Bienvenidos A Barcelona!

Spain is yet another European country I’ve always had a hankering to see. Since it’s virtually impossible to see all the sites in a diverse country in three weeks, I narrowed my focus to Barcelona and the province of Catalonia. Arriving just after Labor Day, my goal was to avoid the heat -- and higher prices -- of the European holiday season.

Barcelona features a mix of sunny Mediterranean charm and chic urban style like in Genoa, Italy. Since its beginnings as a Roman outpost, Barcelona became a trading hub based on its convenient location on the eastern coast of Spain. The city center itself features almost more art and architecture than one can see in a short visit.

Beyond the ubiquitous presence of Gothic architecture (above, at the National Museum of Catalan Art), Barcelona also features some of the planet’s more bizarre structures like “La Sagrada Familia” (below, right) designed by Antoni Gaudi. A top three attraction in all of Spain, the fanciful, otherworldly temple is in a word -- unusual.

More than 100 years after construction began (and 80 years after its creator’s death), work on this as-yet-unfinished cathedral continues to this day, as witnessed by the looming cranes in the photo below. As tourist magnets go, the crowds at La Sagrada Familia rival those at Times Square, Great Wall of China, Eiffel Tower and Disneyland.

Barcelona -- and more broadly Catalonia, the Spanish province located in the Northeast corner of the country -- has also been leading the way in art, both contemporary and surrealistic, since the late 19th century. From Pablo Picasso to Salvador Dali to Joan Miro, the museums dedicated to art are ubiquitous and art aficionados could spend virtually all their time hopping from this gallery to that gallery.

As luck would have it, I arrived in Barcelona in time for “La Diada,” the national day of Catalonia held on September 11. The observance focuses on a political movement calling for Catalan independence. I was warned by the concierge at the front desk that up to two million "separatistas" would take over the streets of Barcelona.

This year’s celebration of La Diada marks the 300^th anniversary of the siege of Barcelona, and the day would become a statement for the Catalan independence movement, with demonstrators forming a seven-mile long “V” for vote. The display was intended to symbolize the Catalan desire for a referendum on independence.

The leaders of the demonstrations have transformed the idea of Catalan independence from a fringe position to a populist movement that could pose a threat to the stability of Spain, already in a precarious position economically, much like Scotland’s campaign for independence had unsettled the United Kingdom.

Alerted to the potential for chaos in the streets of Barcelona, I ventured out early that day to take pictures of the separatisas along La Rambla (above), then returned expeditiously to my hotel, where I wondered if anybody from the proposed State of Jefferson was paying attention to the separatist movements in Scotland and Catalan.