Hola Chicas!!

...and of course all the guys that read my blog. I know this post is a bit delayed as it's been four days since I returned from Barcelona. The weather in Belgium has just been so great (sunshine and 14 degrees average) that I've just been lounging around and basically doing what I want when I want to do it. My days have been spent not getting out of bed before 11:00, getting some form of exercise (either walking, helping in the garden or cycling) sitting outside chatting to people (online) and trying to work on my very last assignment...without success. Tom's parents also make it very easy for me to be lazy, all I have to do is show up for the regular meals, otherwise I'm left to my own devices, which really suits me as there will not be a lot of "me-time" when I get back home on Monday (I still can't get to grips that it's so soon already).

Back to Barcelona, what an enchanting city. It was definitely worth the trouble although it wasn't that much trouble if I'm honest with myself. I flew from Brussels after spending a weekend there with Rikke, the Dane who studied with me in Hamburg. I'd been to Brussels on quite a couple of occassions and thought I'd seen all there is to see in Brussels. I was mistaken and pleasantly surprised by all the new things I'd discovered in Brussels: the EU parliamentary buildings are very impressive and modern. What struck me was the new housing developments next to the parliamentary buildings. They were a carbon copy of those developments on the right as you drive in from the roundabout and the Caltex filling station at the Waterfront. Their sunny, southern-ness seemed a little incongruent with the old, grey Northern European buildings surrounding the parliamentary complex, but were also for a sign of my imminent return to Cape Town:)

Upon arrival at the airport in Barcelona I packed away my thick coat since at plus 12 degrees one does not it any more. My accommodation was a basic (double) room off La Rambla (the main boulevard) in the gothic centre of the city. A great location in that a lot of sights and the beach is within walking distance. The gothic city centre is a maze of pedestrian streets, plazas and structures dating back to the times when the Romans settled in the then Barcina. It is the historic core from which the sprawling city with a population of 1.58 million developed. Barcelona awakened an appreciation of architecture as there are such a multitude of awe-inspiring buildings. What I also loved were all the plazas and/or fountains at regular intervals...it seems as if the city planners just used any excuse to set up a plaza and/or fountain wherever they could. The drawback of staying where I was staying was that it also seemed to be the main shopping area and thus it was sometimes difficult to stay committed to sightseeing and not be tempted by all the shops and their wonderful wares.

The first afternoon/evening in Barcelona was spent orientating myself, checking out the shops (if I must be honest) and settling in. The next day, armed with my Lonely Planet guide, I undertook a walking tour of the old Barcelona. This again was just to orientate myself more comprehensively. For lunch I decided that I should have tapas (and sangria) and I discovered this restaurant/bar that would become my regular haunt - Princesa 23, why b/c I deserved to be treated like a princess;-) I was not disappointed by the tapas and left very satisfied and with the intention to come back and try out the cocktails at the bar. The afternoon I ambled around the inner city (probably checking out the shops again, but not buying anything since the last day in Barcelona would be my shopping day) and the evening I attended a performance by "one of the most talented guitarists" (Manuel Gonzalez) in one of the old churches (Eglesia de Santa Maria del Pi). I enjoyed the performance a lot more than I thought I would. Another advantage of having all those open spaces is that there are always street performers entertaining the crowds. There is constantly music being made or people donning elaborate costumes in order to make money and amuse at the same time. Well, I knew I had to sample the Barcelona night life at some time or another, but I didn't feel brave enough to go it alone on my second night in Barcelona, so I holed myself up in my room with the great book, I'd brought along for company.

The next day I'd gotten myself a ticket for the public transport for some serious sightseeing. My first stop was La Sagrada Familia...a huge cathedral designed by the legendary Antoni Gaudi, a pioneer of the Modernista movement at the turn of the 20th century. After more than 100 years the cathedral is not yet completed (they hope to have its roof on by next year), but it's impressive nevertheless. The details is just astounding and just when one thinks one seen everything another detail jumps up at you. In brief the modernistas combined various styles (gothic, islamic and renaissance) and some like Gaudi, were very dismissive of straight lines, so you have buildings with fluid lines and quirky ornamentation, almost bordering on kitsch, but still staying within good taste. I spent some time at the Sagrada Familia, soaking up the history and just marvelling at the beauty of it.

After a brief stop at Barcelona's Arc de Triomphe and La Pedredra (a house designed by Gaudi), I made my way to Park Guëll and Gaudi's house. The park was wonderful again with a lot of the Gaudi quirks. Gaudi's house was a bit of a disappointment (very sterile), but I wasn't too fazed. The garden had enough twists and architectural wonders to keep me enthralled. It had started raining as I was entering the park, so I decided that instead of the metro I'd take the bus back down to the city centre, to give myself more a sense for the city. When I got there it thankfully stopped raining, so I ventured down to the harbour to see if there's anything for me to see. I stumbled upon a shopping mall and was reminded of the Waterfront again, but otherwise there wasn't much that interested me.

As can be imagined I'd covered quite a bit of ground in that day, so I was dead tired when I got back to my room. However, I promised myself that I would go out that night to watch some Flamenco. After very unwillingly getting dressed and moving out, I found out that the place to which my guide book was leading me, no longer existed. I wasn't too put out since I wasn't really in the mood for appearing social, so it was with a glad heart that I returned to my room and my book, Shalimar the clown, by Salman Rushdie.

This is where I'll end this post. I did too much in Barcelona to cram it all into one post. Tomorrow I'll expand on what I did in my last two days (and nights, I finally sampled the night life) in Barcelona.

Enjoy the pics.