BARCELONA
Christmas in Barcelona was a fantastic relief from the cold weather and grey skies of London. Although it was only between 13 and 19 degrees for the four days it hopefully got our batteries recharged enough for the rest of the winter. It seemed to change our mood, it’s amazing how the sun can give you a real boost of energy. Blue skies everyday gave us the chance to walk through the streets instead of spending our time on the metro under the city going from tourist spot to tourist spot. Best views of the city were from the 1992 Olympic Diving Stadium area (were Greg Luganus hit his head the board) and also the La Sagrada Familia church. The city was vast with a ranging population of people like any big city. Everywhere people of all ages were running, blading, cycling, playing football, basketball, some tennis type game and we even stumbled upon a cricket game being played by some Indian immigrants.
With our hotel only a few hundred metres from the beach we rollerbladed (new found skill after only a couple of practise sessions around Wembley) along the paved promenade. Sights included the local nude beach which only featured older men running up a down the beach. Why do old dudes do this? Anyway gave us a laugh. Further on we bladed past surfers in the Christmas
spirit wearing Santa hats and sun worshiping bikini clad tourists while the locals got around in jackets, beanies and scarves. On the outskirts of the city for some reason there were feral cats everywhere, which we found a bit of a concern for the local bird population which there seemed to be none of. 
With our hotel a few kilometres out of the city centre it was good to see the way local people lived in a big city suburb, instead of just seeing the popular sites. Every apartment block featured wrought ironed balconies with washing drying on them in the sun. With it being winter and many locals and tourist not in the city because of the time of year, the streets were sometimes deserted, and gave us a chance to relax a little more than if it was summer, with more people it would have been less enjoyable. We came across a large park similar to Hyde Park with older people dancing in circles of groups of 6 plus holding hands together in the air with minimal foot movement in front of a rotunda filled with a band of jazz type musicians. What’s strange to us is totally normal for others, the way life should be, to travel and expect to see the same things is the day we wouldn’t bother. Our biggest downfall is only
speaking English which at times we can tell is frustrating for locals, particularly in restaurants, but at least we have a crack at the local language, but it does make us feel a bit ignorant at times. 
We tried to get tickets to see Barcelona FC and Real Madrid at the Nou Camp but at 250 euros each it was a bit out of our budget, so we watched the match at a pub with the disappointed locals as they lost one nil. The highlight for the trip for Bryce was the food. From Sangria, to Paella, Chicken croquets, spicy meatballs wrapped in mash potatoes, savoury pastries every meal was better than the one before, and all were finished off the locally made delicacy ……the chuppa chup. Apart from the chuppa chup’s Caitlin’s highlight was sunlight and a fresh food market off the La Rambla (main st), but without a doubt the happiest moment of her trip was at a coffee/pastry/chocolate shop on La
Rambla which has been open since 1820. A cup of pure hot chocolate ended our Christmas in Barcelona. Gracias Spain.
Christmas in Barcelona was a fantastic relief from the cold weather and grey skies of London. Although it was only between 13 and 19 degrees for the four days it hopefully got our batteries recharged enough for the rest of the winter. It seemed to change our mood, it’s amazing how the sun can give you a real boost of energy. Blue skies everyday gave us the chance to walk through the streets instead of spending our time on the metro under the city going from tourist spot to tourist spot. Best views of the city were from the 1992 Olympic Diving Stadium area (were Greg Luganus hit his head the board) and also the La Sagrada Familia church. The city was vast with a ranging population of people like any big city. Everywhere people of all ages were running, blading, cycling, playing football, basketball, some tennis type game and we even stumbled upon a cricket game being played by some Indian immigrants.
With our hotel only a few hundred metres from the beach we rollerbladed (new found skill after only a couple of practise sessions around Wembley) along the paved promenade. Sights included the local nude beach which only featured older men running up a down the beach. Why do old dudes do this? Anyway gave us a laugh. Further on we bladed past surfers in the Christmas
spirit wearing Santa hats and sun worshiping bikini clad tourists while the locals got around in jackets, beanies and scarves. On the outskirts of the city for some reason there were feral cats everywhere, which we found a bit of a concern for the local bird population which there seemed to be none of. 
With our hotel a few kilometres out of the city centre it was good to see the way local people lived in a big city suburb, instead of just seeing the popular sites. Every apartment block featured wrought ironed balconies with washing drying on them in the sun. With it being winter and many locals and tourist not in the city because of the time of year, the streets were sometimes deserted, and gave us a chance to relax a little more than if it was summer, with more people it would have been less enjoyable. We came across a large park similar to Hyde Park with older people dancing in circles of groups of 6 plus holding hands together in the air with minimal foot movement in front of a rotunda filled with a band of jazz type musicians. What’s strange to us is totally normal for others, the way life should be, to travel and expect to see the same things is the day we wouldn’t bother. Our biggest downfall is only
speaking English which at times we can tell is frustrating for locals, particularly in restaurants, but at least we have a crack at the local language, but it does make us feel a bit ignorant at times. 
We tried to get tickets to see Barcelona FC and Real Madrid at the Nou Camp but at 250 euros each it was a bit out of our budget, so we watched the match at a pub with the disappointed locals as they lost one nil. The highlight for the trip for Bryce was the food. From Sangria, to Paella, Chicken croquets, spicy meatballs wrapped in mash potatoes, savoury pastries every meal was better than the one before, and all were finished off the locally made delicacy ……the chuppa chup. Apart from the chuppa chup’s Caitlin’s highlight was sunlight and a fresh food market off the La Rambla (main st), but without a doubt the happiest moment of her trip was at a coffee/pastry/chocolate shop on La
Rambla which has been open since 1820. A cup of pure hot chocolate ended our Christmas in Barcelona. Gracias Spain. 
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