Another wonderful place I had a chance to experience in
Barcelona this time was beautiful Parc de la Ciutadella and the Arc de Triomf
area. I really feel bad (and slightly embarrassed) that I never visited this
area while living in Barcelona. Arc de Triomf really is an impressive work of
art and Parc de la Ciutadella with its beautiful waterfall is a perfect place
to escape the busy city life.
The park was full of people simply enjoying the beautiful spring
day and each other’s company. You could see people from different nationalities
talking, eating, signing, playing games and even dancing around. Everybody
seemed to have something in common, they all seemed to genuinely enjoy life and
the moment their living! This was also the point when I once again was thinking
how truly grateful I am to get to experience the wonderful places like this.
I’m finally back from a short visit to lovely Barcelona.
Even after living there for two years, the city still keeps on surprising me. It’s
vibrant cosmopolitan atmosphere, cultural sights and beaches really make it one
of the most wonderful cities in the world. I was also lucky enough to have the best possible weather for
the time of the year while I was there. My days there pretty much consisted of enjoying the sunshine
in the lovely cafes, walking around the city and meeting up with old friends.
Barcelona is quite a big city, and even after living there,
I can’t say I'm familiar with all the different areas. Eixample, and
especially the left hand side of the Passeig the Gracia, was quite unfamiliar
to me. This time I got to spend a lot of time in this part of the city since
few of my friends live there. And I must admit, if I ever would move back to
Barcelona, I would definitely love to live here. When mentioning Eixample, a
lot of people might think about the Passeig the Gracia area, full of luxurious
shops and hotels. However, Eixample has a lot more to offer. In l’Eixample you
can find a lot of small cafes and amazing restaurants. One of the places I got to experience was Brunch and Cake, and I can definitely recommend the place. The cafes philosophy
is “In grandmothers we trust” - everything in the place is done by hand and
they only use the best possible ingredients. Especially on the weekends, I
would definitely recommend booking a table. The place seemed to be extremely
popular between both locals and tourists. I went there for a Saturday brunch
and the place was busting with people.
Tomorrow I’m off to Barcelona. I used to live in Barcelona and I do have a lot of wonderful memories from this city. I think Barcelona has something for everyone- beach,
sights, shopping, and not to forget about football.I promise to tell you a lot more about this
wonderful city in my future posts. But for the next few days, I will focus on
experiencing this city all over again and taking a lot of beautiful pictures.
I have always struggled to answer this question.
When people ask me where I’m from, I hardly ever answer Estonia. That’s simply
because I don’t have that many memories of Estonia or living there. And I guess
also partly because hardly anyone ever knows where Estonia is. “Oh Russia you
mean”, I can’t even count how many times I have heard that sentence. However,
my passport still says that I’m Estonian and that’s something I would never
change. I don’t think I have a particularly strong national identity, but I am
proud of the country I’m born in and the fact that despite all the difficulties
the nation has encountered they have never lost their spirit.
Estonian’s might seem quite closed up and shy in
the beginning. I guess this might have something to do with the history.
Estonia has been occupied by several different countries during the course of
history, and I guess because of this, it’s a second nature to Estonian’s to expect that the foreigners
will only want to take over their wonderful land. However, when you get to know the Estonian’s,
they can just turn out to be the kindest people you will ever meet. Their English
might not be perfect, but they will find a way to communicate with you. They
will invite your their home, will offer
you the last piece of bread and butter in the house to make you feel truly
welcome. So if you ever get a chance to visit this lovely country I suggest you
will get to know the locals. Because you might just develop friends for life!
This song from my childhood makes me always miss Estonia and
makes me feel proud to be Estonian. It’s from a movie called “Viimne Reliikvia”,
which can be considered as a cult movie in Estonia. I guess the song describes my spirit quite well as well.