Barcelona

I love Barcelona. Everyone told me I would, which made me slightly suspicious about the city; I mean, if everyone tells you that you will love eggplant and it actually tastes gross then you a) are disappointed, and b) annoyed that your friends led you astray. But I shouldn't have worried. Barcelona is the perfect combination of history and cutting edge, food and art, city and sea, and I was smitten from day 1.

I arrived on a Tuesday evening for the conference I was attending, and checked into my hotel around 10:30pm. Even though that is standard eating time in Spain, I was tired and needed to check in at work so I decided to just eat in my hotel's restaurant. That didn't stop me from having tomato bread and jamon, both of which made up the majority of my diet for the balance of the week. That and cortados.

The next morning consisted of work as well, and then I took myself on a lengthy stroll to the Musée Picasso where the conference registration and first sessions were taking place. I was staying near the Mercado Sant Antoni, and my stroll took me through the Ravel to the Boqueria for lunch.

Unfortunately the Mercat Sant Antoni was in the midst of refurbishment. There were some pretty cool temporary market buildings around the area, but I was still slightly disappointed I couldn't go in the actual market structure.

My route, which I used frequently throughout my stay, was the Carrer Hospital. It conveniently takes you straight to Las Ramblas right by the Boqueria.

 And the Boqueria is A-MAZING.

I ate lunch at the Bar Boqueria, squeezing myself onto a stool amongst a mix of locals and tourists. The menu was extensive (and slightly expensive) and initially I felt a bit lost – what should I eat? what is typical for lunch? how much should I order? But in the end I followed my gut (literally) and ordered my favorites.

Chichirones (fried baby octopus) and pimiento padrones (small hot green peppers cooked in oil with sea salt on top) and a beer to wash it down. I was in heaven.

After my lunch, I continued my stroll across Las Ramblas and through the Barri Gotic to the Barcelona 

Cathedral. The Barri Gotic is really lovely, a maze of old streets now sort of taken over by touristy shops but with some real gems of vintage and antiques shops and small boutiques.

 

Barri Gotic slowly turns into El Born, a really fashionable area between the Gothic heart of the city and the seafront. I found myself starting to windowshop in stylish boutiques and designer home stores and realized that this neighborhood was one to remember.

At that point I had to head into the Musée Picasso, where I stayed for the rest of the day meeting other conference attendees and taking part in the opening night panel discussion. It was a great way to end my first day in the city, and get excited for the following day of conference sessions.

Thursday the keynotes started at 10am, so after running through emails and work stuff, I headed to a cafe for a cortado and then over to the conference. The conference was held at MACBA and the CCCB which are two stunning building situated next to each other at the northern edge of the Ravel. My hotel was less than 10 minutes walk from the site, which was perfect, and I loved walking the old streets to "work" each morning. It reminded me of my summer abroad in Florence – in fact, much of Barcelona reminded me of Florence, that medieval urban plan of winding streets, impressive stone buildings, wrought iron furnishings, and curious alcoves – only with a distinctly Iberian flavor.

 

I spent Thursday and Friday in various sessions at the conference, and when it closed Friday evening I was completely inspired and overwhelmed. I was glad I had the rest of the weekend in Barcelona to decompress and sort out my thoughts in a leisurely manner.

The Irishman had arrived Thursday night to join me in Barcelona, and we started our weekend Friday night by eating at Cal Pep. As foodies, we were massively annoyed at ourselves that we missed out on getting reservations to Tickets, Ferian Adria's new tapas bar, but heard that even better, and more authentic, is this gem of a tapas bar in El Born. Apparently Thomas Keller says it was the best meal he's ever eaten in Europe, and several friends independently recommended it to me. So once my conference had closed Friday night, The Irishman and I dashed off to the restaurant so we could be there as it opened. 

 

What can I say? It was one of the best meals of my life. You sit down at the bar and they ask you what you will and won't eat, and what you want to drink, and voila! Six courses of the best fish I've ever tasted, one of the most lovely white wines I've ever drunk, a fabulously multilingual waiter who assured us we would love what we were served (and didn't grumble when I asked him to add in an order of pimiento padrons), and the most amazing dessert of flavored whipped creams. Amazing. We were lucky too – a mere 10 minutes after we sat down, a line had formed along the back wall of the restaurant and was out the door. Because of that we were rushed, but it all felt like part of the old school Spanish tapas experience.

Saturday was devoted to checking out all of Gaudi's greatest hits, including touring the interior of La Sagrada Familia, his unfinished cathedral. I must admit I didn't really know anything about it besides how it was unfinished and will continue to be constructed for the next 50+ years, so when we entered the interior I was astounded. I literally was blown away by how imaginative and otherworldly it looks, like nothing I've ever seen before. Because I was taken so off guard and thrilled by the surprise, I'm not going to post any images of the interior; I want those of you who might go to be equally as impressed.

We also saw the apartment building and a few homes he designed, as well as buildings "in the style of". 

Sunday was devoted to walking along Las Ramblas to Barceloneta and the seafront. We discovered a whole new part of the city that was emerging from years of decay and becoming a vibrant, regenerated community. When I return to Barcelona, I would seriously consider staying down there.

 

 

 

We rounded off our day with a lovely final tapas meal and sitting on the beach for a few hours before having to go pick up our luggage and head to the airport. On our way home, I thought to myself that I didn't really get to see all of the "highlights" in Barcelona, and felt slightly guilty that I didn't see any of the museums despite having attended a museum conference. But I'm okay with that because it gives me so many reasons to go back to Barcelona again and again. I loved the spirit and attitude of the city, and am already thinking of when would be best to go back. I hope that every single one of you get to go there soon, if you haven't already been.

If you go:

All major airlines and discount carriers fly from London to Barcelona El Prat (the main airport in Barcelona). We flew Ryanair from Stansted for £60 return, no checked baggage, including fees. There are literally hundreds of hotels in Barcelona; we stayed at Hotel Market near Mercat Sant Antoni for the majority of our stay, and then moved to Room Mate Emma for the last night. Hotel Market was lovely, fantastic location, and bargain priced, but the walls were extremely thin. Room Mate Emma was in near Passeig de Gracia and in a more suburban part of the city but clean, tidy, and good value. Metro is safe and easy to use for €2 per trip. Taxis are relatively inexpensive but drivers can take advantage of tourists. Taxi from the airport to city center is roughly €25 each way and there are also busses and trains that go direct to the airport.

My first festival: Field Day

Saturday I spent the entire day in Victoria Park at my first festival, Field Day. For those of you who aren't aware, music festivals are part of the social fabric of Britain. Everyone goes to them, young and old, hipsters and fuddy-duddies, as there is a festival for every interest and subculture: rave, electropop, hip-hop, pop, indie, folk, dubstep – you name it, you can find a festival catering to it. If you can't make it to one, the biggies like Glastonbury and Reading are televised on the BBC. I've always wanted to go to a festival, but the requisite camping in certain-to-be-bad weather always put me off. The Irishman is a big fan of festivals, but at his age most of his mates are having babies and diaper changes aren't exactly suited to muddy fields and drunken revelers, so our festival-ready friends are sort of out of commission. Last year we contemplated going to Latitude, which I've heard is brilliant, but I didn't have that many days of holiday so we gave it a miss.

So when some of The Irishman's friends announced that they wanted to come up to London for Field Day, we decided to join in on the fun. Usually Field Day is 2 days, no camping but you can buy a ticket for either day or both, but with the Jubilee it was only the Saturday. A colleague of mine who was also attending gave me the official Field Day clashfinder so we could plan our day, and who we wanted to see on what stages. Below are my legs and my clashfinder, with my picks.

It was a great line up, so there were some tough compromises, but in the end we had a schedule that looked like this:

Liars

Andrew Bird

Grimes

Sleigh Bells

Beirut

Mazzy Star / Franz Ferdinand*

With that plan in mind, we headed over to Victoria Park to join in the festivities.

What I didn't realize about the festival was the carnival atmosphere. There was a himalaya ride! and giant swings! My favorite, which I didn't get a photo of, was the WI (Women's Institute) table where they were doing Dalston dip-dye hair treatments for free. No, I did not get one.

There were tons of food stands throughout the park, and even a Pimms truck!

The general feel of the festival was like a big fair, with massive movements of people between tents as sets finished and others started. There was even impressive festival fashion, like these guys:

The best acts were in the smaller tents, which actually felt like concerts and the crowds - though jampacked - were really into the music. Unfortunately, the main stage performances felt really far away and distant. Most people were talking through the music and not really engaging with the musicians. I think I enjoyed the main stage best during the afternoon when it was sunny and bright and you could lounge in the grass and soak up the atmosphere and music in a relaxed way.

At the end of the day, in true festival tradition, it started to rain. At first it was sprinkly and bearable, but towards the end of Beirut we were getting soaked and I was freezing. So we had to go and miss the final acts.

Overall, though, the day was really fun. I would definitely go back as for £50 we got to see a ton of great bands and discover some new ones too. Obviously there were queues for some subpar porta-potties, and overpriced beers, but the big flipside of Field Day is that you get to rock out all day and then go home and sleep in your own bed. Priceless.

*The Irishman and I were torn over which headliner to see: I wanted to relive the grrl power 90s and see Mazzy Star and he wanted to bounce around to Franz Ferdinand. We had agreed to decide in the moment but in the end we left so it was a draw.

The Diamond Jubilee weekend

 

I'm sitting on the sofa watching the Queen's Jubilee Concert, arguing with The Irishman over whether The Beatles originally sang Live and Let Die (I was sort of right, it was Wings) and thought it was the right time to update you all on the Diamond Jubilee festivities thus far. That's me above, with my face through a placard in Victoria Station and it pretty much sums up the weekend: flags, buntings, and Corgis galore.

It started Friday on my walk to work. The pub above is my local, where I had my 30th birthday party, getting ready for the onslaught of the coming festivities. It cheered me up and set the stage for the rest of the holiday weekend.

When I got to work, bunting and chalk drawings greeted me. Can you see the theme yet?

We spent Saturday out in East London at a music festival (a post about that later), but Sunday was devoted to the Jubilee flotilla. We decided to go down to the riverside near Tate Britain, and try to find a spot near a large screen. This is what we saw when we met up with friends at a pub near the Pimlico tube station.

And here is what we saw on our way to finding a viewing spot:

The screens were great, as you got to see all of the goings-on down river in Chelsea Harbour where the royal party was boarding their respective watercraft. When the Duchess of Cambridge came on screen for the first time, a massive cheer went up and the flags went wild. All around me I heard "She's gooooorgeous!" A lesser cheer went up for Charles and Camilla. But of course, the biggest cheer of all went up for the Queen.

And then the flotilla procession began. I had to stand on tip toes, but when I did I could glimpse Kate in her bright red dress and get a good view of the royal barge. It was pretty special. 

The rain started not long after the Queen sailed past, so we decamped to a pub near Victoria Station. This is Elizabeth Street.

We sat outside a street party table, with lovely flower arrangements that reflected the flowers of the British nations.

And some unfortunate spelling on lovely decorative bread. 

In Victoria Station, this cheeky sign was a brilliant symbol of the mood of everyone in the city - despite the weather.

Today we went to Oxford Street, and Regent Street was decked out with bunting and flags.

Carnaby Street of course had a more eccentric take on the Union Jack.

And then we had lunch in Chinatown, where the Union Jack hung next to the Chinese flag across the neighborhood.

Even the drag queens were celebrating, with confetti and balloons during an outdoor concert.

And of course, there was the Jubilee concert this evening in front of Buckingham Palace. It was surprisingly emotional, with Prince Charles calling the Queen "Mummy" and the Queen breaking into a smile as her subjects cheered and clapped for her. But the festivities aren't over; tomorrow there is a service at St Paul's Cathedral and procession down The Mall. I don't think we'll try to attend any of those celebrations as the weather will be crap again, and I want to take advantage of some of the Jubilee sales that are flooding the high streets.

I remarked to The Irishman that I felt sort of weird after yesterday, standing for hours in the rain to crane my neck for a glimpse of a monarch that technically isn't mine. I mean, I'm a native of a country that defined itself by rejecting the British royal family and rule; The Irishman's people were persecuted for centuries and tried to kill the Queen. Yet we both found the Jubilee celebrations to be wonderfully moving displays that we were more than happy to join. The Irishman thought that it was a testament to the Queen's ability to bring people together and lead in such a way that helped mend differences. I think that the Queen is a lovely grandmother sort who has mellowed so much since I moved to the UK. 

There was a lovely piece of footage during tonight's concert that summed up how I see the Queen: in it, she is examining soldiers standing to attention - including William. As she passes him, he cracks a smile and then straightens his face but not before she pauses a moment and smiles herself. That shared look of love through duty is what I've come to see of the Queen in my four years of living in the UK. A lot of articles have been written about the Queen over the last few weeks, many (if not most) of them positively praising her influence on the world and the UK, but I've found the personal portraits the most fascinating. Here is a woman who completely dedicated her life to duty to the Realm, and had to adapt to some of the most changing situations in history. Sometimes she changed too slowly, but at this point, 60 years in, she's found an equilibrium that most of us dream to possess. Whether she likes it or, not, Diana was good for her and the family and you can see her influence in how the Queen treats her grandsons and her subjects.

I'm glad I got to experience the Jubilee, and all of the pomp and circumstance, even if every time I hear God Save the Queen I think of My Country, 'Tis of Thee. It's a special time for a special woman, who sets an example that all politicians around the world should study and heed.