Being outside the States on 4th of July is definitely a little strange. After celebrating the 4th of July for 20 years in a row I have been out of the States the last two summers. I'm excited to be able to B-B-Q and see some fireworks this year. It is strange being outside the states because no other country celebrates it...I know I know, why would any other country celebrate our independence day. Thats not the point. The point is that I was so used to spending time with friends and family during the 4th. And having the day off work and just hanging out together is good enough. When you don't have the same atmosphere for a big day you definitely start to feel a little down while traveling.
The good news is that you can always celebrate the 4th of July wherever go. I have been with a lot of people from other countries over the past two years, and you can always get people to celebrate with you. It is kind of crazy, but I have been in Barcelona the last two summers during the 4th July. While I was not able to see fireworks for the 4th I still found plenty to do.
In 2006, Jay, Parker, Gary and me saw The Wailers at Bikini's in Barcelona. This is probably the best place to see live music in Barcelona. It is located at:
Deu I Mata Num 105 and the phone number is 93 322 08 00.
It is only about a 10 minute cab ride from the main street in Barcelona La Rambla. The venue holds about 500-700 people and is standing room only. The Wailers killed it. We all had a good time and it made it a fun way to celebrate the 4th.
In 2007, I had met a couple other American's that were living in Barcelona, and they told me about this party at a bar for Ex-pats and other tourists that were looking to celebrate the 4th. The bar is called Nubaa, and is located at Passeig de Colom y Carrer de la Plata. It is within blocks of La Rambla. So if you are staying in a hotel/hostel you can walk there. They were selling cheese burgers, hot dogs, and other American food to help everybody feel like they were at a BBQ. The place was packed and everybody turned out to be pretty cool. This option might not be around every year, but it is definitely the closest option you are going to have to actually celebrating the 4th in Barcelona.
So the next time you are traveling abroad, and you are outside of the States just remember there are a lot of different things you can do to celebrate it without actually being home. Peace
