Happy New Year

Just back. Spent five nights in loud, boisterous, busy, bigger-than-life Barcelona. Every night was party night, every day there was something to do. Cafes open 'til late, bars and clubs even later, sounds of people partying until well into the morning. Gaudi was a madman and a genius, like many of the artists, architects and poets from Barcelona.

Think of a city that combines France, the Mediterranean, Africa and the Near East. I saw Africans of all kinds, Asians, Indians, as well as your French and Irish travellers, American tourists and Spaniards from all parts of Spain converged in this mad mad city. A sin city. Sex bars, peep shows, erotic museums, men staring, leering at me, even though it is only winter and all I am wearing are tight jeans.

Restaurants are jam-packed, shops are overloaded with people getting last-minute gifts for Reyes. Galician food, Basque tapas, Irish pubs (hah!), techno clubs, art galleries, Las Ramblas with the world's worst mime/statue artists and buskers, pickpockets, homeless people, gangs of roving African men gawking at the white female tourists, hassling them, colourful markets, strange little shops that sell everything from kitsch furniture and homewares to knives and swords.

The crowds leaving the Liceu playhouse every night, always making noise, Sant Pau street is full of noises and inside the Hostal Opera, there are other noises too! ;-)

I didn't buy a thing. Didn't feel like it either. But next time, I think I want to stay in a quieter place...