Bar·th·elona

Barcelona is a vibrant city with lots of appeal. The spanish seem to have quite a sense of style, and everything is presented with thought for the aesthetic, so that restaurants and cafes are often quite ´funky´ and have great atmosphere. The food is also fabulous, and we have been really enjoying eating out here. The spanish also have a much healthier appreciation for chocolate than some other countries we have visited, and we have been enjoying chocolate cake, chocolate muffins, chocolate donuts and... you get the idea.

We had a slightly unnerving experience arriving in Spain: as the train progressed from Avignon, our carriage gradually emptied of people till we were the only ones left. The train kept stopping at ever more remote villages as the day began to draw to a close (helped along by a 1 hour delay from an ´accident´ further up the track) and we were very aware that we no-speeka-da-lingo. You can imagine the potential dire situations we invented during our 8 hours of travel, but our fears were allayed when we arrived in Barcelona, and we realised we would not die on the side of a lonely spanish road...

We have really enjoyed the Gaudi everywhere: the (incomplete) Sagrada Familia, Parc Güell, La Pedrara, and Casa Batlló, for example. We have also visted the Picasso museum (featuring a lot of his early works), Villa Olympica (down by the waterfront), the Parc Montjuïc (lots of lovely gardens with great views of the city), and various churches (Santa Maria del Mar, Barcelona Cathedral and others), and have walked the Rambla. We even purchased ingredients at the ´Mercat de la Boqueria´ for a good old kiwi roast back at the hostel - our first real home-cooked dinner in about a month!


A Barcelonian drink that tastes like fruity punch (but with a kick). Presentation typical!


At the Market - everything arranged beautifully.


At the Park Güell.