Tranquilo en Barcelona, Espana #FeelingFriday

Hope you can enjoy some Summer time off …

Source: Photo by Anna Murzilon on Unsplash

I spent a few glorious days recently in Barcelona, Spain with my husband and two very good friends. While I’ve been to Spain before, I have never been to Barcelona so it was quite a treat.

Love at first sight.

First of all, whenever I can practice my Spanish then I am in heaven. Heaven. And second of all, the city is beautiful. And even more beautiful then the city are the people. And I don’t just mean physically beautiful. The people are wonderfully friendly, welcoming, and open.

Love at every sight.

There’s a peaceful ambiance to the city that I couldn’t quite describe, and then someone who we met one day while having a drink captured it perfectly, unsolicited.

Tranquilo. Or in English, tranquil.

He said that while you’re in Barcelona it’s time to sit down and relax. When you’re at a restaurant or a cafe, there is no rush. Take your time. Sip your drink. Savor your desert. Eat slowly. Converse. Or just sit and do nothing. No one is going to make you rush.

Tranquilo.

Even just walking around visiting the sites and shopping in the boutiques, there was no sense of rushing around. Browse. Buy or don’t buy, it doesn’t matter. No importa.

Tranquilo.

It was so relaxing, so novel, so un-American, and so no-not-NYC. I am always scheduled, hurried, moving. I’m always ordering drinks, then appetizers, then dinner, then skipping desert in a regimented fast-paced order. Not in Barcelona.

Tranquilo.

Take your time. Have another drink before you even think about food. Or have some food and then another drink and then maybe more food. Or then move to another place for another drink and then food. Or whatever.

Tranquilo.

It was refreshing. I could feel it and once this gentleman put a label on it then I really relished in it.

Tranquilo.

I’m bringing it home with me. In my rushed and calendered life back at home, I am going to remember Tranquilo. When I do take a moment to relax, I’m going to relax a little bit more purposeful. A little bit harder. A little bit longer. I’m going to enjoy it a little bit more. Because as he said that day over a glass of sangria, “we’ve earned it.” Indeed.

Tranquilo. A way of thought, a way of of being, a way of life.

Give it a try. What’s your experience? JIM

Me and the hubs with The Segrada Familia way in the background in Barcelona