Even after living in Barcelona a week, I knew that Gracia was my favourite neighbourhood. There is an air about Gracia. It’s the ‘cool’ part of town that houses all of the students. One person once told me it was the Shoreditch of Barcelona, I really dislike that comparison now.
A little bit further out of town, Gracia doesn’t attract too many tourists. Of course there’s nothing wrong with tourists, I make a great one myself, but sometimes it’s nice to walk around without being bombarded with Irish pubs, people taking selfies and cheap fast food.
Gracia has kept it’s cool, and it’s grace. It seems that even on the cloudier days, a little sun can be found in the pockets of this district. Plaza del Sol especially, which literally translates to sun square.
Due to only having a few days left on my own in this beautiful city, last night I decided that I wanted to go to Gracia for dinner, even if I was by myself. This is something I quite enjoy doing, I can please myself, do what I want and I don’t have to worry about splitting the bill or buying someone a drink!
When I arrived at Plaza del Sol at around 9pm, the whole square accommodated revellers sitting down drinking and eating their takeaways. It felt like a festival, and I could feel it in my soul that summer really was coming. Even if you only get to visit Barcelona for a week or a long weekend even in the summer, I can’t stress how much you should pay Gracia a visit and find one of these busy little squares to enjoy some on the street drinking with friends.
I went to Mucci’s on the corner of the square for my dinner. I got a slice of caramelised red onion and brie pizza and a goats cheese one, and it came to €3, that’s around £2.25 for two big slices of homemade pizza guys.
What’s really bloody cool and handy about eating and drinking at this square is Bodega del Sol, a beer shop that sells pretty much any kind of beer at supermarket price. I am not good when faced with that much choice however so went for two Estrella’s which cost me another €1.60.
So that’s two beers and two slices of pizza for under €5! Not a bad start to my night was it?
Like I said, the square was heaving with young people, so I made a smart move and thought if I sat down in the middle with my beer and pizza, someone was sure to befriend me. And so they did! Before I’d even finished my second slice, Carlos had waved me over and I was suddenly sharing his and Miguel’s liquor. They were two guys from southern Spain, and so very friendly.
By the end of the night I had made friends with an Argentinian, a Venezuelan, A girl from Turkey and a group of Italians. We all sang along to Bob Marley songs whilst the others played their instruments. Talking and meeting with different people isn’t always easy, you just have to put yourself out there sometimes and be friendly.
I would say ‘Sods Law’ usually that this happened just as I was leaving. But the reality is that this situation probably only exposed itself to me because I was in a mind frame that I wanted to be exposed to it, and that has come from deciding to leave the city and visit my dad, a decision that has made me very happy.
Happy Lows 