Flashback

Nostalgia is in the air during and after the holiday season.

- MARIA VICTORIA RUFINO

One needs to shift to low gear and shut out the present. Travel rejuvenates the body and nourishes the spirit. It warms the heart, especially when one goes back to a beloved place.

Crossing oceans and time zones can be exhausting, but it is delightfully refreshing in more ways.

Geographical distance makes one shed the crusty city attitude and tired skin. One's perspective improves in a different environment. Problems seem diffused and recede into a blurry background. Worries melt away as the mind recharges in a stress-free mode. One blinks to rediscover another facet of nature - winter in a temperate zone.

Mentally retracing the old pathways, one feels a familiar spark. The heart-tugging ache blends with the novelty of a new vibe. It is seeing the past with a new pair of eyes in a dreamy light.

The beloved city with two mountains is more polished and alluring than ever. The iconic landmark, the Sagrada Familia Basilica with soaring organic towers, is almost complete after more than a century. Its architect passed a hundred years ago. Other architects continued the work in progress, supported by donations from the people who flock there to pray and marvel at the modern stained-glass windows that filter exquisite shifting rainbow rays of light. Designed by Catalan artistarchitect Antonin Gaudi, the thought-provoking church has wonderful acoustics for classical concerts and thousands of details.

In Barrio Gótico, the medieval cathedral Santa Maria del Mar was built slowly-stone by stone, rock by rock, during the Black Plague.

The wide avenidas, paseos with trees and rotundas, glorious parks and sparkling fountains, glow after an icy downpour. Walking in the rain is chilly, but one can stop for hot chocolate and churros at a café. There are pintxos, jamon Iberico, figs, and seasonal delicacies in little stores.