Gosh its been a while since I wrote anything, let us hope my memory can do justice to these places I have not written of yet. So here I sit in lovely and lively Tokyo, in the Chisun Eco-friendly hotel room while mum sleeps (even though I am the one with the jetlag!) in an attempt to get these effing blogs done once and for all before they get lost in translation…

So! Barthellonnnaaa!

One of the most incredible cities I have found myself in. The ever present Gaudi architecture makes it a magical place for the eyes, and throw in Las Ramblas, the giant food market that is a feast for the eyes as well as the other senses, the tapas, fashion, the language, art and exquisiteness of the Spanish people made this place a dream. Oh and Vicky Christina Barcelona mad me fall in love with the city before I had even laid eyes on it.

Ariane and I spent a delicious 4 nights here. Could have stayed weeks but I think this was just the right amount of time to get a bit of a sense of the place. Our hostel was nice, just a block away from Gaudi's Casa Battlo, which was one of my favourites. Unfortunately we did not end up going inside any of his buildings, as they cost an arm and a leg (and the cathedral is not even finished yet!) but we did end up going on a great gaudi tour which was well worth it, gave an insight into each building, and Gaudi himself, his life. Such an interesting character, and what amazing work. I love him. The facades of the apartments, places like Casa Battlo, and ofcourse La Sagrada Famila are so insanely beautiful and unique and intricate that it made it ok not to go inside them, admiring the outside was enough for me.

Walking down Las Ramblas was a bag of fun, watching the enigmatic street performers and peer at the miniature bunnies and turtles in cages along the street, crazy street vendors selling all kinds of crazy shhit. An old man ame up to me and snorted right in my face, I almost has a heart attack. There was one really good street mime artist painted gold who got Ariane up with him and posed funnily with her. It was well good.

Park Guell was definitely a highlight, we got here with the 2 lovely girls from the tour, from Poland and Paris, on the bus up into the hills, we then walked through the park together after they had left. Strolling past the house Gaudi lived in for the years he designed the park, we admired the sheer peacefulness of the park, the attention to detail, the magical feel to his eye. I love that liquid quality to those columns that come down from the ceiling like dripping mud…We climbed up to the very top of the park, up on this rocky thig with a giant cross on it, we were surrounded by these Italians who would not stop talking and I looked out to the wind and could see all of Barcelona, electric and raw and wonderful, below me and around me and I was part of it all somehow, I was it.