Barcelona, Spain

This past weekend we did another “honeymoon repeat” trip, this time to Barcelona, Spain. The second time round certainly did not disappoint!

I think Barcelona is such a beautiful and vibrant city. I love the look of it; the distinctive buildings with their tall, skinny shuttered doors in place of windows on every floor and fronted by wrought iron balconies, the palm trees, the statues, La Rambla (the big walking/shopping street), the small side streets, the squares, the harbour, the beach… I could walk the city for hours admiring it.

The sun was shining warm and high in the sky, which was a nice break from cool London. This time round, we were much more used to eating/trying tapas so we took full advantage of the local restaurants.

We were up at 3:15 am Saturday morning in order to catch our early flight out of Gatwick. I just got my work car which made getting to the airport easier and given the time of day, the roads were clear. We stuck to the big highways so we wouldn’t get lost (and in order to keep the Amazing Race style bickering over navigating/driving to a minimum).

We arrived in the city centre around midday and met up with our friends, Andrew and Jess (A&J) at our hotel just off La Rambla and Plaza Catalunya (i.e.: good location). The occasion of the trip was to celebrate Andrew’s 32nd birthday. Saturday was the Christmas day equivalent in Barcelona so many shops were closed but the streets were packed with people out promenading. A&J arrived a few days before and were able to take part in the Three Kings parade on Friday night (check out their website for details on that, www.fushmush.net). Christmas lights were hung on all the streets and cute Santa dolls on ladders were hanging off many of the apartment balconies. We grabbed a bite and strolled La Rambla observing the many street performers stationed along the street.

On A&J’s recommendation, John and I went to tour 100 year-old Casa Batllo, one of Antonio Gaudi’s architectural masterpieces in Barcelona, while A&J hit the Picasso museum. The building from the outside and inside was very striking. John was amazed by all the detailed wood work. There are almost no straight lines in the house and every room had ingenious features that maximized natural light, ventilation and colour. One of the ceilings on the main floor was molded to resemble a whirlpool and one of the top floor rooms was modeled after a whale’s rib cage. Okay, enough of me trying to describe it and not doing it justice -- check out www.casabatllo.es/.

While we were very impressed with the distinctive architecture of Casa Batllo we were slightly put off by the exaggerated praise heaped on Gaudi and his work in our audio guide. Something to the effect of “the greatest genius the world has known”, you’re now entering “the most incredible room you have ever been in”, and “we are sure this visit to Casa Batllo has been a life changing experience for you”. Interesting, yes. Life changing, no.

On our way to meet back up with A&J we walked through the Gothic Quarter and briefly into the Salvador Dali Museum gift shop (to get the highlights). With A&J we walked down La Rambla to the harbour and the Christopher Columbus column and statue, and then to the beach for Andrew’s first view of the Mediterranean. To sustain us on the walk back we indulged in churros dipped in melted chocolate – can’t go wrong there.

We had a nap at our quaint and cute accommodation, Hosteria Grau, an upgrade from standard hostels, before heading out for Andrew’s birthday dinner. We wolfed down a few rounds of tapas and beverages and then walked to another restaurant/bar to enjoy the popular Spanish liquor, 43, and some great conversation.

Wake up on Sunday morning to catch the train into the Montserrat Mountain Range was painful but worth it. The 50 minute train ride took us to the base of a mountain with a Monastery built into the side of it. I had found this spot in a guide book and it reminded me a fictional mountain monastery in a book I read so I just had to visit it. We took a cable car up to the Monastery, spent some time taking in the spectacular views (check out our photos), and then explored the Basilica (incredible for being built so high up). The monastery is inhabited by 80 monks and a renowned boys choir, that was unfortunately on Christmas vacation when we were there.

We were in no shape to hike to the top of mountain from the monastery (Grouse Grind equivalent), so we took the funicular and walked one of the hiking trails from the top. Montserrat Mountain peaks are very unique, made of coarse sedimentary rock like I’ve never seen before. One peak resembled a dog head with human female torso (if you get my drift) and one resembled a mummy head. Montserrat is beautiful and I would recommend it as a great day trip to anyone passing through Barcelona.

Back in Barcelona we had another yummy dinner of tapas. We made it a bit more adventurous by ordering off the Catalan menu. It had pictures so it wasn’t too risky, but John still managed to end up with one full of steak tartare (it looked like bruchetta in the picture). Andrew was brave enough to eat it.

We timed the entire day very well with all of our connecting forms of transport and we were at the airport in good time but unfortunately our plane wasn’t. With a ½ hour delay, we touched down in windy, rainy London around midnight.

We had a bit of an adventure driving back through the middle of London, in the rain, wind and wee hours of the morning. It was probably the best time for us to attempt our first drive through the city given the lack of traffic. We continue to be amazed how the main roads in London resemble back streets back home. I was driving and John, Andrew and Jess did a great job of navigating. We all made it home safely.

All in all another fabulous weekend getaway. The perfect combo of a beautiful city, spectacular countryside and of course the wonderful company of Andrew and Jess. Thanks again guys and HB Andrew!