Instawalk: The Hills and Beaches of Barcelona, Inspired by L’Auberge Espagnole

see also Part 1: Old Barcelona and Part 3: El Raval to the Sagrada Familia

in my continuing series of following in the footsteps of the characters of the film L’Auberge Espagnole, i made it to several more places today (which luckily coincide with popular locations to visit — just that they don’t look popular in the movie — it’s like they had the whole city to themselves!).

park güell

this hillside park (which is not easy to get to, despite having escalator systems at various streets heading up there) is a showcase of gaudy Gaudi design (sorrynotsorry, not a fan of his, but i managed to convince myself it’s more whimsical than nightmarish). tip: save €1 by buying your ticket online if you can commit to a time (you have a half hour admission window); there are also directions on how to get there on their site.

in the movie, Park Güell is where Anne-Sophie and Xavier meet up several times, once for a little tryst.

“Je suis ravie de vous voir.” “Moi aussi.”

“Mais… je suis mariée. Non, je suis mariée. Non… non!”

i had an 8:30 admission and got there around 8:40. surprisingly not as crowded as i expected!

Montjuïc

not in the movie, but i went there today so figure i’ll include some pictures. i mainly wanted to see the Communications Tower, designed by my favorite architect Santiago Calatrava, and unfortunately took the very long way around to get there. lesson learned: if you take the funicular up from the Paral-lel metro stop, you don’t need to take the aerial gondola up to the castle (though i did, it does give you a nice view). just make a left from the exit and you’ll find your way to the Olympic zone.

yeah, my long/wrong way took me to the castle, where i walked pretty much around the entire mountain. you do get some nice views of the port, though, but i didn’t sign up for a hike!

port vell aerial tramway

ok, back to the movie. the Port Vell tramway (aka the Telefèric del Port or Aeri del Port in Catalan) connects Montjuïc with the port on the south end of Barceloneta. i took it one-way in that direction (note no line going that way, long line going from the port up to Montjuïc). Xavier and Anne-Sophie take a ride together in this cable car, and they discuss their…relationship.

“Vous avez peur?” “Un peu, oui.”

the beaches of barceloneta

the tramway conveniently drops you off at the beach, which is where several scenes of the movie take place. one of them, where Xavier writes his witch of a girlfriend Martine, is now where Cavamar Restaurant is. the area is much more developed now, but it was cool finding the exact spot where the scene took place.

“J’ai commencé à lui dire des choses que je lui aurais jamais racontées en tête à tête.”

also a short walk up the coast is the Hospital del Mar, where Jean-Michel worked and Xavier gets his noggin checked out.

“Tu n’as absolument rien, t’es juste un peu surmené.”

i think i just got a lead on another location that wasn’t mentioned in any of the blog posts i’ve been using for reference. we’ll see tomorrow!