Parc de la Ciutadella: the park where Barcelona breathes (and where to write better)

What is Parc de la Ciutadella and where does it come from?

The Parc de la Ciutadella is called that because it occupies exactly the space where Philip V ordered the construction, after the Catalan defeat of 1714, of the military citadel that for 150 years was a symbol of repression. In 1869, after the 'Glorious' revolution, the city council demolished the citadel and converted the space into a public park — a deliberate political gesture. The park was formally opened for the 1888 World's Fair, with the Monumental Waterfall as the centerpiece. Young Antoni Gaudí, still an architecture student, collaborated on the hydraulic project of the waterfall. The statue of 'Desconsol' by Josep Llimona, in the pond, is from 1903.

Why go — and what's the purpose of your appointment with the artist?

The Parc de la Ciutadella is the urban park where you most easily write your morning pages outdoors. It has three rare qualities for an urban park: silence, shade and comfortable benches. The lake is one of the few places in the city where you can see gray herons in the middle of the city. La Cascada is attached to a wooded area with perfect shade for writing.

How to take advantage of it (concrete practice)

Arrive at the park at 9:00 a.m. on weekdays. Walk to the Waterfall area. Sit on one of the benches overlooking the lake. Take out your notebook. Write your three morning pages. It's the most profitable date with the artist you'll have in your week — zero cost, maximum mental return. If you go on a Saturday, cross to the Hivernacle (the 19th century iron and glass greenhouse) — one of the most beautiful spaces in Barcelona for photography or drawing.

Why this place connects with Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way

The practice of the appointment with the artist that Julia Cameron prescribes in The Artist's Path has a principle: creativity needs to be fed before I can produce. Cameron calls it 'filling the well.' The metaphor is exact: if it doesn't rain, the well runs dry. If you don't expose your brain to non-work stimuli once a week, your ability to generate new ideas quietly declines, week by week.

Parc de la Ciutadella is an ideal place for a date with the artist because it meets the three conditions that Cameron asks for: It takes you out of your routine (a place other than your work and home), does not require production (you are going to receive, not create), and exposes you to curated stimuli (someone with judgment decided this was worth watching). Three conditions, an hour or two, once a week. It is probably the practice with the best mental ROI that you are going to add to your routine.

If you haven't taken the course yet, this is the place to start. Your Artist's Path is the free 12-week program that applies Julia Cameron's method to your life — including two hours a week blocked off on your calendar for appointments like this. More about the course at the end of the post.