Barcelona

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Working for 6 weeks in Essex meant that I was certainly looking forward to having a week's holiday in Barcelona. After a rather unsettling flight due to some storms over southern France and Spain, we eventually landed; albeit with a landing that consisted of a bounce which made one think we had landed upon a trampoline. The pilot must have then realised that we were hurtling at a dangerous speed along the runway, so he applied the breaks in a rather abrupt manner, thrusting all of the passengers towards the seat in front of them. When the plane did actually stop, it prompted a spontaneous eruption of applause, whooping and hollering from a vast majority of the passengers, for we all felt relieved and lucky to have arrived at all.

Barcelona itself was simply wonderful. We checked into our excellent hostel, Barcelona 4 Fun (not before I clumsily banged my head on the top of the door frame upon entering the impressive expanse of the marble foyer) and immediately set out for some paella. We found our way to Placa Reial and savoured a meal and some fine local wine. It was great to be back in one of my favourite European cities and sitting in this square brought my memories flooding back. What I remembered most fondly about Barcelona was the music in the streets and squares in the Gothic Quarter. I hoped this would once again be the case. If anything, it was even better than I remembered. Each and every day I heard live music in the streets, whether it was a salsa band, Spanish Guitar or Gypsy Jazz. On every occasion I felt my spirits lifted and noticed that there were creases at the edge of my mouth as a smile crept across my face.

One of my highlights from this visit was the night we went to a concert of classical Spanish guitar in a centuries old cathedral in the gothic quarter. The guitarist (Alejandro Garaga) was a virtuoso in every sense of the word. I can say with absolute certainty that I have never been privileged to listen to such an accomplished guitarist before in my lifetime. He simply left me shaking my head in disbelief time and time again throughout the concert, totally awestruck by what he could play on an acoustic guitar.

During our stay I developed a love affair with tapas, devouring plate after plate of delectable delights over the duration of the week. The best tapas was probably at Ideal Restaurant on Las Ramblas, where we dined on the street many times, often washing down the food with some sangria (which I occasionally came to regret the following day). The best food, however, was definitely at a restaurant called Les Quinze Nits in Placa Reial. On some occasions the queue for this restaurant was close to 100 people long, with good reason.

I ventured back to Gaudi's unfinished masterwork, La Sagrada Familia and was amazed by how much more work had been completed since my visit four years ago. It is really starting to take shape now, a mere one hundred and twenty-odd years after construction began! I won't bore you with all my nerdy details, but I thoroughly enjoyed taking in his truly unique architectural designs. I also enjoyed visiting Parc Guell again, spending an afternoon there simply wandering the unique grounds and walkways that Gaudi designed, listening to musicians and reading a book. It was a thoroughly relaxing afternoon and I enjoyed using the park as just that, rather than racing around to see all the things with my own eyes that I had seen in a book years before.

Another aspect of the Barcelona lifestyle that I grew quite fond of was an afternoon siesta. Indeed, this was an absolute must in order to dine with locals, who don't really eat until after 10pm (or when you are sharing an apartment with some loquacious American girls who can seem to converse only at maximum volume at any hour of the day or night!). We also found a wonderful bar called Patagonia, which also consisted of an ice cream bar. The staff there really looked after us, as we became regulars with our own table by the window.

On one of our more active days, we wandered the length of the beaches at Barcelona. This proved to be quite an experience, as one of the beaches is actually a nudist beach! Having never seen a nudist beach before, it was quite a shock to see so many people in their naked glory.

Our time in Barcelona had to eventually come to an end and it was with much regret that we set off for Reus (which, incidentally, is the town where Gaudi was born) for our flight home. So, Essex it is for another couple of months before we set off for our next European jaunt.

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