Hola Barcelona!

On Sunday morning we went for a walk to Parc De La Ciutadel. It was just gorgeous. We are getting a renewed appreciation for great parks. This one has lot of history including an old fortress, an amazing monument and a fountain designed by the renowned architect and artisan Gaudi while he was still a student. It also has a gorgeous little lake with rowboats for hire.

We walked around the Old Town area, eventually ending up in Port Vell

for a paella lunch and strolling along the beach.

In the evening we went out for a meal with some of the Topdeck group members we got along especially well with – Jody, Michelle, Vim and Quinn. It was a great group of people and we were sad to have to say goodbye to them (they continue on after two nights but we stay on in Barcelona for almost a week) but it was great to farewell with traditional tapas and great big glasses of sangria. What a fun night!

Monday morning came and the group left, but we moved to our new accommodation right on Las Ramblas. We set ourselves the task of walking there rather than taking the metro or a taxi, to get a little air, sun and exercise. I must say, buying packs with wheels was the best decision we could have made at times like these. It took close to two hours but we felt it made up for some of our culinary sins and boy am I getting brown! I did remember to put on some sunscreen though – walking on the beach the first day taught me that the Spanish sun has more sting than up north!

We noticed some great things about the beaches here.
• They have free gyms on the sand
• They have umbrellas and deck chairs for hire everywhere
• They have kids play equipment on the sand
• They have bars with reasonably priced cocktails on the sand!

For lunch we got an avocado salad and some fabulous fish soup. It had different varieties of fish, prawns, squid and a lovely lightly spiced tomatoey broth. It felt like really authentic Spanish food. After checking into our accommodation we walked up Las Ramblas to Plac de Catalunya, went to view the Casa Battlo (another famed example of Gaudi architecture) and went shopping. I went a bit mad and bought two dresses though I said I would only buy one on this trip. The fashion here is wild – so colourful and garish!

I have also been surprised by how much leg the women show here, but my purchases are nowhere near as short as what I have seen – they are near the knee. People are very liberal and open minded here – it is not uncommon to see nudity on the beach, and women much larger than myself walk, swim, sunbathe and even play beach volleyball in skimpy bikinis. Definitely not my style, but wow, good on them for their body confidence! We spent the afternoon writing postcards home and enjoying some fruit from the gorgeous local markets. Dinner was also market goods – chorizo, salad and vegetables.

The accommodation is nice and we have Laurent and his friend Pierre to thank for helping us get it organized. We have an amazing view of Las Ramblas with all the sounds and smells of the restaurants and bubbly life out there. The apartment has shared use of a kitchen and dining room and we have been cooking up a storm.

On Tuesday we went to the Museum of Erotic Art. I know it sounds quite seedy but there was some beautiful art there. Some tack too of course. I thought the older style sketches with tame risqué images were rather cute. Obviously we don’t have any photos to share from there though! Next we went to Parc Guell, another haven for the work of Gaudi. It was a hot uphill walk but very beautiful and the views were stunning.

Incredibly we bumped into the only other person from the tour to depart at Barcelona and arranged to meet for dinner after a cocktail on the beach. We had tapas again but at a seafood restaurant at Port Vell this time. Cuttlefish, cod croquettes, camembert with red fruit sauce, mussels, the best octopus I’ve ever tasted, chorizo.. it was all amazing. Except for the snails. We had the Spanish version of escargot and although we loved them in France these were just not the same. They were very… rare. We couldn’t eat more than a couple. Our advice is to have them in Paris where they are drowning in butter and garlic and cooked to the softest possible consistency! We forgot to take photos from this dinner as well – we were chatting and having too much fun! We got to say our goodbyes again to Vim though, hopefully we will see him in the future when we eventually travel to the USA.

On Wednesday we decided to try to cool down the spending. We went to see one exhibition – the Picasso museum, and got in with an under 25’s discount. Always ask in Europe, it can often save you money if you are what they classify as a youth! On the way back we got to walk through tiny alleys full of fantastic shops, and passed by the cathedral. We got food for the day at the St Josep Bouqueria markets again. They are just so beautiful. No wonder the Spanish are so healthy and attractive – as well as eating lots of seafood and tomato based dishes we have noticed that the most popular snack is not crisps as in England, or pastries as in France, but fresh cut fruit. They also sell far more juice and particularly bottled water than any other soft drink. We loaded up with zucchini, mushrooms, garlic, tomatoes, mussels, strawberries and mangos. I love this market! It is so colourful and exciting.

In the evening we met up with Laurent and Olivia for a spectacular meal in a restaurant just off Las Ramblas. They also took us to some very cool clubs. It was a brilliant night and so great to hang out with them. With the end to our Barcelona stay looming we felt very sad to say goodbye. They were terrific, fun company and it was so kind and generous of Laurent to take us to dinner.

Thursday was our last full day in Barcelona. We had intended to go to the beach but we finally saw some rain in Spain! A relief because the last day or so had been very sticky and humid, a nasty change after the lovely dry heat we had had to begin with. In the end we just had a nice chilled out day - sleeping in, watching a bit of Seinfeld, wandering up and down Las Ramblas one last time, brushing up on a bit of Italian for the next part of the trip, sending off last minute confirmation emails and packing our bags. For our last meal in Spain we cooked up a feast of mussels with tomato, zucchini and mushroom sauce, bread, salad, garlic potatoes and a nice bottle of red wine that we purchased in Andorra. Here is our table, with Las Ramblas just outside!