Fort Pienc Neighborhood

The neighborhood I have lived in for the past 4 months is called Fort Pienc. I have loved the location of our residencia. Everything that I have needed I could walk five minutes from my apartment and get it.

I live in a place called Onix Residencia with students from around the world and some from Spain. It is a very nice place. Each room has a kitchen and bathroom and study area. There is also a pool on the roof with a great view of the city. One nice thing about this place is that if you have guests come visit they can pay for a room and stay in the same building as you. Every Friday our room gets cleaned and we get new sheets and towels. The only bad thing about this place is the price of laundry. To wash and dry a load of clothes it is 5 euros. For the most part the staff is very kind and helpful.

Attached to my building is the community library, market, grocery store and elementary school. From what I have noticed the library is a great place for older people and very young children. During the colder months, the seats and couches will be filled with elderly people reading their papers and chatting to eachother. There is also a childrens room where they read and play educational games. My favorite part about our library is the terrace on the second floor. Here you can take a book or do your homework on a balcony and get fresh air.

The Mercat de Fort Pienc is also attached to our residencia and is a great place to get fresh food. It is one of the newest markets in all of Barcelona. It was built in 2003 because before people had to go very far to get to the nearest market. There are fifteen stands selling fresh fish, vegetables, fruits, meats etc. There is also a little cafe where you can get a sandwhich, soup and a drink. I don't go to our market often, except to get fresh vegetables. One of the unique things about this market is it has a delivery service for people who cannot go out and buy their own groceries.

The supermarket called "Mercadona" is located under the market. Here they have a great selection of beer and liqour. This is also where I have spent the most money in Barcelona. I pretty much buy all of my groceries here. I have probably bought over 300 euros worth of chicken, pasta, tuna and cheese.

There are two very famous places in my neighborhood. The first is the Arc de Triumf. This is a huge arc built in the middle of the neighborhood by Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas. He built it for the Universal Exhibition in 1888. It served as the exhibition's main access gate. The arc is a moorish style and features art by Torquat Tasso and Antoni Vilanova. On the front of this monument it reads in Catalan "Barcelona Welcomes Nations". Today, the arc serves as a meeting point for people. Many young people will bike or skateboard around the monument.

Another place in Fort Pienc that is very famous is Parc de la Ciutadella. This is at located at the bottom street of the Arc de Triumf. This park was the designated site of the 1888 Universal Exhibition. It was converted to a park in 1872. Now adays, this park is Barcelona's most central park and includes a zoo, lake, large fountain and several museums. The Catalan Parliament is also located in the center of the park.

The hospital for our neighborhood is Hospital Sant Pau. It is also one of the most famous buildings in the city. This amazing building was constructed between 1901 and 1930. It was designed by Lluis Domenech Montaner. This was the largest project built in the Catalan modernism period. It is located up the street from Sagrada Familia. Thankfully I have not had to visit this place as a patient yet.

Across the street from our residencia also contains a sporting complex with basketball courts and soccer fields. At all hours of the day there are games going on. Leagues for all ages are available. It really accomodates everyone in the neighborhood who are looking to get good excercise.

This neighborhood is ideal for someone who is studying abroad. It is a 10 minute walk to the beach and also a 10 minute walk to school. This saves a lot of time and money from taking the metro or taxis. Being able to walk downstairs to get your groceries and beer is one of the most convenient things ever.

Field Trip to Raval

The last field trip was to Raval neighborhood. Raval means "Neighborhood of the Harbor". This is located on the right side of La Rambla. We learned that this is a newly renovated area of Barcelona. It used to be a place full of drugs and homeless people, and the city council decided to complete a massive overhaul. In some parts of this neighborhood they stopped letting cars on some streets and also developed and underground trash system to clean up the city and minimize odors.
Raval used to be full of monestaries and other religous buildings that are now converted to public places. The MACBA (Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art) contains all types of modern art. It was designed by Richard Meier and was opened in 1995. Outside of this building is a place where many young people hang out and skateboard and bike.

The CCCB (Barcelona Center for Contemporary Culture) is another museum located near the MACBA. The building has a mix of modern and contemporary art as seen below. Here contains many exhibits. I went here to see the World Photo Press 2009 exhibit. They also hold many cultural activities in the auditorium and always encourage young people to come and see these.

There is still a strong anarchist influence in this neighborhood. Walking by there were signs with anarchist symbols and messages written on the walls. We also walked by traditional anarchists bars near Carrer d/ Carme.

La Rambla de Raval is another famous road in this area. Here there is a high concentration of Morroccan and Pakistani people. This causes great debate in things such as schools because actual Spanish children are the minority. This street is filled with Doner restaurants and shops run by these people. One thing that is out of place is a five star hotel located right off the left side of Rambla de Raval. After walking down this street I definitely prefer the normal La Rambla.

Field Trip to El Born

During the trip to El Born there were many things that caught my eye. I would have to say my favorite thing about El Born is Santa Maria Del Mar. This was the church built by the middle class people under Jaume I. It was very interesting because although it is a very vast and beautiful church, the outside isn’t as decorated as the other churches around. I like this because the middle class people didn’t want to be fancy, they just wanted to make a place where they could go and worship God.

We got to see the Cathedral and learned about Carrer de Piutat which runs along the back of the Cathedral. This is where people would go plea for their lives after being condemned by the church. I found this extremely interesting because of how much power the church had. They had a hand in every aspect of life, even when deciding if people should be killed or not. It is very ironic how they could do this and still preach on living the way of Jesus and teaching forgiveness.

The guilds were also part of El Born district and they served a huge purpose. These were lobbies of people with the same profession. They held all the power in the economy of Barcelona. They would set the same prices for all of the shops selling the same product to ensure that everyone is safe. We saw examples of the casa taller which was the family house for the craftsman. On the ground floor was the workshop where everyone worked, the first floor was where the owner lived and the floors above it were where the workers and apprentices lived. You could tell the difference in the first floor to the top floors because the windows where larger and could let more light in for the owner. These houses were mostly built out of stone because they were less wealthy. It was very interesting because all of these streets were named after the professions of the guilds. These are streets such as Carrer de les Candeles, and Correr de Corrers.

At the end of the trip we saw the Consulat de Mar. This was built under Jaume I in 1258 to settle trade disputes during this his time. Today it still stands as a center for the Chamber of Commerce.

Field Trip to Roman Barcino

The field trip to Roman Barcino was a very interesting trip because you got to see how the city of Barcelona was layed out when it was under Roman rule.

We went to the Museu d'Historia de la Ciutat and saw the way of life that people in the city had to live by. It was amazing to see the ruins of the old Roman city that was in Barcelona. The fact that it still exists is incredible due to the fact of how long ago the Romans were occupying Barcelona.

Here, the class got to see a model of the layout of the old Roman houses. It was very intriguing how intricate and large the house was. I found it very interesting to see that the slaves quarters were attached to the houses and that the shops were part of the house too.

The museum contained many artifacts that caught my eye. You could see the old pots made out of clay that the women used to cook in, and also the objects that they used as toothbrushes were here and made out of wood. I had no idea that these were used back in the Roman times.

The baths were also a very cool part of this field trip. I learned that these were the places where intellectuals would come and sit and talk to each other about the things going on in the city. It is kind of the same idea as business meetings nowadays but in a spa.

Above all, this trip showed the viewer how organized and smart the Romans were. I learned about how they used to use salt to dehydrate the fish so it wouldn’t go bad as fast. This let them stock pile an amount of food so they wouldn’t always have to go fish every day.

During this field trip we also got to see the Roman wall and entrance to the old city. It is so amazing that it is still standing after all these years. You can see that later civilizations built on top of the Roman wall and it is still standing today.



The Jewish ghetto was another important part of this trip. It is located next to plaza St. Jaume. Although it was later destroyed, people put up signs and artifacts to show people that the ghetto was once there.

This trip helped show us the roots of the city that we have been living in for the entire semester.

FC Barcelona Games (Leisure)

One of the coolest leisure activities that I have done in Barcelona is attending different FC Barcelona sports games. The first soccer match I’ve ever attended in my life was FC Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid. Barcelona won the match 5-2 and the game was at no point close. It was interesting to see the differences in this game and professional sports game in the United States. The crowd at this game was very quiet and under control and was focusing on the play of the game. Games in the U.S. the crowd is very loud and rowdy. There is a lot more drunken people

and more of an adult atmosphere. I feel that part of this is because of the tradition of FC Barcelona soccer.

I also attended the first home basketball game for FC Barcelona vs. Valencia. This game was also a blowout in favor of the home team. They won 87-62. This was the first time that the soon to be NBA player Ricky Rubio played for FC Barcelona. He was drafted number 5 in the NBA draft this year, but will not play in the U.S. till at least 2012. It was also his 19th birthday. The best player on the court was Juan Carlos Navarro, who came back to FC Barcelona after a few years in the NBA. Another cool thing about FC Barca basketball is they have a player named Terrance Morris who went to University of Maryland. I grew up watching him play and it was neat to see him

again. The crowd at this game seemed way more like the American style. Everyone was always on their feet and the crowd was yelling and screaming. Some people had huge drums and would bang on them constantly throughout the game. This was more of what I am used to when going to a professional game.

The second soccer match I attended was FC Barcelona vs. Zarragoza. Barcelona ended up winning the match 6-1. I liked how the fans supported the team no matter what they did. When Leo Messi missed an easy goal, the crowd

still clapped and chanted his name. In the U.S. if a player blows an easy play, the crowd will yell at the player and maybe even boo him. These matches were very interesting to compare sporting events between home and here.

Holmes Place Gym (Leisure)

This gym is where I spend a great deal of time during my stay in Barcelona. I go basically every day except when I’m traveling. Here I get to stay fit during my stay so I can take care of my body. It also keeps me in shape for lacrosse season in the spring when I return home. This is a great place to let off steam and take your mind of things while you are here. It gives you a place to be so you aren’t cooped up in these little apartments. There are many differences to this gym and my gym at home. Here there aren’t as many free weights used and are more cardio machines and cable machines. I think it is partly because in the United States, people try to model themselves after football or basketball players, so there is more of a demand for free weights. In Barcelona, people model themselves after soccer players, so they try to be lean and fit, which means they need more of these cardio machines. Also, Holmes place is more of a gym and a spa. People are there to give you towels and wash them, and this locker room also has a tanning facility in it. It is much more of a fancy place than my gym at home. There you just go and lift, shower and leave. There isn’t much else to do.

Pickup Basketball at Monumental (Leisure)

Another one of my favorite things to do here is play basketball at the courts next to the Monumental metro stop. In the beginning of the trip during the warm weather, a group of us CEA students would go there around 3 times a week to play. It started off with just us playing against each other, but eventually we started playing against the local people. This was a great way to mix cultures because although we couldn’t communicate well, the rules of the game are the same and everyone knows them. It was interesting to see the differences in the style of play between us and them. They were trying to be all fancy and play like the NBA players that they get to watch sometimes, and could tell they never learned the fundamentals of the game at an early age. I think this is partly because of how dominating soccer is in the Barcelona culture. No child really grows up playing basketball and doesn’t learn the game as they do soccer. I also found it funny how most of the Spanish people playing at this court were wearing jerseys of NBA players. They are very fascinated by American players who play this game.