Such is the British obsession with Spain as a package holiday destination, it is all too easy to forget that is a rich and vibrant country with much to offer those who would rather stay at home in rainy Suburbia with a dose of the flu than visit one destinations favoured by so many of their countrymen/women each summer.
Barcelona is a fabulously cosmopolitan city, alive with colour and energy in its nightlife, food and architecture. It's Mediterranean climate drenches it in sunshine and consistently high temperatures for most of the year and its people are proud of their heritage - counting themselves as Catalan first and Spanish second (or, in some cases, not at all). All of this makes the area feel singular, different. Catalonian culture and language mark it out as distinct from the rest of the country.
Our base was my girlfriend's grandfather's house in Colonia Guell, a village about a half an hour away from Barcelona proper but a world away from the hustle and indeed the bustle of the city, its position on the end of a metro line belying how restful it feels in comparison.
Such is the way in countries like Spain, the relatively simple-looking exterior of the house hides a beautiful, unmistakably Mediterranean interior and garden. Below the large deciduous tree is a small pond, home to a number of wee turtles who pop up for a feed whenever you chuck thin slices of chorizo into the water. Or they might be tortoises, I can never tell the difference.
The village was founded by Eusebi Guell, most proflific patron of Catalan national treasure Antoni Gaudi. Its also home to a stunning church of the same name, which some say it is his great unfinished masterpiece, and has attracted controversy in recent years after additions were made. Barcelona's cultural powers-that-be are no strangers to controversy, but more of that later. No pictures of that, sadly, but there isn't always enough time...
The city has an abundance of beautiful squares in which to sit and while away and afternoon, cafe solo in hand. Below is the view of the cathderal, just a few streets away from the busy shopping area around La Rambla.
Gaudi's touch isn't just present on a large scale. His work crops up in some of the smaller, low-key elements of the city's landscape, like the lamp-posts in the square below.
In contrast to the historical flavour of much of the city, down by the port is a huge new complex of shops and restaurants. It's set at the end of a wide pier, which takes you from the Barcelona of old to the Barcelona of now, but the feeling is one of sympathetic juxtaposition, rather than stark contrast.
More soon.
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