I was asleep when we first approached Industria - a neighborhood where we had been booked for 4 days. It was our first destination in Barcelona after the airport. The binge-watching in air plus the lack of sleep had taken over me and my eyes were shut until the car stopped before the tiny hotel we were staying at.
I walked out of the car and I could swear I had been there before. The trees, the shops, the crowded buildings...they seemed all too familiar. Then it struck me; Industria Street looked exactly like my favorite part of Bandra back in Mumbai, with the same footpaths and the same kind of breeze.
After resting for a couple of hours, we set out to really explore the neighborhood. This time my eyes were wide open as I took in the surroundings. With every crossing we got to and every new street, I discovered that I could compare with another city I'd been to - the large car service center by the signal looked just like the large bicycle shop in Pune; the streets and the people reminded me far too strongly of San Francisco; and the hawker section seemed a lot like the Lavasa promenade.
The corner superstore was of course owned by someone from the Indian subcontinent, as is the trend in many European towns/cities (it was a Bangladeshi this time). He told us all about the bad financial condition Spain was in and I couldn't help thinking, if half the countries in the world are losing money, who is getting all of it?! But I digress. The point is, this man added even more familiarity to the strong sense of deja vu.
Upon returning to the suite, I found a tiny balcony which I immediately loved. It only overlooked the street, but that was enough. The photo session started.
There is a place in my heart for such neighborhoods. It already feels so much like home...
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