada are mentioned above.
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