Tapas, Sangrias and... Coke? When in Barcelona!

As one would do in Barcelona, here I take a moment to say cheers to sun, friendship and, of course, good food! If I had a drink in hand it would be all too similar to the many moments that we had in the antique, lively and colourful city. There was so much to be celebrated, even in the short 5 days that we were there. The holiday was greatly anticipated as Tim and I had both been flat out at work and our itch for the sun was starting to kick in.

We arrived at the airport and headed straight out the doors to immediately hop onto a bus that drove us into the main city. With our wheelie bags trailing behind us, we began our short journey to our accommodation and upon arrival we were giddy with excitement to explore the eclectic, inviting streets that surrounded us and almost beckoned us. Our accommodation was another great win; we stayed in an apartment that sat at the top of an enchantingly stunning staircase, and throughout the apartment it carried on the theme of coloured tiles and quaint European décor. Our bedroom was adorned with big double doors that streamed in the sunlight… ahhh the sunlight!

Our first mission was to discover the food markets, ‘La Boqueria’ on the main strip, La Rambla. Whilst this strip is famous for the swarms of tourists and the slightly annoying locals trying to sell you everything, it was most definitely worth walking down here every morning to indulge in the fresh fruit juices, and fruit salads that the markets boasted. The flavours were endless and the tastes were too delicious. Tim stopped off at the little bakery on the way through and purchased himself a chocolate croissant and the meandering through the markets was made perfect with a juice in hand, flavours dancing on the taste-buds and many delicacies to taunt the eyes and nose.

Our first day consisted of food grazing, wandering around and a spot of sun soaking. The unwinding didn’t take long and the permanent smiles were in place. I have picked up an obsession for backstreets of all the towns I visit, and if they do their backstreets well I tend to enjoy getting lost amongst them. Barcelona delivered on her backstreets and with the smell of the bakeries guiding the way we zigzagged in and out of the old town, quickly falling in love with the town and with each other all over again.

The next day saw the arrival of our fun-filled and greatly loved friends, Mark and Terri. Honestly, the fun was intensified the second they arrived and it made the trip so memorable. We managed to fit a lot in with the 3 days we had together. We visited the Olympic city where the boys were daring each other to swiftly sneak into the arena and run the 100m sprint. It didn’t happen. But what did happen, and what most certainly deserves a big dedicated mention, was the visiting of Montserrat. This place has a huge monastery on the top of a hill, about 1 hour north of Barcelona’s Old Town. This deserves a mention for two categorical reasons; firstly, it was absolutely stunning and here words will fail to be able to explain the sights and the wonder of this place; secondly, Tez is afraid of heights and with Montserrat being 1236 meters above the valley floor we had to travel upwards on a somewhat steady cable car and then proceeded to climb the cliffs surrounding the small town. What a legend! It was crazily beautiful but the highlight of the excursion for me was a moment when Terri and I were sitting in front of a tiny stone chapel, looking out for thousands of kilometres. I suddenly felt overwhelmed, trying to take the view in but also realising how precious it is to be spending that moment with a new, but greatly treasured friend. Whilst Terri and I were enjoying the breathtaking views, the boys were proving their manliness by climbing to the top of a summit, which I will admit was epically high.

A stopover in Barcelona is no success without an encounter of a Gaudi wonder. Boy, it was a wonder! La Sagrada Familia was unbelievable! The enormity and the detail had our necks craned for a good few minutes, until every tourist saw Tim’s gigantic camera and kept asking him to take their photos. The Gaudi expedition continued on towards Park Guell, where again the architecture was simply amazing.

On our final night we put on something a little more elegant and classy than what the past few days of hiking around Barcelona entitled. We hit the town ready to create some memories over sangria, coronas (for the boys) and tapas, all followed by some live Spanish music.  On arrival at our little back street restaurant, Tim confidently stepped forward and offered up his services to speak some Española with the locals.  The 2 years he spent studying Spanish in high school surely paid off as he proceeded to boldly order our drinks in Spanish… “Ah, dos sangrias and dos coronas. Gracias!” He turned to us, avoiding immediate eye contact but evidently showed off the biggest, cheesy proud grin, which confidently assured us he knew what he was doing. A few minutes later our waiter arrived with our drinks that Tim had done so well at ordering in Spanish, however something must have been lost in translation.  2 Sangrias… yup! 2 Cokes…? Ah... Rather than contesting the order with the little Spanish that Tim knew, he swallowed his pride along with the taste of poison (coke).

After we worked off the delicious food with the endless laughing over dinner, we went to a tiny music venue and watched every local waltz in the door, kiss each other on the cheek and then dance with such ease as we all had a geezer at them, looking quite out of place. What a fun little hub of a place, the Harlem Jazz Club.

Every day was incredible and enriched by the tasty food we indulged in, the sangria or two that was consumed and the company of amazing, quality friends. Thank you Mark and Terri! Gracias Spain!!