Andorra & Figueres
Don't get me wrong, I'm quite content to be living in BCN, but a few weeks ago I had had it up to *here* with the city. I was tired of being surrounded by buildings, honking cars, and a million people's second hand smoke. My only-child tendency of wanting a little solitude was also starting to come out, so for my sanity's sake I needed to escape the city.
I'd been in Lisbon by myself for 24-hours before meeting up with friends, but I figured it was time to have the experience of traveling completely solita. Andorra is a tiny country sandwiched along the border of Spain and France (aka the real life equivalent of Genovia for all you Princess Diaries fans out there); just a 3-hour ride away by bus with a Spanish speaking population, it seemed perfect. Andorra is known for its skiing (I lack the coordination to be considered any good), spas (definitely don't have room for that in the budget), and shopping (I may or may not have a minor shopping addiction), but I didn't really care what it was known for as long as I could get a change in scenery.
I quickly learned that Andorra is an odd little place. The entire country's population is barely bigger than the average suburb in the Twin Cities, meaning that it relies heavily on tourists to support the economy. When I left the center of town (which consists solely of stores, stores, and more stores), I learned that many of the hiking trails lead through a series of tiny towns, and the paths aren't actually in the woods but alongside main roads or through neighborhoods. The country also seems to have a flare for encouraging reckless pedestrians; you may think you've found a sidewalk on which you can safely travel, just to find that it gets narrower and narrower until disappearing altogether. This leaves you to forge ahead alongside traffic or dash across the street to where the sidewalk inexplicably picks back up again.
I haven't survived crossing the busy streets in BCN just to be smushed by a smart car in Andorra, so I eventually gave up my nature trek and found a park where I could have a picnic. It wasn't the prettiest thing I've seen in my life, but a little bit of nature was exactly what I needed. The retail therapy that took place the next day in the city's shopping center wasn't half-bad either. The country is overall quite charming and was the perfect trip to make by myself. Thank you, Andorra, for renewing the patience I so desperately needed before returning the metropolis that is my temporary home.
The next weekend took me north of BCN to the area known for being the home of artist Salvador Dalí. We arrived in Figures and went straight to the Dalí museum, which is housed in a refurbished theater and features several levels of various exhibits. "Abundant" doesn't even begin to describe the man's psychological problems (you need proof? He would put honey on his mustache to attract flies while he worked), but it was interesting to see the different ways he chose to express himself.
After the museum we took a carsickness-inducing bus ride through the mountains to the beach town of Cadaqués to see Casa Dalí. There we sat inside giant egg sculptures and visited the jewelry-wearing, lamp-holding, stuffed polar bear that decorates the house's entryway. Even better though than the house was our time to wander around the coastal area and enjoy the tranquility.
Being that the trip was organized by my program, we stayed overnight at a 4-star hotel in Figueres. Maybe I'm just easily impressed, but after staying in nothing but hostels where I have to share a bathroom with a dozen strangers, I would've been happy to park myself in front of the continental breakfast and never leave. I was reluctantly dragged away from the croissant-filled buffet so that we could go to the Sant Ferran Castle, Europe's largest military fortress situated high above town. Built in the 1700s, it has an incredibly interesting history and a system of cisterns that we were able to tour. The fortress survived two centuries' worth of foreign attacks (Napoleon among them), only to be damaged by the Republicans detonating their own supply of ammunition so that the Franco forces couldn't use it against them.
Before arriving in Spain I had no idea of the extent to which the Civil War still has on the country and its citizens. There's not a part of Spain that remained unscathed during the three-year-long conflict, and even today you'll find that most roads lead back to Franco:
Why is Spain Catholic in theory but not in practice? Because the Catholic church supported Franco, who in turn required that all Spaniards convert to Catholicism. People don't tend to take too kindly to malicious dictators determining their religion, hence the mass rejection of the Church post-dictatorship.
Why are the various areas of Spain are called Autonomous Communities? Because "region" was a word used by Franco and has a bitter taste to Spaniards.
Why are Spaniards (particularly Catalonians) generally accepting of refugees? Because they still have memories of their families fleeing the dictator and depending on the acceptance of other nations.
Why does the world think of paella, bulls, and flamenco when they think of Spain? Because this is the image that Franco promoted to the world during his 36-year-reign in order to encourage tourism to a politically isolated and economically challenged Spain.
Why is there such a huge rivalry between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid? Because Franco was an avid Madrid supporter, and a long history of referee and media corruption led to a tilted field against Barça. Even though Spain has been a democracy for 40 years now, to many people the teams still represent their respective governments and each match is a symbol of the fight for sovereignty.
Why is bullfighting illegal in Catalonia? Aside from it being a cruel practice, it's a symbol of Franco's legacy and his oppression of true Catalan culture.
History lesson aside, Figueres was the perfect mix of history, art, and nature and I can't recommend it enough for anyone who finds themselves with some spare time in BCN.
