Barcelona

Wednesday, September 2nd

It was raining in Barcelona in the morning, but still warm and muggy.

There's a lot happening in Catalunya at the moment in relation to succession from Spain. Local elections take place on September 27th, elections which will effectively be regarded as a referendum. In the meantime, it's also Catalunya's national day (September 11th), and Barcelona's annual festival on September 24th, so it will be a very "interesting" month.  

(Free Way)

First stop - refamiliarise myself with developments at the Sagrada Familia.

There's been a lot of work since I was last here in 2008 - for example, much of the right hand side wasn't there then.

But it's the inside that has seen the most change in that time.

When I was last here this was just a construction site.

But it's now a fully functioning catholic cathedral, with masses conducted several times each day.

In fact, the Basilica was consecrated by the then Pope Bededict in 2010.

The pandemonium that used to take place outside, has been cleaned up with dated tickets being sold online.

But the crowds are still here, more so inside than out, although there's still a long queue of casual visitors who didn't pre-book their tickets.

I almost paid for a visit of the towers, but because of the rain these were closed. Just as well I'd been up before, in 1989 and again in 1992, after which they were closed for a decade during construction.

All of this is new since I was last here.

But this part was among the first to be built when construction recommenced around the time of the 1992 Olympics.

There are interesting doors everywhere, but it's not always easy to get a clear shot with so many (badly behaved) tourists hanging around...

Time for a bocata with jamon for lunch washed down with a beer and lemonade shandy - it's thirst work being a tourist.

At the top of the nearby ramblas is the former Hospital Saint Pau, another example of modernist Catalan architecture from the early 19th century.

A new hospital has been built nearby, and the old hospital was only closed in 2009.

Each of the pavilions is now being returned to its original state and will be used for various community activities. It must have been some place to be sick in, and I'm not sure whether that's a good or bad thing...

Being only a few blocks from the Sagrada Familia, it's definitely worth the walk up the hill, especially if accompanied by a refreshment stop along the way.

The day ended, and the next day well and truly began with dinner and a few too many (very expensive) cocktails with friends. Just like the "good old days"!

You know you're in Spain when the waiter pours Bombay Sapphire into your G&T and says "say when" (in Spanish, of course)!