A little about my neighborhood

So, I live in El Raval, which has always been a neighborhood for immigrants. Here it is on the map BCN Map

A lot of the locals look down their noses at El Raval, and many of them call it "Ravalistan" because of all the Middle Eastern residents (ie Pakistani).

Here's what Wikipedia says:

"El Raval is a barrio in Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona, Spain. The neighborhood is also known as Barri Xino, meaning "Chinatown." El Raval is bordered by one of the two historic neighborhoods near the Rambla. The neighborhood is home to 200,000 people.

It is currently the home to a very diverse immigrant community, ranging from Bangladeshis and Indonesians, to a more recent Eastern European community, especially from Romania. El Raval is also becoming one of the hippest up-and-coming neighbourhoods of Barcelona where many artists live and work. It is home to many bars, restaurants, and night spots."

I love it. It feels very cosmopolitan and interesting. It has the old-Barcelona feel, I think it was part of the original walled city. So the streets are narrow and winding and there are tons of balconies and window boxes and people hanging out and little shops and places to buy cheap handbags and belts. It's great.

My flat is big and full of light. We have french doors in the living/dining room that open onto a non-balcony, it's only big enough for a little window-box, but it looks out onto a tiny tiny plaza (or placa as the Catalans call it) with a fountain that doesn't work so it just looks like a statue and there are pigeons on it's head.

I have an internal room, which means my window looks out onto the stairwell. LOL. Most of the rooms I looked at were this way, I think that's just the way it is. On the upside there's no street noise!

Actually, my room is really nice. Pretty big in comparison with the others I saw and we're on the 3rd floor (European 3rd=American 4th) and there's only one floor above us, the attic apartment, so I get a lot of light. No view, but light. I'm usually in the living/dining room anyhoo.

There are lots of little shops around to get food ("Paki-Markets" as everyone says, there's even one named that!) and the street is always full of people.

I have two metro stops (actually three I think) near me, one is about 5 minutes away and the other's about 7 minutes (I don't know where the third is, probably about 8 minutes away...).

La Rambla is 6 minutes away with all the human statues that bcn is famous for, and the flower markets and the people who sell birds and rabbits and guinea pigs. It's a great street.

There are two big markets with fruit and vegetables and fish and meat and some cheese on either side of me. One is on La Rambla, it's very famous, La Boqueria, and I love it. The other is famous because on Sunday they sell books there. But during the week it's a regular huge market, and this one also has cheap and not-so-cheap clothes and shoes and stuff along the edge.

Last week I walked home from the beach, it only took me an hour. So, that's pretty cool. And I was on the nice part of the beach, there are closer ones I think.

So, that's the neighborhood! I love it. LOVE LOVE Love it.


Check out this site if you want to read about stuff that's happening in Barcelona, BCN Homepage.