Okay, it really is May 30 or whatever date the blog tells you (me!) that it is. We, in Barcelona, are in lockdown de-escalation phase 1, which means that many shops have re-opened, but with limited capacity. Restaurant terraces have re-opened, also with limited capacity. City parks have reopened, which is wonderful. We were sprung into the great outdoors almost a month ago, at the end of April. Since then we have been allowed outside once a day, and only during an assigned time slot. According to the rules, adults can take one 1-hour walk per day either in the morning (between 6-10) or in the evening (8-11). We are supposed to stay within 1 km of our homes. In reality, I doubt anyone is sticking to the time or distance limitations. We sure aren't. But we have been good about sticking to the time slots. There are other approved times for taking kids out (noon-7) and for elderly people and people who need assistance (11-12 and 7-8). I think it is important to let those vulnerable populations have their protected time so I never go outside during those hours. We do sometimes manage to get the kids out during siesta time in the mid-afternoon, although not as often as I would like. Oh, one more thing. Face masks are required. While I understand and appreciate the public-health benefits to doing so, it is weird and inconvenient. That doesn't mean I don't do it, but I hate it.
I no longer know what I want from this Barcelona experience. Some nights I go out and walk the streets, giddy to take in all of the sights. Other nights I cry through the streets, sad at what we have lost and even sadder about losing it completely in July when we fly back to the U.S. On other nights I can't imagine leaving the house. Either I drag myself out anyway for the exercise, or on occasion I give myself permission to stay inside and be a lump.
I do not want to eat at the terraces. It is a gloriously European thing, to enjoy a cool drink with friends under an umbrella on the sidewalk on a late-spring or summer night. But I don't have friends here, I'm uncomfortable with the language, I don't understand restaurant customs, the air is filthy at these outdoor tables, and it is plain weird to sit yourself down at one of only three or four tables and be waited on by a person wearing a mask who has to stand several feet from your table. Further, the terraces crowd up the sidewalk and make it difficult for pedestrians to pass easily (I know because I was this pedestrian the other day). So I guess I'm a little cranky about the terraces. I haven't ventured down to Las Ramblas, the wide pedestrian thoroughfare lined with shops and restaurants where tourists tend to spend their time. I'm curious what it's like now with no tourists.
I also sort of don't want to go to museums or other cultural experiences. I don't really care about museums in my regular life, so why do I care now? It doesn't seem like the right way to spend my remaining days here. They're not open yet anyway, so I don't have to decide. I am interested in the history and culture of this place, and I think there is a Catalan history museum that might be cool to check out once it opens. But this is not the kind of place that the kids will be at all interested in and I'll probably have to take the metro to get there. I haven't ventured onto public transportation since the lockdown started. It will probably be okay with a mask? I'm nervous.
There are some nice things happening. As I said earlier, the city parks have reopened, and that includes Park Güell, which is usually a tourist attraction with an entry fee for the most famous parts. But it has opened up free of charge for the residents of Barcelona to enjoy. Nobody is allowed into or out of Barcelona at the moment, so it's easy to enforce. Matt and I went the other evening and it was lovely. We had gone with the boys in February and saw some of the park, but at the time we opted not to pay for the ticketed area, figuring we'd return on another day. But now we can see the entire park for free and without the huge crowds. You may notice that I make a big deal out of separating myself from the classification of tourist. I am perfectly willing to identify as a tourist when I am visiting a place for some days or a couple of weeks. But when you rent an apartment in a city for 5 months and you have nowhere else to go during a global pandemic, in my book you are not a tourist. (To be clear, I would not call myself a tourist even in the absence of the pandemic.) We were tourists in Lisbon at the beginning of March and it felt very different from being a resident of Barcelona. You want and do different things as a tourist. It hurts my heart to consider that the next time I come back to Barcelona I'll have no choice but to do it as a tourist. But that's a problem for a later day.
I no longer know what I want from this Barcelona experience. Some nights I go out and walk the streets, giddy to take in all of the sights. Other nights I cry through the streets, sad at what we have lost and even sadder about losing it completely in July when we fly back to the U.S. On other nights I can't imagine leaving the house. Either I drag myself out anyway for the exercise, or on occasion I give myself permission to stay inside and be a lump.
I do not want to eat at the terraces. It is a gloriously European thing, to enjoy a cool drink with friends under an umbrella on the sidewalk on a late-spring or summer night. But I don't have friends here, I'm uncomfortable with the language, I don't understand restaurant customs, the air is filthy at these outdoor tables, and it is plain weird to sit yourself down at one of only three or four tables and be waited on by a person wearing a mask who has to stand several feet from your table. Further, the terraces crowd up the sidewalk and make it difficult for pedestrians to pass easily (I know because I was this pedestrian the other day). So I guess I'm a little cranky about the terraces. I haven't ventured down to Las Ramblas, the wide pedestrian thoroughfare lined with shops and restaurants where tourists tend to spend their time. I'm curious what it's like now with no tourists.
I also sort of don't want to go to museums or other cultural experiences. I don't really care about museums in my regular life, so why do I care now? It doesn't seem like the right way to spend my remaining days here. They're not open yet anyway, so I don't have to decide. I am interested in the history and culture of this place, and I think there is a Catalan history museum that might be cool to check out once it opens. But this is not the kind of place that the kids will be at all interested in and I'll probably have to take the metro to get there. I haven't ventured onto public transportation since the lockdown started. It will probably be okay with a mask? I'm nervous.
There are some nice things happening. As I said earlier, the city parks have reopened, and that includes Park Güell, which is usually a tourist attraction with an entry fee for the most famous parts. But it has opened up free of charge for the residents of Barcelona to enjoy. Nobody is allowed into or out of Barcelona at the moment, so it's easy to enforce. Matt and I went the other evening and it was lovely. We had gone with the boys in February and saw some of the park, but at the time we opted not to pay for the ticketed area, figuring we'd return on another day. But now we can see the entire park for free and without the huge crowds. You may notice that I make a big deal out of separating myself from the classification of tourist. I am perfectly willing to identify as a tourist when I am visiting a place for some days or a couple of weeks. But when you rent an apartment in a city for 5 months and you have nowhere else to go during a global pandemic, in my book you are not a tourist. (To be clear, I would not call myself a tourist even in the absence of the pandemic.) We were tourists in Lisbon at the beginning of March and it felt very different from being a resident of Barcelona. You want and do different things as a tourist. It hurts my heart to consider that the next time I come back to Barcelona I'll have no choice but to do it as a tourist. But that's a problem for a later day.
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