Barcelona

Thursday morning I headed to the East Midlands airport feeling a little trepidatious. My last two trips did not go as planned (one didn’t go at all and on the other they lost my luggage). This time they got it right; they left on time and delivered me as well as my two bags. In fact, I imagine they felt so bad about the last two trips, they even ensured my bags came along the belt a few seconds after I arrived at the carousel to collect them.

I brought my camera onboard and took some pictures as the plane flew over the Pyrenees Mountains on the border between France and Spain. As the airport is south of Barcelona, we did a fly-by which afforded great views of the city.

Since I had had already been to Barcelona in 2007, there wasn’t a lot I wanted to do this time. Not to mention the fact I was here to work as an honorary Uniglobe employee.

When I arrived mid-day on Thursday dad was already at the hotel. Andrew and Marie flew in together that evening and immediately Andrew went to work. Marie and I went out for dinner to catch up and (unbeknownst to me) it would be one of the only times I would leave the hotel in the following three days.

The conference had around 300 attendees who were going to sit through a day and a half of speakers and presentations. It officially started Friday night with a cocktail reception; however my work started Friday morning.

I spent most of Friday with Andrew going through the schedule of events over the following two days. Each speaker had different requirements regarding their presentations in regard to lighting, music, video and progressing through the slides. I was set up in the back of the room with a couple of laptops that were hooked up into the sound guy’s equipment.

Everything went relatively smoothly and I even found some of the speaker’s interesting even though their content was aimed at people within the travel industry.

Saturday night was a gala dinner which was fun. Everyone got dressed up and the hotel food was pretty decent. The previous two nights I had gone out for dinner with Marie and then with dad and Marie and we had not been overwhelmed with the quality of food. I had remembered it being a lot better on my previous visit.

Sunday was the final day and it ended early in the afternoon. I took the opportunity to head out of the hotel and walked through the neighbourhood to get some exposure to the sun I had been staring at through the hotel’s windows and to get some fresh air.

That evening the three of us went out for dinner (again, less than great) and dad was tired, so he retired to the hotel. Marie knew of a light and music show that took place at the Art History Museum. The impressing structure sits at the top of a hill with grand stairs, waterfalls and fountains that lead up to the top. At the bottom is one of the largest fountains I have ever seen with hundreds of water jets. This is where the show took place and was far more impressive than the Bellagio show in Vegas. For one thing, this was an old classic fountain with water jets on multiple levels and instead of shining light onto it, the coloured lights came from beneath the water. It was set to classical music and behind the backdrop of the city in the evening, it was a wonderful show.

The picture to the left was taken from the top of the stairs and the large fountain is clearly visible (although it is not on during the day).

Monday morning I checked out of my room (as the conference was now over) and moved into Andrew’s room for the remaining two days. We had not shared a room together since we went to England in 1997. One of the more memorable moments came in the evening when Andrew commented that the bidet in the bathroom was unnecessary and took up too much space. I quipped that I had no idea how to use it, at which point, Andrew made a comment such as “it’s not rocket science” before turning it on to show me. He turned it on to full with one twist of the knob and as the water shot out of the tap, bounced off the porcelain and hit Andrew in the crotch.

Monday was a work day for dad and Andrew as they had meetings set up. Marie and I decided to take a double-decker bus tour of the city which is always a good way to see all the sites. Both Marie and I had been to Barcelona before (in fact, Andrew was the only one of us who hadn’t). We even strolled up La Ramblas and Marie had her pictures taken with one of the human statues.

We got off the bus a few times such as to walk through the old Gothic Quarter and to view a garden that once belonged to a palace. We returned to the hotel in the late afternoon to get ready for dinner. As it was the final night for most of the remaining attendees and staff, we went out as a group of 35 and had a wonderful Spanish dinner at a local restaurant.

Tuesday was the day we had set aside to spent together as all the work was now finished and it was Andrew’s one day to really see Barcelona. We started off the day by going to La Sagrada Família which Marie had been inside during one of the days of the conference. Due to the massive line ups, I missed it in 2007. However this time we arrived early in the day and waited no more than 15 minutes.

This building is striking from the outside and almost more impressive from the inside. As it has been under construction since 1882 and is expected to be completed by 2026 (for the 100 year anniversary of Gaudi’s death), it is one of the only buildings of our era that is being constructed over a 144 year time span.

The inside supporting columns looked similar to trees in a forest (which is what Gaudi was going for). All his work has symbolism and most of his inspiration is based on nature. I have included more pictures of La Sagrada Família at the end of this post.

Afterward we went for lunch and then rented a couple of Go Cars. During the bus tour on the previous day, Marie and I had noticed these funny car/moped hybrids around town. They looked like a lot of fun and so we rented two to head around town in. As much as they were useful for transportation, they are also have GPS tour routes programmed in so you can hear the commentary through the stereo speakers as it guides you through the city.

They were loads of fun as we took turns driving and saw many of the city’s sites. It was a great way to spend the afternoon of our final day in Barcelona.

I should point out I am seriously sleep deprived as I haven’t had a full night sleep in almost 10 days. If this entry seems a little dull or lacking in energy; this is why. I am putting in more pictures than text to make up for it. It is my hope my trip will become a bit more relaxed in the next leg and I will catch up on my sleep.

Next stop: Marseille!