Dear Diary...
This is my diary. How things are. Or something. Please note that the diary is archived month by month, so feel free to click the links for the archives (which now will go back five years maximum):
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Tuesday 17th March – Engraving Excellence
I was over in one of our other offices in Hoxton today, as I needed to spend time with two colleagues getting one of their specialist pieces of equipment configured. There are two engravers which effectively engraves lettering onto a small rectangular piece of metal (whether this be gold, silver or bronze) and we needed to swap the old laptops over for some mini Dell desktops which we knew would be a lot quicker and would do the job very nicely in the long term. I wanted my colleagues there who used it to be sure that any configuration that was set worked for them properly.
It had transpired that even though I had some of the hardware readied, someone in their infinite wisdom had decided to disable the devices. Meh. I soon got that sorted, but I distinctly remember explaining the plan and so was a tad annoyed that my feedback had been ignored, but anyway. Once I got that sorted, it was then powering them both on, checking I had the right version of the Gravograph software that they used, along with any Windows updates that needed to be installed. This did take some time but was good to get that all over the line first so we could then be ready to test everything later on.
I took pictures of how the current laptops were set up in terms of USB connectivity and so on, so if we needed to roll back, I could mimic the setup exactly. We fired up the first mini desktop, logged in, and connected the hardware dongle for the engraver. That got detected but not the device itself. I did some digging around the laptop and soon realised that within Gravograph you could export the configuration, which was a great idea. I exported it out and then imported it into the mini desktop. That helped considerably so that was a positive, but still the engraver would not talk – but the laptop gave me a clue that you needed the GT Smartstream driver installing for that model.
So, when you install the Gravograph software, the driver is on there as a setup executable, so get that installed, and you are good to go. It worked a treat and this time the engraver was detected, so got my colleague to import a file and alter it as needed ready for printing, which was easy enough, and then sent the file to the engraver. It made all the right noises and first time off, made a successful job, and all looked good. I was super pleased and that meant we did not have to get the company out where we got the engravers from and had a plan of action now to work out how the configuration would easily work when doing the second one.
So next time around it was much easier. I did the driver install of the GT Smartstream first, which when you do asks you to turn off the connected engraver, the software installs, then you switch it back on and it does the business. After that, I then launched the Gravograph software and imported the configuration file needed – and with that done, it soon was able to talk properly to its engraver and be able to send a job without any issues at all. So that was a huge positive, we were able to get both up and running and we’ve kept the older laptops as rollback if anything does happen or we need to get anything else from them – but the good thing is that at least we know it works. Yaay us.
I tuned in later for the awards ceremony for the division that we work in, and this was streamed live from the main office, so was able to tune in and watch. One of my colleagues in our team was the overall (Gold) winner in the Moving Mountains category, and thoroughly well deserved too. In the category that I had been nominated for, the Spirit category (reflecting the spirit of the business, collaboration and helpfulness etc) I got the Silver award, with a colleague whom I’ve worked with well from another team getting the Gold and was super pleased for her. I still find it flattering that I was nominated in the first place and it does make me feel humble to be honest. In the meantime, tune of the day is the excellent Join in the Chant by Nitzer Ebb – been listening to them a lot at present.
Sunday 15th March – Mother and Mayhem
As I woke up this morning, The Love In My Heart and I had the purring sound of Brian the cat near us as he clearly wanted his Mummy to get up and be up and about, despite the fact that he had already had some tuna and Dreamies earlier on. Of course, Brian just always wants his Mummy at any time, and as the weather did look drier, at least that did mean that he would be able to play out for a little bit on the patio, and watch the world go by. For some reason, he just stares at any pigeons with a death stare until they fly off, giving them what we call his cross-ears face. Cat owners will know what that looks like.
After some breakfast, it was over to see my Mum for Mother’s Day. The plan would have been to go over yesterday on the way to John Lewis, but Mum was at my brother’s place and had stayed there overnight, so was back today. In fact, both of my brothers were at my Mum’s when we got there, so was nice to see them both. One had just had his birthday and as his car had a cassette deck, I compiled him a 90 minute tape of some of his favourite 70s and 80s songs to play in the car, which he really appreciated, and did tell him that if he wanted, I could easily do another one. The halcyon days of mix tapes, I do miss them really. From that tape I did, Transmission by Joy Division is tune of the day.
Anyway, it was nice to see Mum, and she did say that as most of us had given her money, primarily as she was initially thinking about a holiday, instead she’s going to get some new clothes for the wardrobe, which is a good idea. More so because just before Easter, there are normally some good deals on which means more for less too. We had a coffee there and did manage to spend some time catching up before we headed off, with the plan being to head into the city centre for a drink before then spending the afternoon with Brian the cat back at The Love’s place.
This was also more so because a number of trains back to London had been cancelled – in fact, the 1915, 1935 and 2023 had all been cancelled leaving my 2055 as the only one running. If that was cancelled then we’d need to be ready to get on the 1855, so with that in mind, safer to be back at base as it were. In any case, we went into Seven Bro7ers Beerhouse and I had their very nice New Zealand Pale, which went down well. They did have Manchester United versus Aston Villa on the telly but I was not too meithered about that of course.
Back at The Love’s place we settled in for the afternoon and watched some more Drive to Survive along with some of the Four in a Bed thing on E4 with various bed and breakfasts competing for a prize. The Love made some lovely tea, some fresh tagliatelle pasta with meatballs and a nice tomato and mascarpone sauce. That went down really well and set me up for the rest of the day. Thankfully my 2055 train did not get cancelled but we wanted to be on the safe side in case it did, and The Love very kindly dropped me off at Manchester Piccadilly later in good time just in case the train was busy.
The train was in fact already in, so got on and got the seat – the layout was in reverse formation so first class nearest the station concourse. The journey was on time at least, diverting as it normally does to Northampton on the way. When I got to Euston the train home was cancelled due to a fatality on the line, so instead took the 68 and got off at Camberwell Green, switching over for the 468 home. I do also have the N68 night bus as an additional backup, so at least that does work if I need. In fact, the 468 driver was taking no prisoners and absolutely pegged it home, which was much appreciated by me, let me tell you.
Saturday 14th March – Slow Down Saturday
It was a weekend where I would be taking advantage of Avanti Superfare, so meaning it was a cheaper fare all round - £25 each way between London and Manchester. Last time out I did manage to get some nice train times for both journeys but knew I would not be as lucky this time around. Today I would be given the 0753 departure which was pretty nice, meaning that I would get there early to The Love In My Heart’s place. However, I did get an email this morning on the way to London Euston, stating that the Sunday evening train would be the 2055 train – the very last one of the day. I suspect this is due to it being Mother’s Day and also Manchester United at home – and there are always fans heading off to London.
I managed to get some breakfast items in Sainsburys and got to the right platform at Euston to get my train. It was a nice relaxing journey, and it was not that busy either within the carriage. The sun was attempting to come out but there were a few incessant rain showers during the morning, and it was noticeable how much that weather may affect the weekend. I did have the iPod on, and it was good to blast out some lengthier tunes during the journey, including the epic Me and My Woman by Roy Harper, so tune of the day is an easy decision there.
The Love very kindly came to collect me at Manchester Piccadilly when the train arrived, and soon we were back at her place with Brian the cat wanting plenty of fussing and cuddles too. He even felt the need to play ball too, and so was happily swiping away the bouncy ball with his paw and enjoying his little self. It makes me happy when he wants to play ball anyway because he bounces it back and we have a good little time together. Needless to say, though, it would be sitting next to his Mummy later in the day and having a right brush up close and wanting cuddles.
We headed off to John Lewis in Cheadle for the afternoon, as The Love wanted to get some gift ideas for a couple of forthcoming birthdays but also wanted to possibly treat herself too. We noted now there is a small branch of the bookseller Waterstones on the ground floor, along with a concession for Tapi Carpets, and the first floor has within its perfume section a whole Charlotte Tilbury section (not cheap make up if you didn’t already know). They had moved a few things around and I did see some potential shoes I liked but they were not cheap (understatement) whilst The Love also got some jewellery ideas for the future too.
It was over to The Gateway later for a spot of light lunch and I had my favourite chicken in a Korean sauce with coconut rice, which did the job. The place was busier because the Six Nations Rugby was on the telly, so we headed over to West Didsbury later and to Wallop (formerly Wine and Wallop). We got a nice spot to sit at and had a chilled-out drink together, admiring the music being played and just being able to think about a potential next holiday and where to go, so ended up being a lovely chat too. Although we did notice a couple being over-amorous and us both thinking “Get a room you two” – and it felt out of place there for someone to do that as well, it has to be said.
In the evening, we settled in and The Love very kindly made some lovely beef bourbignon complete with potatoes and vegetables, which was all very nice. She had very kindly got some St Austell Mena Dhu stout in too, so enjoyed that later as we relaxed with some telly and with some of the episodes of Formula 1 Drive to Survive on Netflix, the latest series of it. It definitely gave us both some background into some of the stories on the last season, and even though The Love isn’t a massive F1 fan like I am, she does appreciate it enough to watch it with me and does like the personalities of a number of drivers as real people and characters. Good stuff all round, really.
Tuesday 10th March – Leaving Barcelona
It was an early rise this morning for me and The Love In My Heart, as we were heading back to Manchester from Barcelona, with the flight being at 10.10am. We knew we’d need to get to the airport around 8 to 8.30ish, and based on the metro trip on the Saturday plus walk to the hotel, it would be an hour or so. We got ourselves ready and checked out of the Room Mate Carla at around 7am, and the staff had been lovely, and so having already paid the tourist taxes on check in, this made the check out process smoother, and so we were able to head off in the direction of Diagonal metro station straight away.
Once there, we took the lift down, went through the barriers, then took the next lift down to the platform to take us in the direction of Collblanc. Surprisingly even for 7am the Metro was busy, more so as it was heading more out of the city centre once it got past the stop for Sants station. Still, we got to Collblanc and the lift up, and managed to then locate the lift down all the way to the single platform for Line 9 South (L9 Sud) – which is the airport line. We knew it would take 30 minutes from there, and gradually the Metro emptied out as people headed to their jobs in the west of the city, and through the barriers at the airport (you must put the ticket in the barrier on exit, which you don’t need to do at other stations) and all was well.
We navigated the check in and self-service luggage bag process and got through security with a breeze. We stopped off for some breakfast and an oat latte was mine also, which was really nice. It was good to have something and we got the call to head to passport control. As predicted, it was much easier for us both this time having the EES stuff registered already, and that did mean that we were soon heading towards the gates, with a stop in WH Smith (yes, they are still everywhere in stations and airports) for a cold drink for the flight, and a pain au chocolat for The Love at a bakery prior to the gate also. We were in the right queue for the boarding groups so when called, also simple.
The flight back certainly took some time to get to the runway at the airport to take off, but we noted it was a different one from landing, and once in the air, we sped along well over the Pyrenees and through the clouds – and they were low as we came into Manchester for landing – and it did arrive a few minutes early too. We did then head through the long walk to passport control, and of course the baggage claim belt was the furthest one away – but our case was one of the first that came off the plane (for a change) and so we were able to collect that and be on our way,
We headed out of Terminal 2 and along the walkway to the station and after eventually finding the ticket machines, we were able to get the tickets for the airport to Manchester Piccadilly, taking the Transport for Wales train which was nice (and also stopped at East Didsbury too). We also got lucky with the tram too with one minute wait at the station for the tram back to The Love In My Heart’s place. That was good and we were reunited with Brian the cat, who of course wanted hugs and cuddles from his Mummy as well as food and Dreamies as he of course would get. In the meantime, tune of the day is Cool for Cats by Squeeze, as Brian is cool and we were cool with the transport getting back too.
Monday 9th March – A City of Contrasts
The Love In My Heart and I had a little bit of a lie in this morning, but I had headed out once I got up and off to the 365 bakery around the corner from the hotel, where two very nice and large croissants were a mere €2 for the two, no complaints there. We had a coffee and the croissant on the balcony, and as the sun was out, admired the lovely view of the Sagrada Família at the same time, and noted the road traffic as well as the general vibe was much busier being a working day. We did have a rough idea what we wanted to do, but one thing The Love wanted to see was the fountain that plays music, but that is generally over the weekend days and it’s in the Montjuic district – we could have possibly gone there for the castle and so on, but I think going when that is on is a better move.
In any case, it was nice to take a stroll along the Passeig de Gràcia and admire the many lovely shops, going in a few of them to have a good look around. We got to the bottom and for the Plaça de Catalunya where the department store El Corte Ingles was, and The Love did fancy a look in there. In fact, this had nine floors and plenty of items to look at, from cute children’s outfits for Little Miss E and Little Miss O, to designer dresses, perfumes, electronics, and even a café on the top floor which had some excellent views over the city as well. It definitely was well worth a look around and we made the most of the time mooching and taking in the atmosphere.
We walked along La Rambla and this time the market at La Boqueria, with plenty of bright fruit and vegetables around in a number of stalls, and also fish, meat and all sorts that really had its own urban vibe. It can get a little bit too touristy though and it is notable that groups are not allowed there during busier times of day to allow for free movement around for everyone, which is fair enough. It was interesting to see, and once past there we crossed over and headed through some of the old town. It was good to see that in more detail and we would head through part of the Gothic Quarter and to the cathedral. The architecture was very much of the Gothic style and was very impressive architecturally, and great to note.
In fact, the whole Gothic Quarter was enjoyable to walk around. We noted the calm peaceful view of Plaça del Rei with the Palau Reial Major standing well and giving you that sense of importance and history, and the Plaça de Sant Just having the water fountain and a lovely architectural church too. After some more walking, we arrived at the Plaça de Sant Miquel, which was a lovely square and with a nice sculptural feature called Monument als Castellers. It was also here that we stopped off at one of the bars, initially for a beer and to admire the sunshine and the relaxed feel of the square, and definitely that alone was good.
The Love did notice some of the food that was coming out looked rather good, and so we decided that having lunch here and possibly another drink (because why not) would be a good move. The Love ordered the spaghetti bolognaise which was very good, and I went for the chicken paella. And wow, it was lovely, with plenty of rice, peas, green beans and the chicken, all in a really nice stock which tasted gorgeous. The Love tried a bit and she appreciated how nice it was, so that said something. It was not that expensive either so offered lovely value for money and showed that if you find somewhere good, always good to recommend onwards too.
From there we walked around to the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya, which is the historic palace, and just to the right of there we walked along the Carrer del Bisbe, and the Pont del Bisbe bridge, which certainly has some stunning architecture. This pretty much completed a loop of the Gothic Quarter and took us back towards the cathedral, which looked even more majestic with the sun out. We did walk then over to another smaller market, with an iconic mosaic roof and tiles, the Mercat de Santa Caterina. It was nice to walk around there and we did think about walking over to the Arc de Triomf (basically their version of a certain landmark in Paris.)
However, we had a different idea – I did note that the 47 bus goes near the hotel but also goes to the district of La Barceloneta, which has a beach, and what a nice thing it would be for The Love to see the beach and sea. So nearby we managed to get on the bus (as the travel passes we had worked just fine) and then took that over to the beach part. It was nice to see the beach and the sea and we ventured out to some of the pier that stood out and admired the view back, with the bars and cafés in part lining the promenade at the bottom. The look and feel of it reminded us both of the Larvotto district in Monaco, where the layout is very much the same. We did walk over to the harbour here which was Port Olímpic, built in 1991 and used for the sailing events of the 1992 Olympic Games (hence the name) and that was pretty too.
We stopped back at one of the bars for a drink by the beach, and The Love had the sangria but this time with the cava, which made the drink a lighter colour than if you have the classic one with red wine in the mix. I did have a very nice local beer too, which I’d had in a can previously – the Moritz, which was gorgeous. That really did seem like a nice way to relax as well and we just admired the view and enjoyed it. Even better, the bar was then close to the 47 bus to head back later and we could head back to the hotel without having to change for the metro, so that was all good. It was just good to take things at a slower pace and I think seeing this area more out of season (and still a popular beach for locals) showed the different side to the city that we were glad to explore.
After getting ourselves showered and changed later on, we decided that it would be nice to head back to El Nacional for an evening meal, where we would be able to choose different tapas instead of the ones we had the other night. So we changed it up a bit and had the lamb potatoes and the lamb had a moorish glaze, which was lovely. We also had the omelette with potatoes which was good, and also the very nice ham and cheese croquettes which were almost on a par with the ones we had as pintxos in one of the bars in Donostia / San Sebastián, so that was nice. We also stayed at the bar there and had another drink too, The Love having the sangria with red wine (so proper red) and me having the Voll Damm to enjoy, with the vibe being good and relaxed.
It felt lovely having had a good time today, and heading back to the hotel with a drink in the room to reflect really brought home just how happy The Love makes me. This break was all about the things she wanted to explore and go and see, and if we’ve been able to enjoy ourselves and maybe plan a return visit at some point to see some other attractions that we may wish to see, then I’m all for it. As there was mention of Montserrat Caballe by the cathedral, and with nods to the Olympics, it seems somewhat apt to have Freddie Mercury with Cabelle’s song Barcelona as tune of the day – so that made for a sense of feeling that it was a place that you could fall in love with, quite easily too. We certainly have.
Sunday 8th March – Parks and Ports
The Sunday morning felt much quieter around the Eixample district of Barcelona, where our hotel was. We got ourselves up and had a coffee on the balcony (because we can!) and even though the weather was not looking at its best as yet, we did see that it might clear up later. Of course, we had packed a coat and a brolly to keep the rain off anyway, but it is always nicer if you are able to travel around if it’s dry, even if it’s not necessarily that warm. We did note that a number of shops were closed on the Sunday and I did a reccy to find the Spar was one of them, as well as a branch of the bakery 365 which would have been handy for some croissants. I did note a couple of cafés that were open though so with a ticket booked for a later visit to an attraction, we got ready and headed out.
We went round the corner to Café Lato, which is the Spanish for llama, and the staff were lovely. You had free wi-fi and also a QR code to scan on a cube on the table which gave you the menu, so you could then select what you would like. The Love had the eggs benedict with bacon, which looked lovely and had some nice soft runny eggs with the bread and some crispy bacon. I went for a granola yoghurt pot, and it was a large ramekin complete with Greek yoghurt, fruit, granola, peanut butter, acai seeds and that tasted really lovely. It was a gorgeous thing to have and it felt healthier for me to try it, and we both had a coffee too. It was a nice way to start the day.
We walked from there back to the station at Diagonal, and took Line 3 of the metro. However, I realised we were on the wrong side and so swapped platforms at Passeig de Gràcia and headed back up Northwards, and off to Lesseps. From there it was through the small open space and along the main road, turning left off to a street which was uphill and had an escalator to take you up much higher. What was noteworthy was the artwork which challenged those staying at Air BnB places as it was negatively affecting the housing market and pricing locals out, which I have to say I agree with in terms of protests. There are enough hotels to stay at, pay the local tourist taxes and do the right thing rather than use something where a greedy land owner is taking advantage and not helping the local people.
Once at the top we were at the entrance to Park Güell, which was a large open park space to the North of the city, but also had plenty of Gaudi influence in the park. We had also booked tickets in advance to include the Gaudi House Museum, so we could see the history of the architect and designer. We did walk around the park to the nature square, which offers lovely views out to the city and indeed the sea, and was very busy with lots of people having selfies as they would do. It was good to see the Gaudi décor on the outside and the columns below holding up the garden. It definitely felt a good place to be and we made our way back along one of the main paths.
We got to the Gaudi House Museum and showed the tickets – and we were straight in. The outside gardens had plenty of the sculptures to admire, and inside seeing parts of the house so well restored, including the bathroom, and bedroom with stool and crucifix where he prayed, was historically important to see. The designs of some of the furniture and the chairs were also really well crafted, and plenty of warnings for those not to sit on any of the chairs. We both imagined that they would be difficult to monitor even with a member of staff inside. It was well worth seeing and we were glad we had included that in the ticket for admission to the park.
We made our way around the upper sections of the park including the three viaducts, and following up to the top for the Trias House. We then went around the upper outside and saw a number of other entrances into the park and then descended to the Hill of the Three Crosses, where the final bit of the hill with the crosses was closed off, but you could see the crosses and the way that the view would be superb. We made our way then down and past the way we came in and to Larrard House, before then seeing the two main Gaudi designed architecture of the properties at the front, with curves and quirks, and the monumental staircase with the painted coloured dragon along it. That area was very busy indeed and I have to say it was a bit over-full, so was glad to see what we needed and leave.
On the way back downhill, we did stop for a spot of light lunch and a drink at a bar close by, which was a nice little way to stop. The courtyard at the back had a mosaic of the dragon from the staircase, a nice touch, and the ham and cheese baguette sandwich was enough to keep us going til later, along with a refreshing beer. We did note that pigeons were stalking around and anyone who left food behind were getting the pigeons come and fight over the food – and even so they were knocking glasses over on tables. The rain had stopped and it was at least dry and sunny now so that was pretty good to be honest.
We made our way back to Lesseps and got the metro Line 3, this time heading South and going to Drassanes, which is the nearest stop to the port, called Port Vell. Once out of the metro station and at the bottom of La Rambla, we then crossed by a large monument and then over to the walkway to the port and a wooden bridge, which locally is known as Rambla de Mar – basically a continuation but on water. The port had a shopping centre which had a number of good shops and we did have a mooch around there as well as bars and places to eat. We did stop here for the view over the port which was lovely to see – especially with a sangria for The Love and that just was nice in the Spring sunshine to see too. It was good to rest and relax there and we then walked around the rest of the port.
In fact, at the eastern end, we did spot another rather grand sculpture, which was the El Cap de Barcelona, which was commissioned for the 1992 Olympic Games which was held in the city. It was very bright and colourful and nice to see too. We walked back along the port front with boats moored in there, and also one of those boats you could walk on and explore for free, which was part of the maritime museum. It had plenty of sails, the rudder, and a nice view over too from the bow or the stern ends of the boat. I really enjoyed that and the weather was still pretty good too which was a bonus for us.
We did walk back along La Rambla, but did note a considerable amount of work going on at the moment – so lots of temporary fencing off and that definitely showed in its look and feel. We did spot the entrance to the La Boqueria market, but being a Sunday, this was of course closed too. We got back to Placa de Catalunya and headed on the Metro Line 3 back to Diagonal, and then to the hotel for time to relax and to get changed for the evening. Another of the local supermarkets was open so we did get some beer and wine to have something in the room – after all we did have a fridge and that makes so much sense.
As we knew not everywhere would be open tonight (in fact a lot of the smaller places near the hotel were not) we knew that the Time Out food market in the shopping centre by Port Vell would be open, so it made sense to head on the Metro Line 3 back down to Drassanes and retrace the steps, heading up to the escalator to the food market. It was good to select different options and The Love was tempted by the contemporary fish and chips place, but they had run out. Instead, we noted an Argentinian cuisine outlet that had chicken Milanese, either plain or with ham and cheese with tomato on top. The Love had the latter and I had the plain one, both with fries, and when it was done the buzzer sounded and off I went to get them. Both were spot on and plentiful, with some good tunes playing in the background too including The Style Council’s Shout to the Top so tune of the day there without any question.
We did stop for another beer for me and a wine for The Love, overlooking the port and admiring the view, but from the inside as it was a little bit cooler outside. The time had sped by and we had been able to see a fair bit during the day and it was good to get the Metro back to Diagonal and head back to the hotel, where we had a final drink of the evening on the balcony and caught up with the world events on BBC News, as that was one of the tv channels on the hotel TV – interestingly the night before we noted the French version of the 1% Club on TV5 Monde, and also would see the Spanish version of des Chiffres et des Lettres (the French original which became Countdown in the UK) later on too.
Saturday 7th March – Barcelona Bound
I had headed up to Manchester last night to be with The Love In My Heart, as we were heading off on a short break together. For ages now, The Love had some ideas about where she would like to go, and the original plan was to go around her birthday and head out then. Unfortunately, with the birthday clashing with other times when travel would be more expensive and also busier, we worked out a plan to head before that, which was (get this) around half the price. As a treat, I paid for the hotel for the two of us, and we split the flights half each. We also worked out that it was cheaper for one of us to take a large case of luggage in the hold instead of a smaller case, so I had brought mine the other day and The Love put her stuff in.
We left The Love’s place and headed off to Manchester Piccadilly, and got our tickets for trains to Manchester Airport. Thankfully there were direct flights from there so unlike the last couple of breaks when she headed to mine, it meant we could go from hers instead. We were flying from Terminal 2, and as I had flown from there recently when heading to Heathrow, at least I had worked out the way to go. We checked the bag in and the member of staff on the check in desk was ace, even printing out the boarding passes to be on the safe side. It was a breeze through security and before we knew it, we were in one of the bars in Terminal 2’s departures, having a lovely breakfast and a coffee. Can’t argue with that and we had plenty of time to spot the gate and be ready.
It was along to one of the C gates close to the end, and we had seen the inbound flight arrive and drop the passengers off, so that was good. It did not take too long for everyone to be boarded, and it was an on time departure at 1230 and with Vueling from Manchester to Barcelona. The Love even treated herself to a prosecco and a snack as well, and it was the first time she had tried out her travel money card, which worked well (and was so much easier than carrying masses of Euros instead). All went well with the flight and we landed on time at Barcelona Airport, with a noticeable amount of rain to greet us, boo. It did take some time to get through passport control but mine was easier as I’d registered the fingerprint and eye scan for the EES system, whereas The Love was doing hers. But it’d be easier coming back of course.
Once with the case collected, it was off to the Metro station and to get the 72-hour travelcard – which happens to also include return trips to the airport (as that is twice as expensive as the normal single metro fare, clearly at a premium). The travelcard is valid for the Metro, buses, the funicular at Montjuic (but that was not operational anyway) and local trams and trains within the central zone. As it turned out, I’d worked out that getting the Line 9 Sud to Collblanc meant a change there for Line 5 to Diagonal, close to the hotel we were staying at. We also avoided changing for Line 1 at Torrasa – known to be troublesome sometimes. What did surprise is how deep Line 9 goes underground, the lift was super busy so we got the many escalators up to change for Line 5.
Once at Diagonal, we navigated our way out and on to the Passeig de Gràcia, one of the wide boulevards with plenty of posh shops that heads through the city centre. We walked down there and admired some of the Gaudi architecture, and turned off to the Camer de Mallorca and on to the hotel we were staying at – the Room Mate Carla. We had stayed at another Room Mate hotel in Donostia / San Sebastián, which was gorgeous, and this one did have rooms with balconies, so we booked one. We got ourselves checked in and our room was on the third floor. Yes, we had a balcony and when we looked out, we could see the Sagrada Família clearly, which was a good view to see from there. That made us feel warmly welcomed and as The Love settled in, I headed out and managed to locate a local Spar supermarket, so got some bottles of sparkling water, beer, and wine as well as this lovely heart shaped doughnut cake for The Love too.
We got ourselves showered and changed and headed out for the evening – first of all taking a walk to the Sagrada Família and seeing the view from the outside, and with it all lit up in the dark it did have a different feeling which was good to see. We did not necessarily want to venture in, but it was good to at least see it, and once we had admired that, we headed over to the Metro station close by and on to Line 2, which made its way around to Passeig de Gràcia at the bottom end. We did walk up and admire the shops but we also noted somewhere that one of The Love’s relations had recommended – El Nacional.
Inside was lovely, all art deco styled with the lights and the way that the hall was laid out, with bars and different styles of restaurants. We did see the tapas one (La Taperia) but appeared to be a queue. We waited in the queue, but as it turned out everyone was in groups of four and there was a table for two for us, so that was an epic win. We thoroughly enjoyed it too – some nice beer including the Voll Damm for me, and we had five different tapas, including the patatas bravas, cannelloni, meatballs with ratatouille, crunchy crisp fries with ham and egg on top, and the king prawns with a really nice dip and they were stunning. The vibe here was very chilled out and it was a really nice meal together.
As we walked back to the hotel it was just nice to sample the atmosphere of the city and we both felt relaxed, and back at the hotel we had a drink on the balcony (because why not) and I had the song We’re From Barcelona by the Swedish band I’m From Barcelona in my head, as it reminded me of the happy joyous feel of the song and seeing the band live many years ago, so tune of the day without a doubt for me. It was a long day of travelling but the first taste of the city was positive, and that was hopefully the start of a wonderful time ahead for us both.
Monday 2nd March - Where The Hell Is Fleetwood?
It was off after work to a little comedy gig tonight, no less than Jim Daly doing a work in progress version of his show Match of the Daly (see what he did there) before doing a tour later in the year. You may know him from some of his comedy football songs such as the one he does every year with all 92 league clubs from all four divisions (make that tune of the day) and there was one he did about Manchester City midfield maestro Kevin de Bruyne that had me in stitches too. Generally, all good fun and as he is a Crystal Palace fan, he of course had two great moments last yeae winning the FA Cup and the Community Shield.
The gig was at Aces and Eights, a bar in Tufnell Park, north of Kentish Town. The place has a good reputation for pizza as well as decent beer so I knew I could head there earlier after work and get some tea. To be faiir, the staff were lovely - you ordered the pizza from near the kitchen and they took payment, and I went for one with pepperoni and mushrooms. The bar also had good beers and went for the Signature Brewery's Roadie, a solid pint. £6.30 for the beer and £12 for the pizza was decent, and on a Monday you get a two pizzas for cheaper offer which is well worth it if you've got a friend with you.
I had a nice little table seat in a booth and it felt rustic and nice with some good tunes. The lovely staff brought the pizza over and it was crispy and lovely, and really was plentiful on the toppings too. Methinks I will need to head back here when I am not going to a gig just for the vibe, pizza and beer anyway, so noted that for future reference. The time ticked over nicely and soon it was time to pass the kitchen and head downstairs to the small underground cellar (which had a bar for certain nights) and the seating and stage, which was nice and cosy and intimate.
Jim Daly came on and started the set with the 92 league clubs song, which of course meant you could sing along to key lines such as "What's the point of Crawley?" and "Where the hell is Fleetwood?" (for the record I do actually know where it is) and as well as advising to "do not call the Forest Notts" as well. That set things off for some fun, including some related heckles if you support a certain team (think Arsenal and bottling it) as well as guessing the unsung hero footballer. That was fun but what worked well was to guess the footballer not by their professional career but by what they got into trouble for. And yes, I did get Joey Barton straight away as I suspected lots of things were down to him in that one.
The show also had some other songs of Jim's too, including one where all the words were from Wayne Rooney's Twitter account and some of the mad things he used to say on there back in the day, and a Beastie Boys parody based on a former Leicester City player (think of something that rhymes with party that you could adapt into one of the BB's classic tunes and you'll get it.) Some sections did work better than others and I do think that it was good to see with an audience what works beforehand so you can tweak the show. That's also why the tickets were a bargain fiver each, so you get to see the work in progress but also see the stuff that is in the finished show, but for less. I did similar with Punt and Dennis at Epsom Playhouse some years back too.
The hour or so went by very quickly, and Jim's tales of supporting Crystal Palace and iindeed a sort of "only Palace could do this" moment, such as when a fan was complaining about the poles in the Arthur Waite Stand and one of the fanbase from another country didn't quite get what they meant. Ironically when Palace then did sign a Polish player, they posed him in the same stand by one of the poles. Bizarre, but true. And there were a good few Palace fans in the audience which probably helped, although the sod's law moments of any football clubs could be relevant in that we've all had our club do something daft haven't they? It was all in all a very good show and a nice walk downhill to Kentish Town station so that I could get the train to St Pancras and change there for the train home, and that was a relatively painless journey too, which is always appreciated.