Barcelona

Travelling is wonderful. On so many occasions you are thrown in with people whom you would never meet in a million years in an ordinary day. And if you did, there's a good chance you probably wouldn't like them anyway.

18 months ago, when staying in a small hostel in Connemara, I met Sebastien and Christy. Seb is from Paris, and had decided to take a long weekend in Ireland. Christy is from Washington DC, had a week off, and thought Ireland, why not. Seb and I were friends for 2 days, the 3 of us went for a long walk on the second day. That's been about it really, I haven't exactly kept in contact with either of them. So, when Christy emailed us both to tell us that she was coming to Spain for a week, the only reasonable decision open was to fly down for a weekend and join her. And so we did. And it was great.

One man's influence has shaped Barcelona more than anyones. Anthony Gaudi, visionary architect and committed catholic who designed some of the most amazing buildings and structures you're ever likely to see. I couldn't take a decent photo of his most famous work, La Sagrada Familia, it was simply too big and incredible to fit into one shot, so I borrowed this photo from the internet.



Amazingly, they have been building this cathedral for 100 years. They plan on having it finished by 2026, exactly 100 years after Gaudi was hit by a tram. By then there will be many more melting candle style towers. This was, without a doubt, the most visually stunning building I have ever seen. When Gaudi wasn't making plans for this one, he was building apartment blocks like this one.



I was half tempted to ring the bell and ask if Darth Vader was home.

And so ended a weekend that went rather too quickly for my likings. Great city, great food, great sangria, what more could one ask for really?