Spain, Part 1: Or is it Catalonia?

Next destination: Spain!

We spent several days in Barcelona on our way to Reus to visit the family of our exchange student, Laia.

Well … I know I said we were in Spain, but Laia’s family would tell you we were in Catalonia.
They are separatists, like many in this province in the northeast corner of the country who are seeking independence from Spain. Since I’m not a historian, I will refer you to a nice article from the BBC explaining this political crisis “in 300 words.” (We are of course on the CatalanTeam.)

Source: BBC News

We saw signs of this conflict everywhere.

There are two official languages in Catalonia: Catalan and Spanish. More fiercely loyal Catalan enterprises would have signs and menus only in Catalan, which seems to be a mish-mash of Spanish, French and Italian. Most people in the city speak some English, although this was more of a challenge further afield.

Spanish National Day celebrants near Placa de Catalunya

We were in Barcelona on Oct. 12 for National Day or Fiesta Nacional de Espana in Spain. It was a national holiday and people celebrated with huge rallies in the central square in Barcelona, Placa de Catalunya. But separatists rebuffed the event, working as usual and displaying their version of the Spanish flag, which has yellow stripes, from their balconies.

Anyway, back to sightseeing …

The weather

The weather, mid-60s to mid-70s in mid-October, was balmy compared to frigid Iceland, though we did need to keep jackets on hand for the occasional rain showers.

We will share a few tidbits about our days in Barcelona and Reus in the next couple of blogs.

Next … Part 2: Barcelona