Beautiful Barcelona

It’s official – I have a new favourite port. Barcelona is possibly the most wonderful city in the world. After a rainy and rocky day at sea, things were not looking good for our day in the port. A day in sunny Spain is just not the same without the sun. The night before, as we celebrated New Year’s Eve in our final sea day bash in the Pacific Lounge (random I know), all conversation revolved around the word “I hope it’s sunny tomorrow.. Please let it be sunny tomorrow”. These words were punctuated by the sound of passengers blowing novelty whistles and spinning noise maker ratchets, but they were echoed by all. Let there be sun.

Imagine our collective joy when the day dawned clear, bright and bursting with Spanish sunshine. Toby, Jasmine, Tim and Tim’s mum and grandma left the ship with spirits high. I could barely believe what a fantastic place this was – the city was spotless and spacious yet bursting with a cosmopolitan old world charm. It has such a feeling of life about it, everywhere you turn something is happening. It was agreed, quite unexpectedly, that it had the same feel as Melbourne in spring; the buildings, the light, the cafes, the trees and gardens.

Our group piled in two of the most modern cabs you’d ever see (ours had a glass roof), and sped towards St Gratia Familia, Gaudi’s famous neo-gothic/melting-chocolate-style church. I have seen pictures and drawings of this place all my life, and it’s something I’ve always dreamed of seeing. And seeing it for real was… unbelievable. The turrets rise precipitously into the blue skies, and the building seems like it’s either melting or being slowly built by termites.

It went through three stages of design, with Gaudi’s original plans in simple-ish neo-gothic style. But as time went by and the building was continuously damaged or knocked down or burned, and Gaudi’s aesthetic tastes morphed through the modernity of the early 20th century, the building went feral. It is truly a marvel to see inside- the way the light plays through the mosaic-like rainbow of abstract stained glass and drapes down the columns. I am in love with this building.

After a brief jaunt through the gift shop, which was far briefer than the time spent in the line outside the same shop, we meandered down through a leafy park into the city streets. We stopped at a tapas cafe for lunch and coffee, eaten alfresco in the sunshine. Tim’s mum and grandma then left us to catch the hop-on hop-off bus to see the rest of the sights, whilst the four of us hopped a taxi to the main street of town. Streets of gorgeous wide open malls awaited us, filled with all our favourite shops. I bought myself two basic black tops from H & M, and a totally cute zipper skirt. Total = $21 Euro... not too shabby. Having lost Jasmine and Toby in the shopping frenzy, Tim (who is now the proud owner of a white jump suit!!!) and I wandered into the oldest segment of the town. Here, around the castle and old cathedral, were gorgeous cobbled lanes bordered by gorgeous pastel buildings. Tourist shops dominated the area, but it was just so charming. We then wandered back towards the pier, down a street lined with performers and people eating tapas and drinking sangria in the afternoon sun.

There is so much to see in that city, and I saw so little in my half-day there. But I will be back! I have fallen in love with Spain – I love the feel of the place. I would live in Barcelona... and I had the same feeling with Cape Town. Two absolutely remarkable cities-And I’m so glad I had the chance to visit them- FOR FREE!