Advertisement
Published: July 18th 2006
Edit Blog Post
The Dignified Freak Show in Barcelona is known as the street of Las Ramblas. Its most definately a freak show, as evidenced by the thousands of tourists walking at a snails pace stopping every twenty feet to take picutures of the Living Statues that line the sides of Las Ramblas.
The street runs from Plaza Catalunya all the way to the water but there is are distinct districts set up to keep the flow of traffic moving. Closer to the water, there is the art show and sale where you can watch artists create spray paint masterpieces of far away worlds in a matter of minutes or you can stop to watch the fine details of the portraitists or the zany caricature artists work their magic. There is also prepainted art for sale ranging from scenes of Barcelona to Pamplona or even scenes taken straight from the street of Las Ramblas.
Moving further from the sea and the artists are the outdoor restaurants complete with street performers. You can grab yourself some tapas and sangria while watching a breakdance preformance or just two guys run and jump of each other's shoulders into double back flips. For a casual meal,
these performers can become a bit tedious because after every five minute performance, they shake a can in your face while you are eating asking for money, but for vacationers looking for some cheap entertainment, you can't beat this at all...
Beyond the circus are the living statues, many of which are pictured here. I hadn't intended on posting a blog about Barcelona mainly because I was sick after burning both ends of the candle in Madrid and at the San Fermin Festival in Pamplona so after three days I hadn't taken a single picture of the city. On my final day, I awoke to one of the sunniest days I've seen in a long time and couldn't help but get sucked into Las Ramblas tourist vacuum.
Most of the living statues would stand perfectly still and as soon as someone would drop some coins in the bucket that lay before them, they would put on a bit of a performance. These performances would range from the toilet guy pretending to painfully squeeze one out, to Che Guevara giving a speech about the need for a Revolution.
I went to take a picture of Che and he
told me that if I could answer three questions about the real Che, the picture would be for free, if I could not answer the questions, no pictures, move along. I got the first question wrong and a brief shouting match ensued between the two of us. There were more pictures of the two of us shouting raken in those few seconds I think the tourists thought it was all a part of the show. Not so much...
For the pictures in this blog that are head on, you can guess that I paid the performers, for the ones that are from the side, I, like many of the other tourists, waited until someone else paid for the show and quickly snapped pictures. There is one very good example of the a statue covering his face as there were many people who hadn't paid for the picture, snapping away anyhow...
After you get past through all the tourists muddling about around the living statues, you've reached Plaza Catalunya which is the gateway into one of the most beautiful cities I've seen on my trip. A popular question I've asked some of the more seasoned travelers I've met on
my journey is what is their favorite city. I've got a whole arsenal of different and interesting questions to get past the boring, where are you from? How long have you been traveling? types of boring standard get to know you chat.
With astounding regularity, the favorite city of most travelers I've met has been Barcelona and now I know why. There is so much to do within this city whether you are a tourist, traveler, expat or local. The beaches are gorgeous though they are european and mostly clothing optional. I didn't bother to whip out my camera at the beach because I didn't want to be ridiculed as that guy. There are sailing ports that line the ocean and parks galore throughout the city.
I may be preaching to the choir here as I know that Barcelona is a very popular destination for vacationers and travelers but if you've never been, move it up on your list of places to go in the very near future! Its not all a freak show like Las Ramblas, but there are certain times when walking through the freak show makes you feel good about life. Everyone on Las Ramblas
Che Guevara
Che wouldn´t let me take his picture because I didn´t know where the real Che was born...apparently it was Argentina? was smiling which is most definately infectious, especially in such a city as Barcelona.....
Advertisement
Tot: 0.172s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 13; qc: 76; dbt: 0.1074s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Aunt Eileen
non-member comment
Thanks.
It looks like a fun place to be and very colorful. Was glad to read about your time in Ireland. It looks like it is a beautiful country. And I jsut want to say thank you for showing me pictures of Carolyn smiling! That smile is something that her father and I do not see very often! In fact, I hopet o be seeing alot of the smile that she had when she was helping you celebrate her birthday!!! Take care and be careful.