Barcelona !

Hola !

I arrived in Barcelona one week ago, and what a busy week it has been! I left snowy Joensuu on saturday morning and arrived in Barcelona in the late evening, around 11pm. The trip was super long, but worth it!

Indeed Barcelona is a great city, and after some days I could already say that I was going to like it! This city has everything :-) I am living in the modern district, next to the famous Trre Agbar made by French architect Jean Nouvel. The district is super clean, with wide streets and tall, modern buildings. It was Barcelona's industrial area in the past, and you can still see remains of old industries, some of them restored, which gives the neighbourhood a very peculiar atmosphere, with a perfect blend of old and new.

I am working for the Forest Sciences Center of Catalonia, but I actually work at the office of the European Forestry Institute in Barcelona. And what a place! The office is situated within the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, a compound of two kind of small palaces and many independent pavilions, all built in the Art Nouveau style, which is one of my favourites. The building is a UNESCO world heritage monument, and one of most beautiful places I have ever seen. The UN has a regional office inside as well, so security measures are very high. So everyday, when I enter the place, I kind of feel like someone important XD

The rest of the city is just GREAT! I particulalrly love the harbour and the Barceloneta, a small sandy peninsula where one of the famous beaches of the city is located. The view on the ocean is great and the buildings along the shore are a mix of old and new. I also fell in love with the Ciutat Vella, the medieval gothic area of Barcelona. The cathedral is situated there, in the middle of a labyrinth of small, windy streets bordered by very tall and old buildings. The area behind the cathedral is especially nice with gothic arcs above the streets.

I already have some idea of all I want to see, and I think I will not have much time to get bored during my short (3 months only) stay in Barcelona.

More soon !

Hasta pronto

Mig