A year in Barna already (Un año ya en Barna)

A year ago today we drove into a sunny, autumnal Barcelona, dog-in-tow, to start the next chapter of our lives. We were filled with mixed feelings. On the one hand, we were excited. This was the next big step for G in his career; we knew we were moving to a beautiful city; we were going to be living by the beach again; we already had some friends here waiting for us.

But on the other hand, just a day before we had said a sad goodbye to our friends and our life in Madrid. Seven years is more than enough time to develop meaningful relationships, both with people and places.

So how has this year been? Well if I’m honest, it’s been a little tough. Of course it’s never the same living somewhere as experiencing it as a tourist. But we knew that - it’s not the first (or the second) city we’ve moved to.

And it’s not like haven’t established a life here. We’ve embraced, with some relish, the substitution of Madrid’s (in)famous vida nocturna (night-life) for lovely Sunday lunches with friends on the beachfront and cocktails in stylish terrazas (roof-top bars).  I find myself savouring more than ever our walks along the tree-lined, architecturally rich grid-streets of the Eixample or through the narrow, crooked alleys and slanting buildings of the Gothic and Born districts. As I’ve mentioned previously, I’m left feeling privileged by my daily dog-walking ritual past the Sagrada Familia church. And G’s professional success over this last year fills me with pride and him with a sense of accomplishment.

No, the “problem” is not a lack of a life here, it’s that having so embraced our Spanish life back in Madrid, the move to Barcelona made us feel, quite unexpectedly, that we weren’t living in Spain any more!

Pic: assamblea.cat

Now that might sound a little crazy, but I’ve come to believe that what the Catalanistas like to say rings somewhat true: Cataluña is not Spain. Of course it is geo-politically, but culturally and socially it is quite different. And I don’t think that we were prepared for that.

So this is the reto (challenge) for our next year here: to really say goodbye to Madrid. To stop comparing our old home with our new one and just enjoy Barcelona for what it is: a shimmering jewel on the shores of the Mediterranean with stunning architecture, sensational weather and way of life and a culture that is its very own.