Condensing a whole summer's worth of fun does sound a bit sad, I know, but it was either that or nothing, so at Significant Other's proposal to spend our anniversary in Barcelona - the city where we met, I was packing my rucksack faster than Hurricane Gustav. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. From the moment I was picked up at the airport and driven to ex-Flatmate's on a Vespa, until the moment a three-hour delay was announced at the departure lounge four days later it was perfection. I felt like we packed more in those one hundred hours than we do in a month here.
Barcelona is - in my opinion - the ideal city. It has all the buzz and excitement that you would want from a bustling metropolis, combined with a laid back attitude that suits me to perfection. Oh and did I mention the weather? And the proximity of the beach to the city? And the people? The food? The architecture? Anyone who's been there will know exactly what I'm talking about. SO - a native of the city - has never heard me wax so lyrical about anywhere. "It's real life, you know, not a musical," he said at one point, after I'd pointed out yet another big difference between the Catalan capital and London. I think it was the fact that on the streets of Barcelona you see people of all ages, whereas in London you tend to see just people aged between 20 and 50.
If not, it was when I pointed out how relaxed and smiley everyone looked, or how nice it was to see a city populated by people wearing shorts and flip-flops. It was then that this weekend became known as Barcelona: The Musical.
Ex-Flatmate, who now divides her time between the two cities is in complete concordance with me about this. She leaves London on Thursday evening to return on Sunday, and is finding herself more and more enamoured with her weekend address. You should see her new flat! Not only is it a great apartment to live in, it also comes complete with the grandest entrance to a block I have ever seen - all art nouveau plaster and white marble staircase. I'd be quite happy to live under the stairs in the porter's lodge. As you can see, the musical is still going on in my mind.
For anyone visiting the city now that it is so much easier to get to than when I lived in Malta, when we could only fly direct in the summer months, I have some recommendations: The first is Salero (c/Rec 60), a restaurant in the El Born barrio, which I was taken to by friends about 10 years ago, and where, I am happy to report, the vegetable tempura I had tasted and gone loco for then is still as crisp and as mouthwatering today. It's one of those places where the décor, the atmosphere, the service and the food all get as close to full marks as possible, without trying too hard. Out of eight of us at table, there was not one hint of a complaint, and we all ate and drank to our heart's content before heading off to a trendy bar in the Raval called Le Swing (c/Reira Beixa) where 10 or 12 caipirinhas (I can't remember how many it was) and two glasses of wine cost something like €42. The same thing in a similar bar round this neck of the woods would cost at least treble that. There, it's the musical again.
The second recommendation came quite by chance, as we were on the way to SO's optician on the c/Santa Anna, just off Las Ramblas, when I stopped to look at a flower stand only to stumble across the most charming, humble little church (La Iglesia de Santa Anna) which leads to a back garden that could have even a non-believer like myself donning robes and joining the priesthood. It's one of those unexpected havens away from the hustle and bustle of the city, where you can sit in peace and listen to music piped out of the church, and sit in the shadows provided by the Gothic arches. Incidentally, for those who read Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Shadow of the Wind (and I suggest that anyone who has been to Barcelona, or is going there, should do so), the c/Santa Anna, is where the main character's father had his bookshop.
By the end of the weekend, which also included trips to the beach, lunch at SO's family, and a night out clubbing (complete with after hours!!!), the idea of returning to London was as appealing as finding a mouse's head in a salad, but there was little that could be done about it. The good news is that SO is getting quite a lot of work down there, so there should be more of these quick breaks in the coming months. It's tough, I suppose, but someone's got to do it!
Barcelona is - in my opinion - the ideal city. It has all the buzz and excitement that you would want from a bustling metropolis, combined with a laid back attitude that suits me to perfection. Oh and did I mention the weather? And the proximity of the beach to the city? And the people? The food? The architecture? Anyone who's been there will know exactly what I'm talking about. SO - a native of the city - has never heard me wax so lyrical about anywhere. "It's real life, you know, not a musical," he said at one point, after I'd pointed out yet another big difference between the Catalan capital and London. I think it was the fact that on the streets of Barcelona you see people of all ages, whereas in London you tend to see just people aged between 20 and 50.
If not, it was when I pointed out how relaxed and smiley everyone looked, or how nice it was to see a city populated by people wearing shorts and flip-flops. It was then that this weekend became known as Barcelona: The Musical.
Ex-Flatmate, who now divides her time between the two cities is in complete concordance with me about this. She leaves London on Thursday evening to return on Sunday, and is finding herself more and more enamoured with her weekend address. You should see her new flat! Not only is it a great apartment to live in, it also comes complete with the grandest entrance to a block I have ever seen - all art nouveau plaster and white marble staircase. I'd be quite happy to live under the stairs in the porter's lodge. As you can see, the musical is still going on in my mind.
For anyone visiting the city now that it is so much easier to get to than when I lived in Malta, when we could only fly direct in the summer months, I have some recommendations: The first is Salero (c/Rec 60), a restaurant in the El Born barrio, which I was taken to by friends about 10 years ago, and where, I am happy to report, the vegetable tempura I had tasted and gone loco for then is still as crisp and as mouthwatering today. It's one of those places where the décor, the atmosphere, the service and the food all get as close to full marks as possible, without trying too hard. Out of eight of us at table, there was not one hint of a complaint, and we all ate and drank to our heart's content before heading off to a trendy bar in the Raval called Le Swing (c/Reira Beixa) where 10 or 12 caipirinhas (I can't remember how many it was) and two glasses of wine cost something like €42. The same thing in a similar bar round this neck of the woods would cost at least treble that. There, it's the musical again.
The second recommendation came quite by chance, as we were on the way to SO's optician on the c/Santa Anna, just off Las Ramblas, when I stopped to look at a flower stand only to stumble across the most charming, humble little church (La Iglesia de Santa Anna) which leads to a back garden that could have even a non-believer like myself donning robes and joining the priesthood. It's one of those unexpected havens away from the hustle and bustle of the city, where you can sit in peace and listen to music piped out of the church, and sit in the shadows provided by the Gothic arches. Incidentally, for those who read Carlos Ruiz Zafón's The Shadow of the Wind (and I suggest that anyone who has been to Barcelona, or is going there, should do so), the c/Santa Anna, is where the main character's father had his bookshop.
By the end of the weekend, which also included trips to the beach, lunch at SO's family, and a night out clubbing (complete with after hours!!!), the idea of returning to London was as appealing as finding a mouse's head in a salad, but there was little that could be done about it. The good news is that SO is getting quite a lot of work down there, so there should be more of these quick breaks in the coming months. It's tough, I suppose, but someone's got to do it!