Shadows & Stories: Barcelona
An |Immersive Literary Tour of
The Shadow of the Wind
Coming April 23-26, 2026
Cost: €200.
Limited to first 12 people who register
Includes curated tours to iconic Shadow of the Wind locations, thematic evening discussions, event materials, and more. All profits benefit Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research.
Centerpiece Dinner at Els Quatre Gats
Where Daniel and Mr. Sempere first show Barceló The Shadow of the Wind. “Where any poor devil could pass for a historical figure for the price of a small coffee.”
In real life, since 1897, the 4 Gats is where accountants, dreamers, and would-be geniuses shared tables with Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Antoni Gaudí.
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An Evening at Biblioteca Pública Arús
Imagine discussing The Shadow of the Wind in these historic reading rooms. The atmosphere of the Pública Arús library perfectly captures the mood of Zafón’s Cemetery of Forgotten Books and provides an atmospheric venue for literary discussions.
One can literally feel the Arús’ character and fascinating history.
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See Iconic Shadow of the Wind Locations
Calle Santa Ana, location of Sempere Bookstore; Calle Arco del Teatro, location of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books; Montjuic Cemetery, where Daniel’s mother is buried, Calle Canuda, location of the Ateneo Library; Plaza Real, location of palatial apartment of Clara Barceló; the mysterious mansions of Avinguda Tibidabo, and much more.
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Optional Add-On Experiences
Including Museu dels Automats del Tibidabo, La Sagrada Familia, Montserrat Monastery, Spanish Cooking Class, Picasso Museum, Barcelona Cable Cars, Rooftop Experiences, Early morning photography walk in Gothic Quarter (before crowds), and more.
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PROGRAM STRUCTURE
- Morning: Guided visits to key locations (Cemetery of Forgotten Books sites, Tibidabo mansion area, old city alleys)
- Afternoon: Free time for personal exploration, shopping in El Born, or visiting museums like Picasso
- Evening: Dinner and book discussions – each night focuses on different themes (i.e., family secrets, the nature of memory, love and obsession, the power of books themselves)
The 4 Gats dinner will be the centerpiece night – imagine discussing the scenes that actually took place there while sitting in the same space. Very meta and magical.
Other possible venues:
Backstory Bookstore After-Hours
Imagine the group gathered among the shelves, wine glasses in hand, diving into the darker themes of the novel while surrounded by other stories waiting to be discovered.
Two Evening Discussions at Historic Libraries
Rooftop Terrace with Gothic Quarter Views for the Opening Reception
Discovering the City that Inspired Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Explore the labyrinthine alleyways that hide centuries of secrets, and feel the Mediterranean wind that carries whispers of forgotten stories through the city’s ancient stones. This isn’t just literary tourism—it’s a chance to step inside the pages of one of the world’s most beloved novels and experience Barcelona as Zafón himself did, where every corner holds a story waiting to be discovered.
Libraries: The Heart of Zafón’s Barcelona
In “The Shadow of the Wind,” libraries aren’t merely repositories of books—they’re sacred spaces where stories live, breathe, and wait to change lives forever. Zafón, deeply influenced by Borges’ labyrinthine vision of infinite libraries, created the mythical Cemetery of Forgotten Books as the novel’s beating heart, a place where every book has a soul and every reader becomes a guardian of stories.
During our journey, we’ll explore this reverence for libraries through visits to La biblioteca de l’Ateneu Barcelonès, with its soaring reading rooms and whispered histories, and hold evening discussions in the atmospheric halls of Biblioteca Pública Arús and the majestic Biblioteca de Catalunya. Here, surrounded by countless volumes in the very city that inspired Zafón’s masterpiece, we’ll discover why he believed that books are not just objects, but living entities that choose their readers—and perhaps, why certain stories find us exactly when we need them most.
Randy’s approach to curation revolutionized what conferences could be. Instead of traditional presentations, he created salon-style gatherings limited to 150 participants, where dialogue mattered more than monologue
Rich Kirkpatrick, Author/Musician (East Bay Area, California)
re:Create Alum (2000-2011)
The most personally impacting conference I’ve ever attended with an “immediate sense of connectedness with fellow creatives” that created “lasting friendships” and an “unparalleled conference experience.”
J.R. Taylor, Musician/Producer (Austin, Texas)
re:Create alum 2012-2017
I attended the re:Create conference for the first time last year. It was an incredible experience. I’ve implemented more new creative ideas that came out of recreate 2012 than any other conference I’ve attended. My supervisor remarked that he would need to take extra vitamins for my return home!
Connie Millberg, Musician, Leader (Longwood, Florida)
re:Create Alum 2012-2017
A Literary Tour With Randy Elrod
Over 20 years curating conference experiences and creating meaningful community experiences.
🌍 Let’s explore the Shadows & Stories of Barcelona together!
For nearly two decades, Randy Elrod curated transformative gatherings that changed lives. His internationally acclaimed re:Create conference in Nashville (1999-2017) revolutionized what meaningful experiences could be—intimate salon-style gatherings where business leaders sat alongside Grammy-winning artists, and 9 out of 10 attendees immediately re-registered each year. Randy’s secret wasn’t performance, but authenticity—creating spaces where creative souls could discover their truest selves.
Since December 2022, Randy has called Barcelona home, living the reality most visitors only glimpse. As a resident, he’s not a tour guide reading from scripts—he’s a local who shops in neighborhood markets, holds membership at Biblioteca Pública Arús, and has built genuine friendships throughout the city. His authentic immersion has transformed his creative work, inspiring his latest novel The Purging Room and deepening his understanding of what he calls the city’s “unique blend of architectural time travel, artistic rebellion, and sensual atmosphere.”
A voracious reader since childhood, Randy has devoured thousands of books across every genre, but The Shadow of the Wind holds a special place among his all-time favorites—a novel that perfectly captures his own love affair with Barcelona, books, libraries, and the mysterious power of stories to change lives.
Randy’s nine published books span memoir, spiritual exploration, and fiction, written in what critics call “the style of Mark Twain”—both hilarious and deeply moving. More importantly, he understands the power of story to transform lives, consistently exploring themes that pulse through Zafón’s beloved novel: authentic living, personal transformation, and the courage to cross forbidden thresholds.
With Randy, you’re not just following a guide through tourist sites—you’re entering a carefully curated experience led by someone who has spent decades perfecting the art of meaningful encounter, now living the daily reality of Barcelona’s literary landscape.
Read my blog
Where Art Meets Authenticity. Fair warning: This isn’t a place for the prudish. Here we dive deep and uncensored into sensuality, curiosity, intimacy and freedom—and the courage it takes to live authentically. If you’re looking for safe, sanitized perspectives and art, you’ll find richer hunting grounds elsewhere. But if you’re hungry for real talk about what it means to be human—body, mind, soul, and spirit—pull up a chair.
