Birthday Bash in Barcelona

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona
June 22nd 2007

Published: June 22nd 2007

Edit Blog Post

Neddy

Birthday balloons

Yes - they took ages to blow up

Another day another 30th.

This weekend my brother's girlfriend turned 30 and we celebrated in Barcelona.

We all had a lovely time, including a delicious dinner at a 'typico' Spanish restaurant in the Old Town. Adam also arranged for hundreds of balloons (possibly a slight exaggeration, but it sure felt like a lot to those of us co-opted to blow them up) and champagne in our apartment as a pre-dinner treat (awwww, he is a new age man after all!).

Actually, we had great food the whole time we were in Barcelona - how can you go wrong with tapas and sangria?

Barcelona is home to my favourite church in Europe - The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. The church was started by Gaudi, who kept most of the plans in his head. Unfortunately he died mid construction (well, not really 'mid', when he died, only one facade (the nativity facade), one tower, the apse and the crypt were finished).

Gaudi's death was less than spectacular - he was run over by a streetcar (some say while stepping back to admire his work), and then many of the models of the proposed building were

The birthday girl

travelling in style

destroyed in the Spanish Civil War.

There's been lots of debate as to how to finish it, but work is progressing and it should be finished on 2026. Pretty good for a church started in 1883!

While I checked out a couple of the other Gaudi buildings, I did not get a chance to go inside as spent most of the weekend hanging out with Vanessa and her mates. We went to the Barcelona beach - which, while not all that for an Aussie, provided a great opportunity to relax in the sun.