Surprise! Perhaps you have noticed that it has been quiet on the blog and in my social media channels in the last ten days. This is because I am in Barcelona right now and I intend to stay here for a few months! I was looking for a flat in the past few days, and now that I have one I'm trying to find a job - something to pay the rent, not my dream job, because that is hard to find.
A cycle has finished for me. I have finished my PhD, and at the same time I had to move out of my flat in Venice. Subsequently, I had to look for both a new flat and a job.
While Venice has been a great place to live in for a while, a good detox from chaotic London, where I used to live before that, I feel that I need a change in my life. In spite of the millions of tourists, Venice is a small town, with a small-town mentality. I miss the international dimension of a city, the possibility of doing something new every day, of exploring new neighbourhoods, of having a wide choices of bars and little ethnic restaurants. I need people that can inspire me, with innovative ideas and . Venice is gorgeous aesthetically, it has a great cultural offer especially concerning art exhibitions and theatre, but it can hardly be called a city.
 |
| A cool bar in Barcelona |
Why Barcelona?
Barcelona is a city I love, in a country that I adore and where I have been several times, but just on holiday. Barcelona has everything that I like about London (I also lived there for over a year): it's a vibrant city, multicultural, and with a lot of things going on at all times. At the same time, it doesn't have the disadvantages that I find about London: it's not as big, for one thing, and it doesn't have that crap depressing weather. Moreover, people actually speak to each other, and the food is awesome!
Yes, I know that Spain is not the best country to relocate to right now, because of the economic crisis, the unemployment, and so on. The truth is that I can't see myself living in Berlin, but I can easily image myself in Barcelona. At least for a few months.
 |
| The Barceloneta beach |
This is not a definite move. I am not leaving Venice forever. As one of my wise friends say, Venice is the perfect place to return to. I intend to stay there a few months, and see what (or where) this experience takes me.
 |
| Selling fruit at La Boquería market |
You can expect updates from Barcelona: its cool bars, its hidden gems, its world-famous night life and its culture. Let's see if I also mention to visit other pars of Catalonia and Spain!
 |
| Arc de Triomf |
Do you like Barcelona? Have you been? What strikes you the most about this city?
