Susie had not seen her baby son since he left home for a 6 month holiday 3 years ago, and I had not met him at all. We walked out of customs to see Buddha (pretty much only his fam call him Thomas!) and his Swedish girlfriend Sophia waving to us. After introductions, and Susie getting a bit misty and making up for 3 years of missed hugs, we set off for our apartment. Buddha had to go to work, and Susie and Sophia went shopping for supplies while I collapsed for a few zeds. We all met again later at a Catalonian restaurant close by, named "The Nun's Tits", complete with a mural depicting a cheeky looking Nun pulling her bodice apart, for an evening meal. This was the start of an exciting journey for our taste buds.
Next day Susie and I fronted up at Pl de Sant Jaume in the old city for Buddha's famed Fat Tire Bike Tours jaunt around the old city of Barca. He has had some great internet reviews, so I was expecting to be entertained, and was not disappointed. Buddha's humorous take on Barca's history, and his encyclopaedic knowledge combined to make our 4 hour easy riding tour both fun and imformative. The highlight was probably Gaudi's Sagrada Familia - the most outrageous, tallest, most fantasmagorical cathedral you will ever see. Designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, work was started on it in 1882, and it's still not finished, although the plan is to have it finally completed in 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death. It has become so big and famous that Pope Benedict declared it a minor Basilica in 2010.
That night, after a quick rest back at our digs, we met Buddha and some of our other instant Barca friends for a quick Thai bite at local markets, then headed off to an enormous beer hall, El Oveja Negra, to watch the local derby between Barcelona FC and Real Madrid. Tell the truth, the game never rose to any great heights, resulting in a 1-1 draw, but Susie and I enjoyed ourselves interacting with all around us and sipping away at a jug of sangria. Thankfully, we didn't finish it! I think this was the day we slipped easily into the Spanish lifestyle: late to bed, late to rise. We got to bed at 1:30 and woke up at 11!
Next afternoon, we were up for some more bike riding, only we had to work this time. It started rather innocuously with the 3 of us grabbing fat tire bikes and pedalling around to the boat harbour to meet Sophia and a friend who were soaking up some sun. Then some dummy in the group said, "Why don't we pedal up there?" "There" being the top of Montjuic, which overlooks the old town and the coastal area of Barca. So off we went, Buddha leading, steering and braking with one hand, leading dog "Stretch" with the other, down along the beachfront, then into little alleyways, on footpaths, up hills, up steeper hills, up outdoor escalators, around the Olympic Stadium, and ultimately to the very top. The thing that killed me though, was on the very steepest part (apart from the escalators, where we got off) I was standing in the pedals struggling like a demon to avoid having to walk, and there's Buddha up ahead, still on the seat, pedalling one handed with a dog lead in the other, looking like he's on the flat!! Dog must have pulled him up.
After Susie and I got over the heavy breathing, the views were worth the effort. We then saddled up for the downward journey, which was nice and easy if a little hard on the basic brakes on the bikes, except for Buddha, who only had use of the front brake, and a very eager dog pulling him ahead. Beer time after putting away the bikes, then the 4 of us headed to Buddha's favourite tapas bar for a feed.
Can't remember the name of this bar, but oh, man, the food was sensational!! We had 8 or so dishes between us and every one had that "Oh, wow" taste. Washed down with a couple of glasses of sangria, of course.
Hunger sated, yes, but the night was yet young. Buddha then chaperoned us through a few narrow streets to his friend Gemma's bar. Here we sampled some of Gemma's secret recipe "Panther's Milk", a couple of other shots, and some truly good cheese and some prosciutto-like ham. Delicious. Another late night.
We swore next day we would be out early, as we wanted to check out Montserrat, about 45 mins train ride out of town. But no, true to our newfound lifestyle, we didn't get out the door til 11. Not arriving at the cable car which carries visitors up the precipitous mountainside to the monestary until 12:45, we didn't make it to the top until well after 1, and so missed the performance of the school choir which we had aimed for. However, the audio tour of the Basilica and it's attending buildings, and then the tram ride to the top of this spectacular mountain followed by some wandering and then walk down, had us thoroughly satisfied by the time we left at around 6:30.
Back in Barca, Sophia unfortunately had to work, but we hooked up with Buddha and a couple of friends Matt and Maria, and enjoyed a truly sensational meal at a French restaurant called Sensis. Can't remember all the other dishes, but I had the best piece of eye fillet ever in my life, and the pepper sauce, oh yes, yes. There was some pretty nice wine in there, too, so - you get the picture.
Tuesday 19 April, our last day in Barca.
We decided to go up the hill to check out Gaudi's Parc Guell. He worked on the designs and buildings in this large park on a hill overloooking Barca for about 20 years, and it is quite something, if you can handle the attending hordes. Gingerbread Houses, intricately constructed columns and balconies, everything weird and wonderful. After wandering around wondering about the mind that conceived this park, we thought we'd go have another gawk at his more famous creation, La Sagrada Familia, only to find the whole block cordoned off due to a bomb threat. Ah well, saved us a wait in a long queue.
That night Buddha and Sophia came over to our place and we all went to a fish restaurant almost next door. All the fresh seafood is displayed like your average fish market, and you walk in, buy whatever you want to eat, pay for it, go to your table, and they cook it and bring it to you. Pretty damn good, and reasonably priced to boot. After filling ourselves up with delicious seafood, we called it a night, said our goodbyes to Thomas and Sophia, and hit the hay.
Next day we picked up our car and headed out of Barca for the next stage of our Spanish adventure.
