Barcelona puts on an epic show for us
So after our break of luxury thanks to my parents for 3 nights in Renaissance Barcelona Hotel which was lovely and has an amazing view of the city from it's terrace, we moved back into our normal way of travel accommodation - Airbnb and once again we got really lucky with the choice of apartment, boy do we know how to pick em :) this gorgeous 2 Suite apartment and terrace located on Carrer de Còrsega, in Gracia was stunning. It was our pad for the next 3 nights.
Now i kept hearing from everyone that August was a pretty shit time to go to Barcelona cause its too hot and empty but I have to admit that for us we got really luck with the events and festivals that were on during the time we were there, though some of them we just happened to wander past :)
On the Saturday night which was to be the 3rd night of celebrations for my birthday (yes I know i was completely spoilt) we made our way to the Festival of Gracia which was from 15 - 21 August 2014 (weren't we lucky with our choice of location for accommodation). Now I have been to a fair few festivals around Australia but I was completely amazed by the amount of effort that went into this festival. Basically it is a festival where every street in a the festival area is decorated in a specific theme, has its own music and drinks spot. And when i say decorate i mean all out, not some half arsed attempt, these guys were serious.
Asian theme with lanterns and their own band
not sure what this was but we called it the 'Fruit Garden'
The best one of all being the Zombie street (pics below), it was mental, a pool of blood, bodies hanging and moving and the best possible band there. This was also the lane where I had I best adrenalin rush on the holiday. My friend Catalan friend joined us and he (as many Spanish & Catalan boys) knew how to salsa. Now anyone who knows me know how much I love to dance and so right there in the middle of a huge crowd we decide to get our groove on. It was brilliant, honestly all men should learn to salsa, best way to have close contact with a girl and impress her without being creepy - no clue why more aren't onto this. I was swirled around, tipped, turned, and ended up completely exhausted with a much larger crowd of onlookers. Dancing is the best feeling ever and I was 100% happy!
The night went on in true Spanish style where we were out and partying till 5 am, drinking and completely exhausted dancing. I love Europe and its partying culture which isn't about binge drinking but about enjoying it all, dance, music, alcohol and shall i say it some nice weed. Southern Europe and by that I mean Spain, France and Italy know how to party, since I haven't been to the rest of Europe, but I have a feeling they all do it better than we do it in Australia.
and the best one of all - Zombie street!
The next morning Sunday the 16th we were as you can only imagine quite exhausted and so a lazy lunch along the beach was perfect. My good half spanish friend booked us a table of 20 at her dad's favourite place and her namesake Platja Ca La Nuri and we had some delicious seafood right on the beach, best hangover cure.
After a relaxing time at the beach and a rest up at home since it was our last night we decided to head to Montjuic, getting there was interesting since i read you can take a cable car but we ended up taking the train and it was so easy, though we may have missed the views, but eh. There is a big lead up to the top of the hill which hosts the Palau Naticonal. We didn't really head in but made our way there to see the gorgeous views at sunset and also the fountains at 9 pm. All of which were spectacular.
Having stayed at Montjuic for longer than we intended to we were starving and couldnt seem to find places we wanted, as once again we realised the local good restaurants are closed during the summer time and so after giving up on Trip adviser we made our way back to the place we knew well, Ciutat Villa. Getting the taxi to randomly stop when we were near enough we got out and saw a huge crowd gathered at the plaza close by. Curiosity getting the better of us and with no real plan in mind, we walked in the direction and found ourselves in the midst of some mental fireworks. People were dressed up in costumes that represented the plague and were running into and towards the crowds with these dragon shaped fireworks thingys (seriously i don't know how else to describe them). At one point there was literally a stamped when we all ran for our lives. Absolutely mental. And so one again Barcelona had surprised us.
After a long night and my last one with my sisters, which was absolutely amazing, the next morning had a quick catch up with my friends and was off to Amsterdam - my final destination.
