I'm off to meet the daughter in Barcelona - as you do. She's booked us in to see Mumford & Sons. Very excited. On the plane to Spain,I'm seated next to a very large Slovenian man who starts chatting to me. I keep having to turn to listen to him and and suddenly he takes a selfie with me and then asks for my number, asking me to visit in Slovenia where he will show me a good time. All said in a very strong accent. ! I say no and for the rest of the flight we sit in uncomfortable silence.
Our hotel.
The hotel is over the top, turn of the century. I've booked it for two nights in celebration of meeting up with the daughter but after that we're moving to a cheaper one. This one , we find out, has a twenty four hour buffet! Yes, you heard correctly, so we will save on food. Every surface of this hotel is covered in wallpaper, beautiful fabrics, surrounded by gold elaborate framework and mirrors. Our room is apricot from the carpet to the covered roof. The buffet is phenomenal, especially the crunchy almond nougat which we practically live on.
I'm on a Gaudi mission, the talented Catalan designer who was way before his time. I drag the daughter off to Casa Battlo. I am awed. She's a bit claustrophobic as it is packed with tourists. It is a creation of organic forms, of sea-like curves and waves, of glass panels that somehow distort the reflected tile work into free form watery patterns. The woodwork, art nouveau style ,is sinuous, snaking throughout, on stairs, on walls. It is a marvel.
We have walked far and wide and the buffet bar seems to far away for dinner so we go to Taller Tapas. We have Cava sangria with apple liquor, a far different drink to the sangria jugs in Australia. We have fried eggplant cubes with goats, drizzled with honey; hot chorizo baked in cider; fried Brie with raspberry puree and upon arrival home, some more of the almond nougat.
Next day we go to Park Gruell. Another Gaudi masterpiece. He lived here during the construction of this 17 hectare public park creating amazingly diverse structures and mosaics. You would have thought he was an early hippie but he was a devout Roman Catholic and never married. In later years, religion took over his life and he died after being hit by a tram on his way to the church that he created, Sagrada Familia. No one recognised the dishevelled old man that he had become after he became obsessed with religion and mysticism.
That night we make our way out of the city to where Mumford & Sons are performing. We discover that a big game of soccer is also on so getting there isn't easy. Again we are dropped a long way from the event and walk another twenty minutes to get there. It's a glorious warm, spring, sunset of an evening and the concert is mind blowing. Their headline act, an Aussie group, Gang of Youths, are also fantastic, the things the lead singer can do with his hips! If only I'd been sitting next to him on the plane.
Getting home is another issue. No taxis so we just follow the crowds and the noisy fans of the soccer team that won. Eventually we find a taxi rank and after waiting in an endless line that doesn't seem to move, we end up walking home through the back streets of Barcelona, accidentally finding ourselves in the Red Light district and finally, exhaustingly making it back to our hotel, only to discover that all the almond nougat has been eaten!
The next day we move, the daughter chooses to rest at the downgraded hotel and I go to Casa Amatller. Amatller chocolates began 220 years ago. I have bought their beautiful tins in Australia. The family commissioned an architect to create an art nouveau extravaganza of a house and so it is. I emerge an hour later, exhausted from over stimulation of all my senses. An Amatller hot chocolate is included in the ticket price. At the bottom of the beautiful staircase I sit and order the cinnamon flavoured one. It comes in beautiful pale pink cups with toast for dipping.
I spend the rest of the day wandering this art nouveau paradise of a city. The beautiful shop fronts, the glorious architecture, interesting Tapas, friendly people. If this is what Spain is like, I'm going to enjoy the next week of visiting a few towns here as the daughter returns to University life in Italy.
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