“A traveler wanders around searching for soul in places where tourists find just picturesque beauty”

I have often wondered what is it about travelling that makes us feel so relaxed. Is it the thrill of seeking the unknown, of places you have only seen in pictures or read in books, or is it the feeling of leaving the mundane and the routine for few sunsets? Maybe it is the feeling that you can be yourself or someone else and yet no one will judge; it’s just you and nature, art, history, new people, different food, the feeling that today itself is so beautiful that you don’t want to think of tomorrow.

As the spine-chilling winds were making their way into the Parisian landscape, Toulouse Business School, in partnership with my luck, organized a workshop in Barcelona. Immediately after we landed in the evening, (we) were welcomed by the warm Mediterranean weather. As we went out to grab some dinner, wandering through the meandering lanes and by-lanes, a couple of us landed into a small local joint known as La Xampanyeria which looked like a bar from the late 60s serving some exciting fare of Tapas and Cava.

Just as we realized it could not get any better, the next evening (after our workshop) opened its arms with a visit to Casa Batllo, a masterpiece designed by one of the greatest architects of all time, Antoni Gaudi. While I talk of Gaudi, I must speak of Sagrada Familia, as it is synonymous to the city of Barcelona. Neither any vocabulary nor any camera can bring justice to what you experience with a visit to Sagrada Familia, a sheer exuberance of architectural genius coupled with dreamy creativity. A special mention during our trip was the visit to the brewery of Freixenet, located few kilometers outside Barcelona. A guided tour through the vineyard to the cellars should be a “must visit” for all wine connoisseurs.

While the nightlife of Barcelona fortifies the impression that some of the best things in life are a simple concoction of few bottles of alcohol, a bunch of friends and some foot tapping music, a daytime visit to the sprawling fortress of Montjuic makes you contemplate the interwoven relationship between fortified walls, you and nature. A walk across the beach in Barcelona with the sea kissing your feet and the wind playing with your hair is as serene as lying beside your lover. As a food connoisseur, I could spend my lifetime gorging on options from Paella to Croquettes, serving my palate.

Barcelona has a bit of everything for everyone, it does not differentiate if you are a patron of arts or religious, a party animal or just love to spend holiday with your partner lying on the beach gazing at sunsets.

 Debanjan MAZUMDAR, MSc. International Strategic Business, Class of 2020