Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Barcelona, what comes to mind when you mention this city?

My first trip to Barcelona was in February 2017, which was still the Chinese Lunar New Year period, and the Spring Festival holiday hadn’t ended yet. Winter in Spain isn’t colder than in Beijing; a light down jacket can basically handle the cold all day. In the morning, I took a train directly from Madrid Railway Station to Barcelona, with a journey of about four hours. Although the speed of Spanish trains can’t compare with those in China, the train I took was still an express train. In terms of interior decoration and cleanliness, it’s not as good as those in Switzerland, but it’s still decent.

Camp Nou

I arrived in Barcelona in the morning. After quickly having breakfast at McDonald’s in the station, I started figuring out how to take the subway to my first stop in my heart — Camp Nou. Camp Nou isn’t very far from the railway station; it can be reached by subway, but you still need to walk for a while. After asking a local uncle along the way, he pointed out the direction for me. I walked along the street he mentioned, and before long, I saw the stadium. To be honest, it didn’t seem particularly special from the outside. I bought a tour ticket and walked into Camp Nou along the guidance. I have to say, only when you enter Camp Nou do you really enter the world of football. I saw the long-awaited stands, the classic logo, and the towering roof.

Distant view The famous M.S.N trio back then The full view of the stadium. I remember Ronaldinho shot the famous “five hits on the crossbar” commercial in this stadium. Player tunnel Commentary desk view

Champions League winning photos

The club’s museum has a large number of photos, trophies, players’ jerseys and shoes, etc. The history and glory of the club can be seen at a glance here.

The 1992 Champions League champion. I hadn’t started watching football at that time, but I saw Cruyff. In 2006, they defeated Arsenal 2-1 to win the Champions League. This game laid the foundation for the Dream Team II era. They defeated Manchester United 2-0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to win the Champions League (video). In that game, Messi scored a classic header next to Manchester United’s famous center-back Ferdinand, who is more than a head taller than him. The Dream Team III era began, standing above Europe. They defeated Manchester United 3-1 at Wembley Stadium to win the Champions League. Rooney’s equalizer, Messi’s long-range shot, Ferguson’s involuntarily trembling hands…

Unfortunately, I had a fever after visiting Camp Nou on the first day. I rested in the hotel all afternoon. I thought I could hold on, but it got worse in the evening, so I had to go out to buy medicine. Pharmacies are everywhere on the streets of Barcelona. Fortunately, the clerk’s English was good, and I successfully bought fever medicine. In fact, the fever had already started when I was visiting Toledo, but it just broke out in Barcelona. When I told the clerk the reason, a male customer next to me said to the clerk in Spanish in a teasing tone, “Toledo, huh?” Then the two of them smiled knowingly. I thought at that time that maybe because Barcelona is located in Catalonia, which has been independent since ancient times, so psychologically, they might not think Toledo, the birthplace of Madrid, is anything special.

I felt much better when I got up early the next day. Since I was going back to Madrid that night, the whole itinerary was focused on — Gaudí.

Sagrada Família

Sagrada Família is a masterpiece by the master Gaudí. This church, which has a history of 100 years, is still unfinished and is expected to be completed in a few years. Since tickets need to be booked one day in advance, I couldn’t enter Sagrada Família and could only admire its beauty from the outside.

The famous Casa Milà and Casa Batlló are also Gaudí’s masterpieces and are buildings I really like. The tickets are not cheap, about 20+ euros.

Casa Milà

Casa Batlló

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