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Every year, I like to postย about what Barcelona looks like at Christmas. Spoiler alert: it’s pretty amazing. I’m a little obsessed with holiday lights – maybe that’s because I grew up in a city with one of the best displays of lights in the world. Yep, Riverside, California is way more than just the world capital of meth production!ย  (Another one of our noted accomplishments. Ha).

Here’s what my city looks like at the holidays, for the record:

Mission-Inn-Riverside-California-Festival-of-Lights

 

 

Anyway, in the spirit of Christmas, here’s a little photo tour of Barcelona’s light displays this year.

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The red and white lights on Passeig de Grร cia (the fanciest street in the city) are actually an homage to Gaudรญ. The hanging chains of lights mimic a technique he used to figure out how to create fantastic shapes for his buildings. Only instead of Christmas lights, he used weighted chains.

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The other standout lights this year are the ones on Gran Vรญa, which are words sounding out holiday sounds, like “fum fum fum” (It’s in a traditional Catalanย holiday song) and “xin xin xin” (for the words for cheers).

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The ribbon running down Carrer de Balmes is a classic, as are the glittering trees on Las Ramblas.

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As the season gets colder, it’s nice to have a spot of bright light to make things look cheerier. The dark, chilly streets in the Gothic Quarter magically become charming little pathways with the help of a few bright lights.ย  When it rains, the city fills up with wonderful reflections in the pooling water, which bounces light all around the darkest corners of Barcelona.

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I still hate the colder winters in Barcelona, but the colorful lights make adjusting to the chill a little bit better. And for a few weeks, I get to escape and enjoy the California sunshine (and light displays, too). It’s really not a bad deal at all.

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If you’re feeling in the holiday spirit, why not check out my complete guide to Christmas in Barcelona? Here are the links:

 

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Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone! Or, as they say in Barcelona, feliรง Nadal and bones festes!

Plus, here’s our Christmas card this year:

card

Besos!

-Jess