We arrived on Saturday to find the city basking in warm sunshine and, after getting settled into Le Meredien off the top of Las Ramblas, we ventured out to join the florists, pet-sellers and mimes along that colourful thoroughfare. Visits to old favourites: the dazzling La Boqueria market, L'Espirtu cafe, Carrer de Montcada - the street of a 1,000 ceramic shops - and the Basilica de Santa Maria del Mare (just in time for a wedding!) was topped off that evening with a visit to the small Pizza Nostra... home of the half and half pizza. Why have one pizza when you can have two halves of different ones?Sunday was another wonderful sunny and hot day (hitting 30 in the afternoon) so, Constant Reader, your intrepid twosome deceided that was the day to race around the city like things possessed. Ventured up to Pedralbes for the first time to see the very grand Palau Reial - now the Museum of Ceramics and Decorative Arts. Nice to wander around and the gardens were nice and quiet too. Next to them is one of Gaudi's first commisions... the impressive gate at Finca Guell in the shape of a fearsome dragon made out of wrought iron. Eeek!
Not wanting to hang about waiting 45 minutes till the next tour of the Gaudi gatehouses we headed off for another favourite: Parc Guell. Worth every step of the long walk from the station, Gaudi's magical park never fails to make me feel at peace... despite the crowds. Third time lucky... this time we finally managed to get into see the interior of the 'gingerbread' gatehouse which had been closed the previous visits... a ho-hum exhibition of the park's history but a wonderful space that made me want to live in it's small curvy rooms. But then I want to live in Parc Guell full-stop!
I somehow managed to talk us both out of getting the Metro back into the centre and instead plumped for walking down the Carrer Gran de Gracia which leads into the elegant Passeig de Gracia - actually it didn't take as long as I expected and it was quite quiet being a drowsy late Sunday afternoon. Some lovely houses were seen on our journey down and somewhere along the way I passed the house where my nice shop customer Vicente was born 70 odd years ago.After a visit to another much-loved haunt - the rooftop of La Pedrera - we wolfed down our late late lunch at the always welcoming Qu Qu. After somehow dragging ourselves out later for dinner at Montello on Via Laietana, sleep finally claimed us.
Sadly the extensive walking of Sunday put paid to any dynamism on Monday allied to an overcast and mostly grey day. After another attempt at Finca Guell - and God help the bastard who told me on their phone enquiries that you could go in without the guided tour - we high-tailed it diagonally across town to finally get to see inside the palatial Palau de la Musica Catalana... to be greeted by a small sign that all tours were sold out for the day.
Constant Reader, I was plunged into the pit of Catalan despair which finally was lifted by retail therapy and the thoughtfulness of his Oweness. The evening improved with a visit to our favourite restaurant Citrus on the corner of Passeig de Gracia and Carrer Consell de Cent. Dunno whether it had anything to do with the e-mail reservation Owen sent the week before but when we went upstairs we found we had a window-seat. I should add that Citrus is on the first floor and it's huge window gives a majestic view up and down the Passeig. Delicious food, a nice Rioja and a glass of Cava to toast our third anniversary... people who live any other way are just silly.I cannot wait to re-visit this amazing city.
