Of beaches and beer

If I were to tell you that I spent the day yesterday at the beach drinking beer you might be forgiven for suggesting that i might not, in fact, be in a european city in the middle of winter....

But the weather here is balmy compared to England with clear blue skies and only a slight chill to the air. So yesterday we decided to hit the beach. wandering slowly along the boardwalk we people-watched (particularly the two butt naked men on the beach - apparently quite normal...) and chatted away and, by the time we reached the marina it was time for a drink. There are plenty of oh-so-chic cocktail bars along the beach but we opted for something a little more grounded with a little taverna with beer on tap and sumptuous plates of tapas. I'm told, by my local friends here, that tapas in barcelona is touristy and commercial and really not the thing to eat....other places in spain do it much better. I don't care. I'm in spain...i want tapas! (and sangria and paella - but all in good time...!). So, nibbling on octopus and potatoes with garlic sauce we whiled the sunday afternoon away.

Later that night I met up with some other friends who live in Barcelona. A million miles away on an overnight bus in vietnam two years ago i first noticed a group of four friends and wondered where they were from. A few days later Alberto, Jordi, Joana and Blanca happened to sit down next to us in a restaurant in Hoi An, we started chatting, we went to a bar and got drunk...and, well....the rest is history. As many backpackers do when travelling in SE Asia we were following the same route and so ended up spending a lot of time together over the next couple of weeks, sharing some of the best experiences to be had in that part of the world including tubing in vang vien, 'happy' shakes and wine bars in luang prabang....thanks to facebook we have kept in touch and i have been looking forward to seeing them since i started planning to come to Barcelona.

Sharing a love of good wine they took me first to a little wine bar in the Gracia district of Barcelona. Over a delicious Spanish red and olives we caught up on the past couple of years before moving on to another bar to indulge in one of the most passionate past-times of the locals here - football. In Europe football is not just football. Here the team you follow might indicate your religion and, in Barcelona, it also can also be political - indicating your background whether it be catalan or spanish. A week ago Barcelona played Madrid and, even though it was just a normal league game, the streets were packed with Barcelonians celebrating their 5-0 win. Last night was another landslide with a 4-0 win. As Alberto said 'our country may be in crisis - but at least Barcelona Football Club is winning...'

Till next time...