Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Go
Barcelona
Aired January 14, 2012 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MANUELA RIPOLLES, MODERNISM TOUR GUIDE: Hello, my name is Manuela, and I live in Barcelona. That's where we are now. And I'm a vintage lover And I think Barcelona is a good city to be a vintage addict, because we have the modernist architecture. And that's a movement which made Barcelona at the end of the century a special city.
MIGUEL BRINES, MODERNISM TOUR GUIDE: Hello, I'm Miguel. And I will be your driver. I will show you all this architecture through this fantastic city. So, Manuela, vamonos.
RIPOLLES: Vamonos.
BRINES: Let's show these people in our city.
RIPOLLES: This is Casa Batllo. It was designed by Antoni Gaudi. And it's one of the most visible attractions in Barcelona, almost every tourist who comes to Barcelona visits this place.
Now he was inspired by sea, forms of nature, and also bones.
So we are now in the House of Asia, Casa Asia, which is a building which was commissioned by Baron Manuel de Quadras to the architect Puig i Cadafalch. And this architect is not as famous as Gaudi, but he is also one of the important architects in modernism.
And it's a place which is not that known for the tourists or the public in the general, but it's amazing. And you can see all the floors and the tiles and the ornaments. It's a very special spot in Barcelona.
Barcelona's most well-known building is Sagrada Familia. And that's the cathedral made by Antoni Gaudi. And it has been built for decades now, over a hundred years. I think we could say that's (inaudible) icon. It's the most-known building outside Barcelona.
Casa Vicens was a summer house for the Vicens family. Antoni Gaudi, he made this beautiful house with this beautiful (inaudible). It's a very open-minded city. It's a place where creativity flourishes most. So it's very, very special and very different from other parts of Spain. All these small details of nature we've seen in the buildings. You can't find anywhere else.
BRINES: Barcelona was one of the most industrial cities in Spain and in Europe. So this was happening around and there was a lot of money for industrial, rich people. So they wanted to invest that money in buildings and they wanted to be creative and different.
RIPOLLES: What I love about modernist buildings is the way they create shapes and they mix it with colors.
PROFESSOR MANSO, MUSICIAN, THE PINKER TONES: Hello, I am Professor Manso.
MISTER FURIA, MUSICIAN, THE PINKER TONES: And I am Mister Furia. And together we are The Pinker Tones from Barcelona City. And we are known to do a style of music called retro-futuristic eclecticism.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We used to be a comedy couple.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we are in Pinker Land (ph). This is our working space, our little own studio.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the theme (ph) of The Pinker Tones, it's very Barcelona as far as eclectic, because Barcelona is a very open city. It's been a harbor city that has seen the passing of many civilizations since ancient times, and has always been a big, very open melting pot.
So all the big names you find, they were all very eclectic people and all Catalan tradition. Name Antoni Gaudi or name Salvador Dali or whoever you want to.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's quite an interesting Catalan city. The only thing about it is that, obviously, they sing in Catalan, so they find it very, very hard to be, you know, exported and recognized outside.
It is -- it is our language as well, so it makes sort of sense for them to sing as well as -- as well as there are Swedish bands that sing in Swedish or Danish bands that sing in Danish. I mean, the Danish are 6 million. We are 10 million, so kind of makes sense.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, there's many good reasons to come to Barcelona.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But there's one definitely: The Pinker Tones, hmm?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course. That's a good soundtrack for your trip.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While we're here, the (inaudible), going to the medium-sized room to see Elena (ph), which is a great local band in Catalan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So (inaudible) is finished and now we're going to meet the first lady of Catalan rock, so let me introduce you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. This is Elena (ph). Oops, careful.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking in Catalan).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only very important people play here. That's --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only very important people like (inaudible).
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking in Catalan).
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROSE LONGHURST, BARCELONA NEWBIE: Hi, I'm Rose, and I've just moved to Barcelona from London.
PETER BACKUS, BARCELONA NEWBIE: And I'm Peter, and I've also just moved to Barcelona from London, and one of the things that we've discovered that we very much enjoy is the Parc de la Ciutadella. So come with us.
LONGHURST: There's so many nice things in this park, that I'm glad that we chose to come here. Every single time we come, I see things that I've not seen before.
BACKUS: This is one of our favorite places in the park. It's this large fountain that's based on the Trevi Fountain in Rome. It was designed by Antoni Gaudi's professor, actually, while he was a student in the architecture offices. This whole area around here is very open and it's usually full of people and children.
Look at that (inaudible). In Parc de la Ciutadella, this area around here was originally a military fort. It was built during the War of Spanish Succession in the early 18th century. And over time, it was converted into a public space for the people of Barcelona to enjoy.
LONGHURST: And one of my favorite things about it is the -- although there's lots of parks and lots of green spaces in Barcelona, like Parc Guell, this one's right in the center of town, right next to the beach, right next door to bars and restaurants. So it's in a green space, in and amongst the metropolitan hub.
Hi. Now we're here in Pasa de la Villa de Grafia (ph). It's one of the many beach (inaudible) plazas in Barcelona, and somewhere that we really love hanging out. And you can just sit and watch the world go by. There's always different people and different things going on. But one of the things that we really love to do is going to (inaudible).
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Catalan language).
BACKUS: (Speaking Catalan language).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Catalan language).
And , in English, (inaudible).
LONGHURST: We want condensed milk with sugar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) ice cream, mustard. (Inaudible) Mexican, si? (Inaudible). Chocolate or 40 percent (inaudible)?
BACKUS: (Inaudible).
LONGHURST: Yes, good. This is his favorite, chocolate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
LONGHURST: (Inaudible) dulce de leche. Although what was that I just ate? That was really nice. The chocolate? Maybe chocolate and dulce de leche.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
BACKUS: (Inaudible) chocolate? (Speaking Catalan language).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Catalan language)?
LONGHURST: Oh, muchas (inaudible). Can you say that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- nice to meet you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Catalan language).
BACKUS: (Speaking Catalan language).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bye.
BACKUS: (Inaudible).
(CROSSTALK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
LONGHURST: After a day of exploring Barcelona's sights, we love to go for a gin and tonic and this is one of our favorite gin bars in the whole of Barcelona. So, yes, we're going to go and grab a gin and tonic now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible). Now we are in this (inaudible) fever (inaudible). So for you, I'm going to mix in this drink. What we do with the gin tonics is we put three, four ice cubes and then we put (inaudible). And with this particular gin, I like to do some basil, basil leaves, that I infused for a while with the gin. But I wanted the fresh flavor of the -- of the basil mixed with the gin. And we put the tonic water.
For our next flavor, we will add some black pepper soda. So I hope you like this gin tonic.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) is really great (inaudible) gins. People is changing wine tastings for gin tastings. People is really very interested in learning about gins, how it's made and difference between brands, how to mix it.
We are working now with 60 different brands of gin, simple things sometimes are the best things. So our gin tonics is no more than three ingredients most the times, gin, tonic and we put something else, herbs or fruits, even inside the (inaudible) of the distillation of the gin making. So with these gins, we can play a little bit more, like grate in nutmeg or put in like fresh basil or even a strawberry.
We will start with the -- that gin, which is actually the (inaudible) of gin. We produce the same, the gin came from the U.K., but really came from there, from Holland. When you have a spirit tasting, you don't have to move it like you do with your wine. You have to smell it, (inaudible) and you get some aromas.
LONGHURST: So we're not looking for anything in the --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can do, but actually all of them look like very clear.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With gin, the aroma that you always have to find, the juniper. This is juniper berries. If you grate it and you smell it, it will probably have a nice smell of the gin.
OK. It's a traditional kind of gin that has been made from years ago (ph), maybe 10 years (ph).
LONGHURST: So what gives it the color?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is the infusion of the berries.
LONGHURST: It's not like (inaudible) chocolate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's nothing to do with the lemon (inaudible).
LONGHURST: Oh, it smells gorgeous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) berries.
LONGHURST: It's like a liqueur. I don't usually like sweet apples, but this is lovely.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(APPLAUSE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CARLES VILARRUBI, V.P., FC BARCELONA: Hello. I'm Carles Vilarrubi, vice president of FC Barcelona. Welcome to Barcelona. Welcome to the Futbol Club Barcelona. Please come with me.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
JORDI PENAS, MUSEUM DIRECTOR, FC BARCELONA: It's the most visited museum in Catalonia.
VILARRUBI: (Inaudible), 1.5 million visitors --
PENAS: To this (inaudible) in -- and in Barcelona, and they want to discover Sagrada Familia, Miro, Picasso elite (ph) and (inaudible). Of course.
VILARRUBI: This is the best (inaudible) of (inaudible). Last year, 2010-2011, we won 16 trophies. So it was an extremely unbelievable year. So this is the most precious trophy in football all over the world, the Champions League.
This is world, all our history, all our trophies, the players, this is the grass in which they play. This is the famous goal in which the Flying Dutchman, Johan Cruyff, scored a famous goal in which flying with a -- in a very, very difficult position, he scored the goal. And it is a famous goal all over the world.
Today you have 99,000 -- more than 99,000 seating, places. As you can see behind me, the phrase, "Mes que un club." Mes que un club means more than a club, more than a team, and that is the feeling we have of the Barca being the flagship of our country, of our future, of our everything.
Let me congratulate you, because you're going to be the first TV owner to go into the dressing room of the first team of football, called Barcelona.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I called the coach, asking him the permission. So come in.
VILARRUBI: Here's the area of showers and the locker room. Every locker room has the name of the players who used this place before. So everybody knows the history of the locker room. For instance, this is Leo Messin (ph), which, of course, is most (inaudible) trophies, the gold boot (ph) and you can see here that before Frank DeBoer (ph), (inaudible) also (inaudible).
When he was (inaudible) in 1957, so it was in the outskirts of the city. But the city grows in the last 50 years, and then we are surrounded now. We'll be here forever.
OSCAR LOPEZ, FC BARCELONA FAN: My name is Oscar, Barcelona fan for 31 years now, 32 on Friday. We're playing tonight a Champions League game against (Inaudible). Going to take it to my local bar, so if you want to join me, vamonos.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible). And then you can walk to the stadium, which is (inaudible). Barcelona, like (inaudible) after the Civil War (ph), (inaudible) like the old stadium in (inaudible) where we are right now. It was one of the few places that you could speak like Catalan, like (inaudible) sing songs about Catalonia, sing songs about (inaudible).
There is so much history in the club, and like even if you know anything about history, if you like beautiful football, is you give it a go, come to Barcelona, go to the game, (inaudible). (Inaudible) weekend.
(Inaudible) three points, (inaudible) 3-2. (Inaudible). They (inaudible) great result, yes.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
END
