Monday, November 19, 2007

Vola Barcelona!

A week off to sunny spain, especially as winter sets in UK is a nice one to embark. I was off to a Microsoft Tech-ed conference. I am not intending to blog about technology, but more of the spainish jubilations. I got to stay on a 7th floor hotel suite looking onto the 'Mar'(sea in spanish), such a nice break! Thats a nice view from one of the windows :)

One night we went out to taste the paellas! my colleagues kindly checked around to make sure i get a veggie paella. I was knackered eating such a heavy nice dinner. The next evening was at the rock cafe and a nice spanish dinner, followed by 'Soberanos' and 'Sangrías'. Back to bachelor's life! the next evening was the one that i would cherish for years to come... i went out to hunt for photos on Gaudi's architecture. I have heard about his style, but did not imagine such a splendour... Just no words to describe this marvel. This cathedral is considered to be Gaudi's masterpiece. Antoni Gaudi was a deeply religious man who became even more single-minded about his faith in Catholicism with age. He devoted his last years of life entirely to the design and construction of this cathedral, even living onsite. Apparently this church is expected to be completed in 30 years!

With a feeling of awe, i picked myself up and looked into the metro map for reaching the La Rambla! Took a L2 from Sagarada Familia to Clot and a L1 from clot to Catalunya to be struck by another awe! Its a famous touristy landmark and the moment you start walking on the wide street, you would be transported into a different place and time and i was... I strolled, sauntered, and slowly the foot started to slog, i decided to get into a small street which looked to me like a palace courtyard with fountains in the middle and royalish chairs in all corners, a perfect place to give my achy feet a chance to respite... After some God knows how long, i decided to venture back into the ramblas and found the La Boqueria - the famous market, a colourful market that reminded the mexican market in San Jose, California... (Yeah i could see where the influence is from).
After spending quite a long time in the market buying nothing but clicking a lot with my canon, i decided to call it a day and to end, I relished a falafel with pita bread and boarded the T4 to selva de mar - the place where i stayed... ha, wat a nice place to stay and enjoy... I would love to go again and have some great fun... I love barcelona... Mucho Gracias.