My neighborhood is in the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic) which is the oldest part of the city of Barcelona. This is where the first Roman settlement was, and was the main part of the city until the expansion in the middle of the nineteenth century. The gothic quarter is known for its narrow, winding streets, and was the center of all trade and business in Barcelona until the city expanded due to urban sprawl. The street I live on (Portaforissa) literally translates to 'Iron Door' because at the end of the street was a giant iron door that would be closed each night to keep the inhabitants safe from an unwanted attack or from a potentially diseased stranger who had not stayed a month in quarantine outside of the city walls to make sure he was safe to enter. Each night all entrances to the city would be closed, except for one the Porta de Angels, which was always left open in case the King needed to make an emergency entrance or exit to the city. My apartment is only about 30 meters from La Rambla, one of the most well known streets in all of Spain. This is a very touristy area and is always extremely crowded with foreigners, street venders, and pickpockets. Living in La Rambla is exciting because there is always something going on, but sometimes I grow tired of the noise, and the excessive crowds always milling about doing their shopping, and wonder what it is like to live in X'iample in a quiet apartment. I also have to remind myself that my roommates and I have fantastic location to the beach, nightlife, great restaurants, and most importantly to CEA globalcampus. I shop for groceries at a small market by my apartment, and also at a supermarket for harder to find items, but when I am looking to buy fresh fish, fresh fruit and vegetables or some interesting meat or succulent fruit juices I always head to the Boqueria Market. This is a market just on the other side of La Rambla from me, and dates back to the very beginning of the 18th century. At the back side of the market is my local library, the Biblioteca Sant Pau Sant Creu de Barcelona, a library with roots which are also a couple hundred years old. This massive library has beautiful architecture and houses thousands of books. Here people can get on the computer, check out cds, magazines, or just come and hang out in the courtyard which is beautiful and has some nicely planted trees. While I would have liked to live in a more peaceful neighborhood during my stay in Barcelona, I can honestly say that out of the entire CEA group, my roommates and I have by far the best location out of any students and for that I am thankful. This has been one crazy month and there is no detail I will ever forget from this fantastic trip.
My neighborhood is in the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic) which is the oldest part of the city of Barcelona. This is where the first Roman settlement was, and was the main part of the city until the expansion in the middle of the nineteenth century. The gothic quarter is known for its narrow, winding streets, and was the center of all trade and business in Barcelona until the city expanded due to urban sprawl. The street I live on (Portaforissa) literally translates to 'Iron Door' because at the end of the street was a giant iron door that would be closed each night to keep the inhabitants safe from an unwanted attack or from a potentially diseased stranger who had not stayed a month in quarantine outside of the city walls to make sure he was safe to enter. Each night all entrances to the city would be closed, except for one the Porta de Angels, which was always left open in case the King needed to make an emergency entrance or exit to the city. My apartment is only about 30 meters from La Rambla, one of the most well known streets in all of Spain. This is a very touristy area and is always extremely crowded with foreigners, street venders, and pickpockets. Living in La Rambla is exciting because there is always something going on, but sometimes I grow tired of the noise, and the excessive crowds always milling about doing their shopping, and wonder what it is like to live in X'iample in a quiet apartment. I also have to remind myself that my roommates and I have fantastic location to the beach, nightlife, great restaurants, and most importantly to CEA globalcampus. I shop for groceries at a small market by my apartment, and also at a supermarket for harder to find items, but when I am looking to buy fresh fish, fresh fruit and vegetables or some interesting meat or succulent fruit juices I always head to the Boqueria Market. This is a market just on the other side of La Rambla from me, and dates back to the very beginning of the 18th century. At the back side of the market is my local library, the Biblioteca Sant Pau Sant Creu de Barcelona, a library with roots which are also a couple hundred years old. This massive library has beautiful architecture and houses thousands of books. Here people can get on the computer, check out cds, magazines, or just come and hang out in the courtyard which is beautiful and has some nicely planted trees. While I would have liked to live in a more peaceful neighborhood during my stay in Barcelona, I can honestly say that out of the entire CEA group, my roommates and I have by far the best location out of any students and for that I am thankful. This has been one crazy month and there is no detail I will ever forget from this fantastic trip.
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