So it's been a while since I posted, and I confess it's because work has been kicking my butt! But last week was the culmination of the last 6 months' worth of hard work, in Barcelona. A week of 12-16 hour days is enough to take it out of anyone, but we managed to sneak the odd moment when we weren't working or sleeping to have a smidgen of fun....
We checked in to the AC Barcelona Forum when we arrived last Sunday and went straight to work. After a whole day of work we headed straight to the rooftop pool to sit in the setting sun with the Sagrada Familia in the hazy distance.
After a quick change we headed out to Sergons Marcat for some tapas. This place is hugely hard to find; our taxi drivers had no idea where it was, and dropped us on a tiny Barcelona backstreet for us to find our own way....but I always think if a place is hard to find, it's probably a real gem.
Immediately I was struck by the beautiful floor made from old food crates. I'd love a kitchen floor like this one day.
There were 15 of us, and we were all starving hungry by this point, so I didn't get the chance to snap much of what we ordered before it was gobbled up by greedy fingers, but I did manage to grab a couple of the highlights...
This simple but beautiful tomato and mozarella salad with pesto.
The best, but most garlicky patatas bravas you will ever have! (Not pretty, but who cares when they taste that good!)
And these equally garlicky prawns (vampires beware!)
I do love tapas; with a group that big it's perfect because everyone was digging in, passing plates, grabbing forks and jabbering away while washing everything down with sweet fruity sangria. The perfect start to a hugely tough, but rewarding week of work!
Fast forward 6 days and 52 hours of work later and after a long long sleep we woke to a few hours left to see Barcelona before hopping on a plane home back to reality! Luckily I have been to Barcelona before, so didn't need to see much of the touristy stuff again, so took a wander around the streets.Taking in some beautiful Gaudi works before hauling up the hill to Parc Guell.
If you ever find yourself in Barcelona with a few hours to kill I would really recommend this place; a beautiful spot to have a wander round, or sit and sunbathe, listen to some buskers or pay a little extra and get all-access to some of Gaudi's most incredible works.
Oh, and don't leave without eating your weight in patatas bravas!