Fort Pienc, my very own Barcelona neighborhood.

I had observed the residencia in which I am living for these four month and rushed in and out of the Marina metro stop on my way to and from various places and plans that I have made but never truly stopped to explore the neighborhood that I live in. When given the neighborhood assignment I realized it was time to figure out the buildings and street ways that make up the area where I live. I live closest to the Marina metro stop which is on the red line of the metro system. The red line is super convenient for us with Urquinaona as well as Catalunya stop. The Marina stop also is a stop for the Tram.

First of all I live in the MelonDistrict Marina building, which is home to many students, whether for an entire semester, like me, or just for a weekend as it also serves as a hostel. I really like the residencia as everyone has their own room and we all share a kitchen and between nine people. Here's a picture of part of our room (they're kind of small so difficult to photograph):

Also, its really nice having 24 hour security to make sure that no one who’s not supposed to enters the building although sometimes it’s a nuisance when trying to have people over. Back to beyond my building however, I live in an area called Fort PIenc with the name stemming from a former military fort named Fort Pius which was in the area until the 19^th century. 

Buildings in our area:

 Our area also used to be an industrial area full of factories which have now been shut down and when you walk around you can tell as much. There is still a Ford plant, which I pass on my runs to the beach. 

 Now a lot of those buildings are studios for artists or up and coming fashion designers because of the cheap space. Beyond these artists and fashion designers the residents of my neighborhood are typical middle to lower class with lots of older residents partly due to the geriatric residence in the main square area of our neighborhood. 

 Sadly everyday on our way to class there are a number of funeral oriented buildings from a funeral home to a store selling tombstones and caskets. All part of the neighborhood I guess! Next on my walk to COACB, because I just walk everyday since it’s only about a 15 minute walk, there is a futbol stadium which hosts practices and scrimmages for little kids every night of the week. On Sundays older very good players scrimmage too and Emily and I sometimes stroll over to watch a game.

In the same area as the park is the Parc de l’Estacio del Nord that is so refreshing to have in the middle of such an industrialized area. There is a bunch of land art created by the American sculptress Beverly Peppers that livens up the area even more and many locals bring their dogs here to play or walk around.

 Street running through the center of the park:

 After the park you would run into the Estacio del Nord which has been a bus station since 1861. This station runs buses throughout Spain and some other European capitals. Some of the most important aspects of our neighborhood besides the bus station are contained in a large square including our Mercat, a preschool, a huge supermarket, as well as the library.  I am a frequent visitor of the Mercat and have become obsessed with the freshness of the fruits and vegetables, I still haven’t eased into buying the fish or meat from there to be butchered directly in front of me! Finally, the main attractions of our neighborhood that many students in our program have probably heard of or visited include the nightlife in our area as well as a very special Churro stand.

The nightlife consists of Razzmatazz, a huge and very famous club in Barcelona frequented on Wednesdays. We also have a bar called Sonora which is a sports-bar type atmosphere. My roommates and I visited it and encountered a group of Pompeu Fabru students all there for a school outing consisting of a red light, yellow light, green light party.

Needless to say it turned out to be a great place to meet people and always a great place to grab food or a beer throughout the semester! Finally, the churro stand is open at basically all hours during the weekend and is frequented by many of the same people after their ventures to the clubs and bars. It’s special to me because it’s where I had my very first Churro and therefore developed an obsession with the Spanish dessert!!! That in a nutshell is an explanation of my neighborhood and I am actually really glad we had to present on it because I learned a lot of things that I otherwise wouldn’t have and am also now a certified member of our library!