Baaaaaaaarcelona!

I couldn’t even start to guess the amount of times I have been afforded the chance to spend some time in Barcelona. I first sailed into this magnificent port of call on an Airtours ship back in 1996. It could have been the Seawing, more likely the Carousel, it matters not. To this day, Barcelona is a port that shows up regularly on my schedule and I have no problem with that!

What a port! No wonder Freddie Mercury and Monserrat Cabellé sung about this city with such gusto back in 1992.

Today we docked at 7am and I was at the bottom of Las Rambles by half past and it felt like I was the only one in the city. I had a fabulous tourist free view of the Columbus Monument. I have dozens of pictures of it but never have I been alone while taking them. I love a sunset and a sunrise. It’s well documented that they are two of the things I enjoy most while travelling but being shoreside while the city wakes up is another huge favourite of mine. The day was off to a great start.

My plan was to head to the marina and grab a picture of the sail boats and post a blog with the story of my coming very close to purchasing a yacht there back in 1996. That was my plan. But first, coffee.

I headed to Mercat de Santa Caterina: this early in the morning you’d be a fool to miss out on coffee at a local market. So I wandered up Las Rambles with Mr Columbus behind me pointing at the new world. I smiled at myself remembering a time I was once asked where Christopher Columbus was pointing and I told them:

“The ship! The column moves so they can change the position so his finger is pointing directly at your ship.” I walked away giggling and never found out if I was believed or not. I had told them with some conviction.

Las Rambles was ripped up with construction work and I giggled again remembering a joke Dad had written for me years ago about Rome, something about it being a nice city but ‘imagine what it’ll be like when they finish it.’ A great joke for Rome, for any city littered with ruins, but I think I can get a laugh out of that tonight. The guests would have experienced Barcelona today so fingers crossed.

I was sitting on my stool at Bar Joan. Cortado ordered and some tostado too, both of which I enjoyed while I read a couple of chapters of Simon Reeve’s autobiography Step By Step. He talked about the spontaneity of a trip. Plans are important but I agree with Simon, sometimes it OK to just let things happen naturally. 

I googled ‘coffee’ to see where else was open and top of the list was Nøor Cofee. I’d not heard of them but am seriously suspicious of anywhere that is top of a Google list. After the briefest of scrolls I found Right Side Coffee Bar and plotted my walk there. Within feet, to be precise 130 meters, I passed Nøor Coffee, smiled at their signage and found myself walking in.

“Google has you at the top of their list for coffee shops here!” I told Davíd. Yep, I now knew his name, something that must suggest to you how the visit had gone.

“Really, our coffee is terrible!” He replied to me with a grimace. I loved this place immediately and sensed a friendship about to blossom. 

I wanted a Macchiato but it didn’t appear on their menu but hesitantly I asked,

“ Can I have a Macchiato please?”

“Of course, with  a spoonful of foam on top?”

I was in heaven. It’s a great coffee shop, the coffee was a stunner but the service was perfect. It opened within the last year and had already evolved with a total of four cafes around this region. 

I really needed to think about heading south to the water, to the marina but I ended up walking north to Nøor Coffee & Klawa where Davíd promised me more great coffee with the added bonus of a freshly baked cookie. It was only a two mile walk out of my way but I was in Barcelona and what better place for a stroll?

In my experience the best spots are always stumbled across when lost or wandering so although Google Maps suggested a very direct route I couldn’t  help but meander and I enjoyed fresh fruit from another market, a really cool statue of a face, more buildings courtesy of Gaudi and of course a couple more coffees. Eventually I arrived at Nøor Coffee and Klawa but I  chickened out: my experience at the first one had been brilliant and I didn’t want to ruin it now. Never mind, Basílica de la Sagrada Família was just around the corner. Not quite, it was another mile and a half away but I passed so many more cool buildings, street art galore, statues and of course, cafes. It was another hour or so before I reached the Basílica. I turned the corner and approached from the west and was greeted with yet another stunning view from this city.

By now the time is cracking on and I’d still not made it to the marina so I headed there, directly, more or less. Though, how could I NOT stop for coffee at a cafe called Cheer Up!

Eventually after more miles I made it to the water and it was nothing like I remembered. Not one sail boat in sight, just huge super boat thingys. Not my cup of tea at all. It’s was also jam packed with people so I turned right and walked back to the ship. I’d a couple of shows  tonight and I have walked miles – 30,198 steps! After two shows my step count was so close to my third best day ever so I took the longest route back to my cabin before I settled on my sofa with the remainder of Simon’s book, happy with 35, 678 steps and happier still in the knowledge that I’d had the best day. Not much beats visiting somewhere new but there is a joy in finding gems in a place you thought you’d exhausted.

Oh. That yacht story….turns out that is now a blog for another day.