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Well it was supposed to be a winter weekend in Madrid until EasyJet decided to cancel our flights. Hasty replanning saw us head back to Barcelona. A fantastic city so hardly a chore.

A photo heavy single post to cover 3 days (or I’ll never catch up the blog). We did much of the same stuff as before so you can read through my posts from 2017 if you want some more details.

An early morning flight from Bristol on a very chilly day

Superb views of a snow covered Pyrenees.

And over Barcelona itself.

We found a really rather nice hotel, the H10 Metropolitan just off Placa Catalunya. Right in the heart of the city, near some of the week known Gaudi buildings and an area packed with Tapas bars – more later.

View from our balcony.

After checking in (and a welcome glass of Cava) we hit the Bouqueria Market for lunch. An amazing Fish Platter, that we tried very hard to finish and just failed.

An afternoon walk along the seafront. By the time we got there it had clouded over and was really rather chilly. Only a couple of weeks later in the year than last time but several degrees cooler

A few of the city’s well known buildings. La Pedrera (night and day shots)

Casa Batllo – night and day.

Fundació Antoni Tapies.

Casa Thomas.

Casa de les Punxes (my favourite from last time)

And of course the stunning and still unfinished Sagrada Familia.

When we woke on the second morning it was grey and the pavements were wet with rain. By the time we reached the Sagrada the skies had cleared to a wonderful blue and there was some warmth in the air.

A walk in the Parc de la Ciutadella and its stunning statue before lunch.

You are never more than a few steps away from a Tapas Bar in Barcelona and this one, Bastaix was small, friendly and superb. Tapas is great for any meal lots of plates for feast, a small number for a light lunch. This is Black Pudding and Goats Cheese drizzled with honey.

Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar.

To close out our second day we headed to another of my favourite spots from last time, the Carmel Bunkers.

We caught the bus that takes you to the top but after two stops we had to get off due to a closed road. We had to walk all the way up but it was a fine walk that took in some other great viewpoints.

Everyone knows I love views down over cities and this is one of the very best.

We were lucky the skies had cleared to give such a stunning evening. As it was a weekend the place was packed with locals enjoying a good natured sunset party.

Some homes sit on top of the hill – what a fabulous place to live.

The crowds waiting for sunset – it was turning chilly and we weren’t really dressed for winter so we headed down. More tapas to eat and all that.

Even though just a plain block of flats this building was catching both the sun and my eye.

Our last day before a late flight home and time for another long walk. We really covered some miles over the three days.

The twin Venetian style towers at Place Espanya.

The view from the Palau Nacional.

A wander around the Olympic Park.

We found a way up to the ridge above the coast with some unusual views across the docks and the harbour before we walked back to Montjuc castle.

The ludicrously expensive gondola with views across the city.

The lovely fountains and water features in the Jardins del Mirador and views across the harbour and Barceloneta

We hopped on a bus down to the seafront for a snack and a drink on the beach.

The waves were huge and the water busy with surfers and SUPs. I was envious of the conditions and ached to get in the water for a play.

We settled for a beachfront seat and beer.

Another long walk along the beach and water-front.

And back through the town past the Cathedral

And one final Tapas feast before we headed to the airport for our flight home.

Wonderful sunny break in a vibrant city full of interesting stuff and great food. No better way to escape from a dreary British November.

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To quote my guidebook “Barcelona’s Modernisme buildings arose during La Renaixenca, a period of great artistic and political fervour that was deeply connected to Catalan identity, and which transformed early 20th Century Barcelona into a showcase for Avant Garde architecture”

Most people associate this with Antoni Gaudi but he wasn’t alone. He had many contemporaries all of whom followed the same principles that Gaudi is so well-known for. It was also not confined to Catalonia, the same moves were seen across Europe where it was just given a different name such as Art Nouveau in the UK.

The style is very much about curves or at least using the curve to bring everything together. Unifying architecture with nature was also a key theme as seem in the branching tree-like columns of the Sagrada Familia. Despite the name seeming to indicate a rejection of older styles, in fact the reverse was true and many inspirations from Gothic, Islamic and Renaissance can be seen. It was also responsible for reviving many traditional artisan trades especially in stone-work, stained glass and tile-work, especially Trencadis (the use of ceramic fragments to create mosaics, best seen in Park Guell)

I wrote a post about the Sagrada Familia, the incomplete pinnacle of Modernisme but we saw many other of their creations on our wander through the city so I thought a post dedicated to them was in order. So as Rafael McTell once sang “Let me take you by the hand and lead you through the streets of Barcelona”

I chose our apartment on the basis that it had a roof terrace and overlooked La Pedrera (“The Quarry”) and its very odd chimneys on the roof

They reminded me of chess pieces and they have the trademark Trencadis mosaic effect again

Its one of the most striking buildings and gleamed white in the sunshine

As with all these buildings the balconies and their railings are a central, eye-catching feature

It also looked pretty fine lit up at night

Just down the road and perhaps the weirdest of all these buildings is Casa Batllo. The photos don’t really do justice to the colour and the decoration. Due to its position and the trees that screen it its hard to get a decent photo

It’s a bizarre combination of resinous curves, blues, greens and purples. Supposedly even weirder on the inside but like all things Barcelona, costly to visit

It looks especially fine at night. In fact it was the very first building we saw when we emerged from the train station after our flight

The usual “the photos don’t do it justice” remark applies

I think eclectic sums this one up. Not sure I’d want to live in it but its stunning regardless. Me and the kids loved it, TBF was less certain

Next door is Casa Amatller, designed by Pui i Cadafalch, one of Gaudi’s contemporaries. A heady mix of gothic, dutch and other styles

This dormer window and balcony caught my eye

And a couple of doors down is the Casa Lleo Morera by Domenech i Montaner. Together with the previous two buildings it forms the Manzana de la Discordia (block of discord!)

I’ve no idea what this roof decoration is but many buildings in Barcelona have them

Nearer the centre of the city is the Palau de la Musica Catalana. The exterior decoration is amazing, but it’s squeezed into a really narrow collection of streets and almost impossible to get a decent photo

As with all these buildings its stunning on the inside as well and expensive to tour. Must be a fab place for an evening concert

I’d also chosen our apartment as it is right in the heart of the L’Eixample district where most of these Moderniste gems reside.

We had an hour or two to kill on our last full day so we took a wander around the streets to look at some of the lesser known buildings. This one is the Palau del Baró de Quadras

The front of this building was interesting, La Casa Comalat

It was the rear of the building that was really eye-catching

It reminded me of the resin secretions that you see in the “Alien” movies or more possibly bones, muscles and sinews, again linking back to Gaudi’s use of the curves of nature

Considering its tucked away on a back street it’s quite an extraordinary sight

This one is Casa Serra with its fairytale feel and ornate balcony. Its home to some vague and meaningless government department of street light maintenance or some-such.

This bizarrely roofed example is the Fundacio Antoni Tapies

The Palau Montaner is less weird than the previous one but stunning on the outside. Apparently its even more stunning on the inside but it was always surrounded by barriers and police so I assumed it must be home to some important Catalan person involved in the recent situation

I liked this one because of the name, Casa Thomas. I have a mate with the Thomas surname so I was pleased he had a building named after him and so was he when I sent him a picture!

They really do put a lot of effort into bay windows and balconies in these buildings

I think this one is the Conservatori Municipal de Música de Barcelona

A more modern style design, the Casa Manuel Llopis Bofill

This one came as a surprise, a very fine church tucked away in a residential zone. The Parròquia de Sant Francesc de Sales

My personal favourite was the Casa de les Punxes (House of Spikes)

Probably down to my childhood love of fairytale castles and their pepperpot roofs

As well as the roof, the decorations, window boxes and balconies are all very striking

It seemed to catch the sun whenever we walked past it hence I took lots of photos

Its red brick facade and roof caught the sun and contrasted beautifully against the blue sky

An (admittedly not terribly interesting) fact, it’s the only fully detached building in L’Eixample

I’m going to borrow a phrase my good friend Mark used when he was Barcelona last year. I don’t know very much about architecture but I like what Gaudi and his colleagues did in Barcelona. All of the buildings were unique in some way and almost every other building bears their influence. Turns a wander around this area of the city a real stroll of discovery