Monday 25th June 2007

Back in Blighty. Barcelona was absolutely amazing!! Such a beautiful city. Loved every single moment of it.

Tuesday was "Gaudi Day". It was also the hottest day of the trip - nearly 90 degrees and due to the decanting of liquids into bottles of less than 100ml (to meet new EU regulations for hand luggage) I ended up applying liquid hairspray instead of sunscreen spray onto my skin...wondered why my arm hair seemed so sleek and styled. Went to Sagrada Familia first. Mind-blowing. It just looks as if it has risen up out of the mud and formed the strangest, most ethereal shapes. Photos just don't do it justice. Then went to Park Guell where almost every surface was covered in mosaics...colours were so vibrant. Casa Mila next. The roof was crazy...covered in bizarre, alien-like statues - some wooden, some mosaic, some stone - and steps going up and down, up and down, so that as you walked around it felt like bobbing around in the sea. Then onto Casa Battlo a little way down the road - covered in jewel-coloured mosaics and stained glass.

Wednesday - Picasso Museum. Permanent collection wasn't all that great to be totally honest but they were holding a temporary exhibition of Lee Miller's photographs of Picasso and that was really fantastic. Walked around the Barri Gotic, or the Gothic Quarter, in the afternoon, and at every turn there was more amazing architecture to behold.

Thursday was spent walking down La Rambla to the Port laughing at all the living statues and cringing at all the animals crammed into tiny cages on the pet stalls. Loads of shopping to be done - including a visit to C and A (which hadn't seemed to have changed it's stock since 1987) and a 'Pick-and Mix' sweet shop called "Happy Pills" where you could buy medicine bottles of various sizes for different amounts of Euros and then fill them up with sweets.

After one last Cappucino it was back to the airport, back onboard "Sleazy Jet" and back to Gatwick...where it was raining...hard.

Gaby's Hen Night was on Saturday. Very fun evening was had by all. The venue was 'Madison's'...possibly the cheesiest venue I have ever been to...one minute the waiters/waitresses are dishing out dinner, the next they're leaping on top of a piano and belting out 'I Will Survive' and 'Love Shack'...QUALITY Mate...'AVE IT!