The other day I had an E Mail from Easyjet advising their flight sale was coming to an end. On impulse I had a quick look. For no particular reason clicked on Barcelona. Go in 10 days time - £48 return ! Amazing. I booked it on the spot (after all it is cold February !) I was overdue doing something with my bruvs (otherwise known as the Three Tenners - ha!). However youngest brother Mike is completing his Yachtmaster Offshore Commercial qualification - so I called middle brother Rob. He jumped at the chance so I booked him too.

The basic logistics - it costs me about the same money and takes about the same time to get from the Isle of Wight to Gatwick Airport - as it takes to get from Gatwick to Barcelona ! That said the Fast Cat and train into Gatwick is not a bad journey if everything dovetails and runs on time (which of course they do not always do !) This time they did.

So I arrange to meet Rob air side N Terminal. No surprise he suggests we meet in the Red Lion (Wetherspoons) ! Alas not S Fowler & Co prices (and no Ruddles but at least it is Abbot Ale) ! By the way - a great improvement that a last at Gatwick you do not have to remove liquids from hand luggage when going through security. It is easy to knock Easyjet but they got us there on time - the Aerobus is the way to get to the City Centre. Smooth. It no doubt helps it is a Monday in February.

Ok Barcelona. It is the Catalan capital - a global city - ranked the 20th most visited city in the world. It is an international transport hub - the busiest passenger port in Europe. The city has a population of about 1.75 million and in the immediate urban hinterland there are about 6m more souls.

My overall impression is Barcelona is a very civilised place. (it does have a reputation for pickpockets and petty crime but we saw no evidence. Of course we were sort of out of season). The streets and walk ways are wide. The traffic is reasonable and orderly. The shops and restaurants in the centre are up together. There is a bit of hawking but not much for a large city. It is easy to move around. Of course we were there out of season - Barcelona gets very hot and that would change things but of course it has its own well regarded beaches and a swim in the Med would not be too terrible.

Rob and I had a very limited agenda - not least because we had very limited time (I should have booked an extra day at least). We want to relax - we want to catch up - we want to see the major sites - most obviously the Gaudi architecture that features so highly in the guide books.

The solution was to book a guided bike tour. It took about 4 hours - lots of stops and as much information as you could want. It worked so well for us. Barcelona has a brilliant bike lane network. The roads are generally wide anyway as I have said. Barcelona is also pretty much flat - built on a plain.

I have included some mob photos below.

I have also included a Wicki extract about how Barcelona was restyled/rebuilt which helps it inhabitants handle some extraordinary summer temperatures.

There is also an extract about Gaudi who is synonymous with Barcelona. His buildings - most notably the Sagrada Familia are why so many visit.

Rob and I had a real laugh. A full days sightseeing always ends in having a beer. We stumbled on a 2 for 1 offer. 4 pints later we had a usual rambling chat - part memory lane - part talking about our much missed and loved late parents - much about life - and overload on giving each other advice for the future - ha ha! It is amazing 2 close brothers can be so different in many ways but so similar in others. What we all have is a strong sense of family and it is a tremendous thing to feel.

Last reflection - we did not really do Barcelona justice on this whistle stop visit - pretty much glossed over everything - especially Gaudi. However that was not what it was really about. It was about some quality time with Rob at a bargain price - ha!

Transforming the city

In the mid-1850s, Barcelona was struggling with population density as it became an industrial, port city and European capital. The city's density was at 856 people per hectare, more than double that of Paris. Mortality rates were on the rise and any outbreaks of disease would devastate the population. To solve the issue, a civil engineer named Ildefons Cerdà proposed a plan for a new district known as the Eixample. The citizens of Barcelona had begun to demolish the medieval wall surrounding and constricting the city. Cerdà thought it best to transform the land outside the walls into an area characterized by a scientific approach to urbanization. His proposal consisted of a grid of streets to unite the old city and surrounding villages. There would also be wide streets to allow people to breathe clean air, gardens in the centre of each street block, integration of rich and poor giving both groups access to the same services, and smooth-flowing traffic. Urban quality, egalitarianism, hygiene, sunlight, and efficiency were all major keys for Cerdà's vision. Not everything he imagined would be realized within the Eixample district, but the iconic octagonal superblocks with chamfered corners for better visibility are his direct brainchild and remain immensely helpful even 170 years later. The district and its ideals were not appreciated at the time. The city council awarded the design of the extension plan to another architect. The Spanish government was the one to step in and impose Cerdà's plan, laying the groundwork for many more tensions between the Spanish and Catalan administrations. Regardless, some of the upper class citizens of Barcelona were excited by the new plan and began a race to build "the biggest, tallest, most attractive house" in the district. Their interest and money fueled the rich diversity that we now see in the district's architecture. In the end, Cerdà's ideas would have a lasting impact on Barcelona's development, earning it international recognition for its highly efficient approach to urban planning and design.
GAUDI

Antoni Gaudí i Cornet Catalan: 25 June 1852 – 10 June 1926) was a Spanish architect and designer, known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernisme.Gaudí's works have a sui generis style. Most are located in Barcelona, including his main work, the Sagrada Família church.

Gaudí's work was influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature, and religion. He considered every detail of his creations. His work combined crafts such as ceramics, stained glass, wrought ironwork forging, and carpentry. He introduced new techniques in the treatment of materials, such as trencadís which used waste ceramic pieces.

Under the influence of neo-Gothic art and Oriental techniques, Gaudí became part of the Modernista movement which peaked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His work transcended mainstream Modernisme, culminating in a style inspired by natural forms. Gaudí rarely drew detailed plans of his works, instead preferring to create them as three-dimensional scale models and moulding the details as he conceived them.

Gaudí's work enjoys global popularity and continuing admiration and study. His masterpiece, the still-incomplete Sagrada Família, is the most-visited monument in Spain. Between 1984 and 2005, seven of his works were declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Gaudí's Catholic faith intensified during his life and religious images appear in many of his works. This earned him the nickname "God's Architect". His cause for canonization was opened in the Archdiocese of Barcelona in 2003.

Barcelona's Arc de Triomphe. Our guide made me laugh. He said it was built for people to take photographs!

The Catalan Parliament. Very limited powers now. Our guide - a Catalan - said Catalonia will never ger independence.

Barcelona's bull fighting ring. Our guide says Catalonia is the only place in Spain where bull fighting is banned (no bulls are killed anymore anywhere in Spain). Our guide says the Spanish government removed the right to stage bull fighting to punish the Catalonians for trying to be independent.

At the bottom of The Ramblas approaching the Marina area.

Rob looking very stylish. I must admit (as Rob told me) I was a scruff bag - ha!

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia

I am glad to have seen it. It is a tremendous draw. Still in the course of construction as described above. Not my favorite type of architecture. Not a particular fan of Gaudi's style/concept.

From our hotel balcony Sonda Casa Luc. 5 min walk to the Playa Cataluna and the top of The Ramblas

Mercat de Boqueria off the Ramblas. Fantastic feast for the eyes. Great place to eat. Our guide says anything near the Ramblas is overpriced. Fair enough.