Barcelona

After a three day visit to Barcelona with my sister I am in recovery! Overdid it a bit and my breathing is a little shabby. The trip itself was great fun (mainly – more later) and we got to see lots.

Cheap flights and Airbnb all make travel to European cities easy and accessible. We stayed in the El Ravel area about a 5 minute walk from La Rambla. The accommodation was a great find clean, comfortable and well located.

First morning we had a late breakfast, a little mooch around the big market, Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria and then met up with a local for a guided walking tour. That was a great start, got our bearings (well, I got mine, not one of Kim’s strengths!) and gave us some great ideas of where to visit, eat and drink. This was all organised through With Locals.

We then headed for a little culture at MACBA (contemporary art) to get confused. Though I do believe that the art inspired my abstract images around the building, seen below.

Later on that day we stopped for a cuppa, after walking 8 miles! I placed my camera next to me, under my coat. The nearest person was a table away, somehow he still stole it. After the shock, anger and frustration of the fruitless police reporting I resigned myself to the loss, hoping that my camera insurance covered it.

The highlights of the trip all happened on the second day. Sagrada Familia is astounding, even though it is still 8 years from completion. A ‘Wow’ escaped my lips as we first walked in. The photos here barely do it justice, taken as all these photos are on my smartphone and edited using Snapseed.

Later we walked down to the marina and sat in the warm winter sun with a comforting bottle of Cava and tapas. Nice. Later in the evening more bars and the 4 Gats (cats to you – an old haunt of Picasso) for more lovely tapas. We finished off in a cocktail bar, Dr Stravinsky’s, as suggested by our guide.

It’s a fabulous city, but keep your valuables very close.