Our second field trip we walked around the area surrounding the Cathedral, also known as the Gothic Quarters. We met at the Cathedral and began walking around from there. The streets are all very narrow, not big enough for a car to pass through. It was great to see how the old city is preserved so well in this specific area. We passed through the Plaza St. Jaume where the capital building is located - where I have to be sure to get in the building on the last Sunday of the month free of charge. When walking through the streets it was fascinating to see signs still remain above where the street signs hang that show the directions the horses can travel in. Horse and carriage was the mode of transportation hundreds of years ago, so the streets had to be organized in order to direct the traffic flow of horses. My favorite part of the trip was the Jewish Quarter since I come from a Jewish family. It interested me to learn how important the Jews were in dealing with the business and finances of the royal family until the Jews were expelled from Barcelona and/or forced to convert when the Catholic monarchs took their reign. Lastly, some of the grafitti was very cool to look at with incredible craftsmanship although I am not sure if it is legal or not. Before taking this class I never really focused much on grafitti artwork because I saw it more as defacing property than artwork. However now, I usually pay more attention to grafitti and realize that who ever is responsible for the artwork is extremely talented. There is no area similar to this where I come from in New York. It would be great if everything were not so renovated so that you can enjoy some of the history. If you go into New York City there are certain areas that resemble the Gothic Quarters, but definitely not as well preserved, and filled with many more loiterers and homeless people so many people cannot enjoy these kinds of areas.
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