Barcelona Summer 2010

We arrived in Barcelona after a long drive from Rioja fatigued from the journey and humidity.Without a hotel reservation we headed for the centre feeling sure we would find a room somewhere on or just off the famous vibrant La Rambla. I had been to Barcelona years ago and remember been impressed by the sophisticated atmosphere of an evening stroll down La Rambla where you could be entertained by the eccentric street performers, buy a painting from the talented artists that line the streets or even buy yourself a new pet from one of the bizarre street side pet markets. I was really keen to show my travel companion the Barcelona I remembered and thought La Ramblas was the place to be. However things have changed in the 10 years since I visited the street. The artists and street performers are still here but they are now in abundance and trying to find the truly remarkable amongst the mundane and banal was tricky. The sophisticated bars I remember have been over taken by Disney like tapas bars that lie somewhere between a German pub and an all you can eat Chinese buffet. I was truly disappointed and I could not believe the smartest place we could find for a late dinner in a city renowned for it’s night life was The Hard Rock Café. I was not impressed, that said the burger and Mojito, although not very Spanish, were fantastically satisfying and we retired to our very over priced room in the travel lodge type hotel for the evening hoping the morning would re-establish my love of the city I was beginning to lose favour for.

Street Performer La Ramblas Barcelona

Morning broke and it was sunny yet breezy weather perfect for sight-seeing. My travel companion had not had the pleasure of seeing any of Gaudi’s famous architecture before so the plan was to have a stroll around the city taking in some of his buildings on the way. We stepped out on to La Ramblas in the hope that it was the fatigue that had painted it in such a bad light the previous evening. Sadly it really has become a bus tours mecca with teams of coach parties walking down the street, however the pet shops are still there and we found some really high quality acts so my advice is have a little patience and also try visiting the street around tea time when most of the coach parties have moved on.

As a teenager I had studied Gaudi’s original architecture and again I had

La Sagrada Familia Barcelona

used it as inspiration at art school. We visited La Seagrada Familia by Gaudi, it is remarkable. Still under construction the building was started before I was born and it is not due to be complete for another ten years, I am not sure my companion appreciated this as in his words ‘We had walked for an hour to see a building site even if it does have potential’. It was fabulous to see someone’s first reaction to his work it really brought back some fab memories of my childhood as I had a similar reaction then. I recommend everyone to see it while it’s being built as somehow this is part of the experience, to feel part of the building. I am not sure it will have the same feeling when it is finished if you don’t visit it during construction.

'a place to people watch'

In the afternoon my faith in Barcelona was fully restored, we enjoyed a wonderful traditional fresh tapas Lunch in a rustic back street café full of locals and headed for the cultural quarter where we had a meander though the narrow cobbled streets with boutiques and artist studios nestled cosily together as if they belonged. Good coffee and the sound of Spain passing the time of day. A stroll around the Picasso museum and then a fine glass of wine and some more tapas overlooking a busy square in the heart of the cultural quarter.

'The perfect place for a good glass of wine'

We stumbled across a hotel in the cultural quarter that I will definitely be trying next time I go only 80 Euros a night compared to 170 Euros on the Rambles and oozing with style just in the right spot for people watching the cultural types.