The clock is ticking.
asserted
clock → tick → ?
It’s a laughable challenge in many ways, clearly impossible.
asserted
It → ’ → ways
How could anyone feel they’ve adequately “done” an entire city, one of the world’s greats, in the time it takes to get through a single workday?
uncertain
it → feel → workday
But sometimes this is all you have.
asserted
you → have → ?
Your cruise ship arrives, it deposits everyone onto the dock, and at some point in the evening you will all pile back on again and depart.
asserted
you → arrive → evening
So how can you feel you’ve experienced a place in such a short time?
asserted
you → feel → time
How can you enjoy yourself, while also coming to know a city and its culture and its heart, and maybe even checking off a few big-ticket items, in the space of eight hours?
asserted
you → enjoy → hours
Even attempting to do a lot of things will be a nightmare, an unenjoyable rush from one place to the next, with no time to take any of it in.
asserted
attempting → attempt → it
You could look at Barcelona and think: OK, I have to do all the Gaudi stuff.
uncertain
I → look → stuff
La Sagrada Familia, up to Park Guell, call past Casa Batllo.
asserted
Familia → call → Batllo
So the second and very much related piece of advice is: kill your darlings.
asserted
piece → relate → darlings
This is a literary term for getting rid of elements of your story that you love – characters, scenes, even single sentences – that just don’t work, that don’t push the plot forward or do anything useful for the work as a whole.
asserted
that → rid → whole
In your single-day holiday planning, you are going to have to kill a few darlings, particularly in a city like Barcelona.
asserted
you → go → Barcelona
So take that dream itinerary and slice and dice, get rid of the experiences that don’t make sense either geographically or thematically or even financially.
asserted
that → take → sense
You need to be ruthless, pare it back to the bare bones.
asserted
You → need → bones
The way to do that is to decide on your priorities, and this will be entirely personal.
asserted
this → do → priorities
What brings you joy?
asserted
What → bring → joy
Is it art, food, architecture, people, the opportunity to learn, the chance to wander aimlessly and see what you stumble upon?
asserted
you → learn → what
All of these will determine your final itinerary.
asserted
All → determine → itinerary
You’ve only got eight hours, this is no time to be doing things just because you believe you should.
asserted
you → get → things
Do it because you love it.
asserted
you → do → it
So here’s how I would spend eight hours in Barcelona.
asserted
I → ’ → Barcelona
Book tickets well in advance, get there early before the bulk of the crowds arrive, take some photos from outside and then have a good hour or two inside to look around.
asserted
bulk → book → hour
From there I would take the metro to Passeig de Gracia, a point at which Barcelona splits into some of its most interesting and enjoyable neighbourhoods: the Gothic Quarter, El Born, Raval and L’Eixample.
asserted
Barcelona → take → neighbourhoods
This is the ideal area to explore on foot, to just wander and see where it takes you, to call in for coffee somewhere that looks nice, check out a few shops, stroll with no agenda.
asserted
that → explore → agenda
This is a key area of interest of mine, and it’s also a lovingly observed ritual in Spain, so I’m reserving, frankly, a silly amount of time for lunch.
asserted
I → ’ → lunch
We’re talking three hours here: sit down, relax, take it slow.
asserted
We → talk → it
This is the key, I think, to exploration of this limited style.
asserted
I → think → style
It’s far better to do a few things well than to do many things poorly.
asserted
It → ’ → things
Part of the joy of a city, for me, is having the space to just sit or wander and take it all in.
asserted
Part → have → it
The chef and travel-show host Rick Stein calls it “mooching around”, the act of forgoing famous attractions and formal tourist behaviour in favour of doing very little for a while, just sitting in the sun with a beer or drinking a coffee and reading a book.
asserted
chef → call → book
The clock might be ticking but the idea of this sort of travel is to ignore that clock, to just forget about it for a while, pretend it doesn’t exist and enjoy yourself.
uncertain
it → tick → yourself
And so I’m off to El Xampanyet, an old-school tapas bar in El Born, with tiled walls and old wine bottles lining the shelves.
asserted
walls → ’m → shelves
I’ll drink vermouth and eat anchovies and watch as the crowd ebbs and flows and the day creeps by.
asserted
day → drink → anchovies
Hours and hours well spent.
asserted
Hours → spend → ?
Or maybe I’ll have a drink somewhere else, or walk narrow streets, or check out Santa Caterina Market before it’s time to head back to the ship.
asserted
it → have → ship
Barcelona, experienced and understood.
asserted
Barcelona → experience → ?
The Aporia
