Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Fall 2013 - (Page 40)

FA L L I N G I N L O V E W I T H … BARCELONA A CITY TO WANDER THROUGH, TO MARVEL AT, TO FEAST IN, BARCELONA IS A HOME THAT NO ONE CAN LEAVE, SAYS RICHARD SCHWEID T The first few times I passed through Barcelona, in the early 1970s, the cit y registered as gritt y, grimy and gray. It was an industrial por t, where residents were separated from the Mediterranean by railroad tracks and warehouses that sat along an unsightly coast. There were slivers of dir t y beach along the seaside neighborhood of Barceloneta, its narrow, shadowy streets and small flats home to the city’s fishermen and their families. A few screened-in, low cement-block kiosks at the edge of the sand ser ved fresh, cheap, delicious seafood, but the beaches were far from the kinds of destinations favored by tourists in search of sand and sun. And the streets of the Barri Gòtic (Gothic quar ter), where I stayed, were patrolled by no-nonsense police — it was better to be lost than to ask for directions. But what a place to be lost in for a youngster like me from Nashville! I spent days walking through streets that had been full of life for well over a thousand years. Rambles through the Gothic quarter would yield remarkable wonders: opulent palaces from the 15th centur y on the street named Montcada; the strikingly plain and powerful Santa María del Mar Cathedral; the Plaça del Rei, where Columbus is said to have repor ted to Ferdinand and Isabella on his return from his first voyage to the New World. And all of these sites were built on ruins of first-centur y Roman Barcelona lying just beneath the ground, or hidden behind a medieval wall. 40 W W W. R I T Z C A R LT O N . C O M HIGH ART The ceiling of the Sagrada Familia basilica, Antoni Gaudí’s still-in-progress masterpiece. http://WWW.RITZCARLTON.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Fall 2013

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Fall 2013
Contents
Contributors
Editor’s Letter
President’s Letter
Falling in Love With ... Barcelona
Design
Shopping
Beauty
Gifts
Jewelry
Watches
Behind the Scenes
Family
Local Knowledge
Outdoors
As It Was
Culinary
Let Us Stay With You
Heritage

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Fall 2013