Living in Barcelona - Autumn in Barcelona

Barcelona has little rain and plenty of sunshine year-round. Rainfall is concentrated in October. The Chinese saying 'each autumn rain brings a touch of cold' also applies to the autumn here.

Besides the temperature change, there is a unique feature of autumn: small carts selling charcoal-roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes appear at street corners. These wooden carts seem to be uniformly designed by the government, and the vendors only appear in autumn. Chestnuts and sweet potatoes are autumn foods; the smoky scent of charcoal wafts far. The roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes are not particularly delicious. The chestnuts are simply roasted, without sugar or oil—this is an autumn tradition. One autumn, on the night of All Saints' Day, it was raining, and children were out trick-or-treating. Some were with their families, queuing in front of little wooden huts to buy roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes. This left a deep impression on me. At that moment, I understood that chestnuts and sweet potatoes bring warmth and belong to autumn.

Bakeries also start offering a seasonal pastry: spherical, the size of a ping-pong ball, made with sweet potato, almonds, and pine nuts. Many people also go to the nearby forests on weekends for autumn hikes, enjoying fallen leaves and gathering chestnuts. The fallen plane tree leaves on the streets invite you to pause. In spring, plane trees cause many people allergies, making everyone avoid them, but in autumn, they finally bring some comfort. Homeware stores display a special flat pan for roasting chestnuts at home. Made of aluminum, it has many holes in the bottom to allow even heating. Typically, on All Saints' Day, families gather around a table with roasted chestnuts, roasted sweet potatoes, and the spherical pastries.

Although the weather turns cooler, the midday sun is still blazing and dazzling. People seize the last chance before winter to sit outdoors, bask in the sun, and drink coffee. Usually, bars have slower business during winter and Christmas. Starting from the last week of October, workers begin hanging Christmas lights on every street. Each neighborhood has its own design. October 31st is Halloween in the U.S. and All Saints' Day in Catholic countries. Schools ask children to wear simple costumes. Discount stores put out Halloween costumes, pumpkins, bats, cobweb decorations, and more two weeks in advance. On that day, I go hiking in the morning and watch a movie with snacks in the afternoon. The movie was chosen by the children a few days earlier through a vote. Four movies are shown in four classrooms, and each person goes to the room showing their chosen film.

Once Halloween is over, discount stores remove all Halloween decorations and replace them with Christmas items. November has no school holidays. Finally, there is a lull before Christmas.