Life in a year full of Saturdays: Barcelona

Showing posts with label Barcelona. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Barcelona (Spain) - Under the Iberian sun

Barcelona (Spain)

03 September - 06 September 2019

It’s quite easy to fall for the charms of Barcelona. Sun-drenched beaches, the deep blue Mediterranean sea in its front yard, stunning architecture, a magnificent culinary landscape and outstanding bar culture – distilled influences of other global centres inhabiting hidden corners of alleyways and secret squares. Vibrant, dynamic and lively. A 24 hour city who is equally as comfortable under the rays of a beating sun as it is with guidance of dimmed moonlight. It has everything you want from a European city, as well as being Spanish (…sort of…but lets not get into the independence debate).

Barri Gotic - Barcelona - Spain

Barri Gotic - Barcelona - Spain

Las Ramblas - Barcelona - Spain

This is heaven

Mercado de La Boqueria - Barcelona - Spain

Casa Battlo - Barcelona - Spain

Casa Battlo - Barcelona - Spain

Casa Battlo - Barcelona - Spain

It’s always pleasing to come to Barcelona. If feels like a city that’s on perpetual vacation and the atmosphere of the city doesn’t do anything to dispel that myth from any of its visitors.

On this occasion with Inga’s family and a little 6 month in tow, access to many of the things that I love about this city had to be tempered. Not that I’m complaining but it does shut down a lot about the late-night culture that makes this part of the world so quintessentially Iberian. Afternoon siestas, late night dinners, late night drinking, bar hopping and having the early morning sun guide you home. There’s something liberating about having such a great time that the sunshine demands your attention as it casts aside the veil of nighttime inhibition.

La Sagrada Familia - Barcelona - Spain

Barcelona wasn’t born with a gold shoreline. The dearth of anything resembling the beautiful carefree spot of Barceloneta and accompanying beaches heading north on the shoreline was something of a black spot prior to the 1992 Olympics. The area had in fact been quite the neglected corner of this one city. Having turned its back on the pot of gold that standing at its doorstep it took the impetus of global focus to inspire the transformation which activated a change that would add a new, inspirational dimension to this city. So with all that said, it was quite easy to identify where three Latvians would spend their daylight hours in this town. Being Australian and quite sensitive to the dangers of anything UV related, 1.5 Australians spent their time in the relative safety of shaded bars supported by various concoctions of alcohol that obviously substituted the fear of sun damage for an equally damaging vice.

Plaza de San Felipe Neri - Barcelona - Spain

Barri Gotic- Barcelona - Spain

M10 Montcada Hotel - Barri Gotic- Barcelona - Spain

Barcelona - Spain

How good does that look

The little guy - Barcelona - Spain

Our time in Barcelona whilst different to what I’ve usually been accustomed to was still full of most things that you’d expect out of a visit. Visits to Gaudi inspired buildings, gawking at the fabulous wares in markets, judging the various types of sangria on offer and tapping into the plethora of tapas that that accost your senses.

Barri Gotic- Barcelona - Spain

Hard Rock Cafe

Hard Rock Cafe - Barcelona - Spain

Barcelona is one of the great cities of Europe, that is undeniable. I’m already looking forward to our next visit.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Barcelona (SPAIN) - Vitamin SEA

Barcelona
03 SEP - 05 SEP 2015

Point to point travel yet again. Another morning, another desire to get from one destination to the next without ever considering what was in between, all those small places, all those hidden gems. Anyway, I'll leave the lament on the back-burner a little, it was time for Barcelona, Catalonian magnificence in a Spanish prison. I don't mean it like that either actually, I just liked the way the line came out, I have no idea of the history or the politics that generate that divide. It's just that my scattered thoughts for this destination kind of typify the way I was feeling about the whole endeavour at the time. It's freakin' BARCELONA right! It's one of the capitals of cool and I know its a mighty fun destination, having been there there twice before, once in 2008, and the next during their World Cup win in 2010. This arrival was a little different. A little more understated, a little more 'blah'.

What can I tell you, we saw what we were meant to see. We experienced Barceloneta, we took the cable car up to Montjuic and back down, we went to La Sagrada Familia, we 'ate the food, we drank the wine, everybody having a good time, except you. You were talking about the end of the world'. Having spent so much of my hard earned money on U2 albums, concert tickets, DVD's , t-shirts and all else U2 related, I think they can afford me that line for my own personal use and amusement.

So, I'm going to do this one more in photos. Your typical family holiday, done in a very typical way in Barcelona, nothing 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona' about it other than the setting being the same.

Barceloneta - Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

View from Montjuic - Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

La Sagrada Familia - Barcelona - Catalonia - Spain

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Sydney: All the easy shots down the line - this one is for you dad

Sydney (Australia)
23 December 2014

Yesterday I saw your car parked outside of the house and for a split second, before my brain allowed me to truly remember, I got excited because I thought you were home, and then when I realised what I'd done, I tried to hold onto that feeling of you still being with us for a few seconds longer. I took those few seconds for all they were worth.

I still have the 2014 World Cup chart pinned up on the wall next to my desk, it gives me a chance to assign a day, time and place to the games that we watched. That was our thing. Waking up at 3am, making coffee, watching Australia play or watching any world cup match that we thought might be interesting. Sometimes I'd dose through the second half of games but I'd try and hide it from you, I'm sure that you knew I was sleeping, even when you would ask 'Henry, are you watching?'.

I hated hearing the racing channel blaring at anytime. I couldn't stand the sound of live race calls, but now I wish there was a reason for me to hear it again other than it allowing for me to remember you in my mind. I watch games of football and I know I lack the insight and intuition that you had to be able to analyse a game and see events before they happened. I never quite understood how you were able to do that, but you could do it, just as in the same manner you were able to read the character of a person so much faster than anyone else.

Now I look at photos and can't seem to reconcile the images of you smiling as you sailed on past Notre Dame, or the surprise on your face when I met you in Paris, with the memory of you. For now you exist for me in memory and in spirit, and whilst I'm thankful for all the great memories I have of you I would much rather be talking to you about them rather than thinking of them in order to give context to such a great person that was you, my dad.

So now, I leave this. Times that we shared whilst travelling. I was lucky enough to have had some fabulous moments with you in the last few years and they will stay with me for the rest of my life. This last journey however is one that you must do on your own and I hope that wherever your destination is that you have a chance to sit back, watch a game or two and back a winner. Let me just say that for right here and now, the space that you left is enormous and I miss you being in it, maybe we'll meet somewhere and sometime else, maybe not, but for the last 39yrs you were fantastic person and I feel more than lucky to have had a father like you.