Greatness doesn’t just come After all, as my late father Ting Dayrit used to tell me, “To each man, his own madness.” It was awesome madness that I encountered as I stood beneath the Sagrada Familia church, a work of genius and insanity by Antoni Gaudi. To Gaudi’s credit, he made the city of Barcelona famous today, though infamous in the past. Who would have thought that his masterpiece, judged as wrong in the past, would turn out to be an icon of world architecture today? The city of Barcelona, a sanctuary of fiestas, siestas, churches, and art galleries, is certainly the pride of Catalonia and comes first among cities that must be seen. The Book 1,000 Places To See Before You Die has Barcelona on the list.

From a soul-lifting experience, our soles also got their share of finding other treasures in Barcelona. In fact, our heels had just warmed up in the early winter of Barcelona when we decided to tour the city on our own, on our first day, by public bus. Down the university beltof the city, along Ronda Sant Antoni,we found an El Corte Ingles where we discovered the best lobster paella with saffron, on top of the shopping mall. This paella was simply divine and the best we had ever tried in our lives. Truth is, Barcelona is a paradise for food and shopping. Walk down the long stretch of Las Ramblas and your senses are treated to a cacophony of sounds, sights, and scents—all beautiful, mesmerizing, and, yes, appetizing.

Barcelona is as old as a thickened tree, touched by 2,000 years of history. The city is awash in history and art masterpieces that make it an eclectic find. This is my Barcelona: Claim it in your heart and leave the place wishing you would always return. This is my kind of madness. It’s time to make it yours as well.