Every travel book on Barcelona mentions the concept of "Spanish Time", letting tourists know that the city doesn't start running until 10am and will pause for a siesta around 2pm. Most must skim over that section.

 

I jetted off to the Catalonian city over mid-semester break, with the intention of fully embracing Spanish time. There was nothing I wanted more than tapas, paella and a perfectly good excuse for an afternoon nap. However, my body clock had other plans with a 5am sleep in.

 

I decided to take advantage of a deserted city and explore a few architectural sites. If most people abided by Spanish time, then I'd have a few good hours of getting great photos without the tops of people's heads in the frame and have a wander around without getting caught up in the crowds.

 

My first stop was Park Güell. Be prepared for a headache when navigating the city's underground system. Trying to figure out which ticket and gate to go through was difficult. Güell is situated on a hill, one that I swear rose out of the ground at a perpendicular angle. By the time I reached the top, I'd stripped several layers of clothing and swore to the gods that I was going to improve my fitness. The sweat was worth it though. From the peak, you get panoramic views of Barcelona and find yourself in the midst of a city with buildings that resemble gingerbread houses because of the brown bricks and mosaic roofs, which looked a lot like icing.

 

However, my view was partly blocked by the mass of tourists who were either victims of jetlag or oblivious to the concept of "Spanish Time". I missed out on a ticket for the tour inside the Güell's La Torre Rosa, the main building in the complex, but was assured by the security guards that the gingerbread exterior was the best part. 

 

From Güell, I roamed around the city and visited Basillica Sagrada Famillia,  a cathedral where the locals said that the interior wasn't worth lining up around the block, before walking through the La Rumblas shopping district and along the shoreline.

 

After my siesta, which runs from 2pm-4pm and involves shop and restaurant closures so the locals can have a break, my final stop for the day was Poble Espanyol, a collection of different Spanish-style buildings, constructed to look like an ancient city. It was dusk when I arrived and the street lamps were producing a pale yellow glow, creating shadows and light pockets that made navigating my way through the narrow alleyways all the more interesting. There were plenty of things to discover, such as the little Spanish bars, like Tablao de Carmen, serving tapas dishes and artisan shops, which specialised in handmade silver jewellery and handcrafted leather bags.

 

While I may have been caught up in the sea of tourists, seeing the Catalonian sites was worth the 5am wake-up call. You truly appreciate the beauty of the city and the fact that having a nap in the afternoon is the social norm.