Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There are Catalans that are equally kitsch and dandruffy.
Nationalist politicians are "carrincló" (roughshod), plain ridiculous, but everyone knows it's make believe and that the name of the game is power and money...so we vote for them.
I'm from a small county in Tarragona, the Catalan thing goes over my head..more so when the real problem we have is Barcelona.
They are basically the people that insult Spanish visitors by speaking their atrocious Catalan to them. They behave like asses when they return to their original towns in Spain, and start to speak Catalan there, in front of their own family...just as if they were superior or something. Quite demential, since those people living in those Spanish towns live 10 times better than them, that usually live in ghettoish "barriadas". They give Catalans a very bad name.
Then comes Football, they are all Barça, of course, always with their idiotic football shirts.
Was in Barcelona last summer, and was kind of disappointed. It felt too family-oriented and too touristy in many parts for me (Las Ramblas...UGH), but it was still very, very nice. It was also the only place I've ever been to abroad where I didn't meet and become attached to someone who showed me around and explained their POV as a local, so maybe it's the lack of fond memories too.
I'm going to Madrid this spring and I am PUMPED. In retrospect, the reason I flew in to BCN was because I had never been near a sea at the time and just wanted to be in one that badly. At this point, I am way more attracted to Madrid and am unbelievably excited for all the food and wandering around...and maybe some late nights.
There is a Gaudi house here and there. They look goofy to me. I think they inspired some of the goofy rip-offs used for "organic" looking houses and restaurants by the sea in Southern California.
On top of that, Sagrada Familia is one of the biggest wastes of time. It is incomplete. Your admission ticket helps pay for its completion. The autonomous region of Catalonia should pay a bigger share. Good luck trying to take a picture of it without having a crane or construction equipment in the way.
The buildings in Madrid are more interesting, overall. One of the few interesting buildings in Barcelona is Richard Meier's Museum of Contemporary Art, partly because you are walking through an old neighborhood, and it's like an apparition.
In defense of Sagrada Familia, I believe it's typical of giant cathedrals taking like almost 200-something years to be completed. As a matter of fact, one of the cathedrals in New York City is still unfinished. I think that might be St. Patrick's Cathedral.
I prefer Barcelona but, Madrid is high on my list of world cities also. I would gladly move to either over most places in the U.S. if that tells you anything...
I disagree, Barcelona is a top tier world destination city. Definitely nothing like Manchester or Gothenberg...way above those cities IMO. Countries can have more than one *very* nice city. It's more like NYC and LA...
You're not alone on that. I've never visited both cities yet (Nor anywhere outside the U.S. for that matter), but these two cities are definitely high on my list to visit one day. If I was interested in applying for dual citizenship (If possible for Spain) or to temporarily live in or at least one year in Spain, I would love to live in Madrid the most.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Difficult question
