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OUR AIRBUS A320 AT BARCELONA AIRPORT

We vacated the hostel shortly after 10.00pm and used the last of our Metro tickets to get to Placa de Catalunya, from where we caught the Aerobus to Barcelona Airport. The flight to Gatwick was uneventful and we were back in the UK by 4.30pm.

The walk along the Pyrenees turned out to be quite different to what I had planned, although I was aware from the beginning that I would have to be flexible. My relatively early start date coupled with significant snowfall this year meant that it would have been extremely hazardous to travel alone on much of the central Pyrenees. This meant that I had to use public transport to make progress eastwards. However, this did give me the opportunity to go to places in southern France that I was certainly interested in visiting, such as Pau, Lourdes, Cauterets, Luchon, Carcassonne, Amelie-les-Bains and Ceret.

By arriving in Banyuls-sur-Mer a little earlier than expected I was able to explore some of the Mediterranean coastal area including Argeles-sur-Mer, Collioure, Cerbere and Portbou. Also, by getting six nights in Barcelona rather than the two or three I had expected, I had much more time to explore the city with Chris. The Basilica de la Sagrada Familia was a must, but to be able to visit the famous monastery at Montserrat, tour the Olympic Park and learn about Gaudi’s architectural achievements was a bonus. In retrospect, two or three nights in Barcelona would not have been enough.

As regards what I gained from the experience, I met lots of friendly people and had a lot of fun. Whilst it would have been beneficial to have had better language skills, I did not find that my poor French and even poorer Spanish too much of a problem. Even when trying to communicate with people who spoke no English, it is surprising how you can get by with just a few words coupled with a bit of sign language.

French and Spanish lifestyles are not so very different to the lifestyles of people in other parts of Europe, but it is nice to gain an appreciation of the people in their own environment. I particularly enjoyed meeting folk in the rural areas – the farmers and small shopkeepers who seem to live quite simple lives. Other walkers that I met on the Pyrenees came from many countries, but other than the French and Spanish, I would say Germans and Brits were probably the next most common except when I walked a section of the Camino de Santiago when all nationalities seemed to be represented.

Anything I lost during the experience? Well, apart from a map case, I would say an inch or two off my waist. My rucksack was heavy and it took a while to get used to that. I might have climbed a few more peaks had it been lighter so I will see what I can do to reduce weight on future trips. Some items, such as the crampons and ice axe, did not get used often. However, when I did need them I was thankful that I had brought them along.

Regarding the sections of the Pyrenees that I missed, I will add these to my ‘to do’ list for the future. A three week walk to from Refuge d’Arremoulit to l’Hospitalet-pres-l’Andorre should be pleasant, not too busy and relatively snow-free during the month of September – not this year, but watch this space.

SAGRADA FAMILIA

VIEW FROM MONTJUIC TOWARDS HARBOUR

OLYMPIC STADIUM

MUSEU NATIONAL D'ART DE CATALUNYA

PARK GUELL

MAGIC FOUNTAIN

BASILICA DE LA SAGRADA FAMILIA

INSIDE THE BASILICA

On Friday, Chris and I initially walked through the beautiful Jardin de Mossen Costa i Llobera, filled with exotic cacti and tropical trees, on our way to the Castell de Montjuic. Monjuic is a low hill that overlooks Barcelona, and from the Castell's elevated position we obtained great views over the whole of the City. Looking towards the sea, the City's huge container port was hard at work. There were cargo ships being loaded and unloaded, with others waiting out in the bay. There were also various passenger vessels in the port including ferries and two huge cruise liners, one of which was Cunard's Queen Victoria.

We headed inland over Montjuic until we reached the Olympic Park. This was created for the 1992 Olympics and includes an impressive stadium, swimming pools and an indoor sporting arena. These are set in a huge complex with large paved and grassed areas, and waterfalls, all overlooked by a tall space-age structure, the Torre de Calatrava. I think that getting inside the stadium to look around was the highlight of Chris's day.

We continued onwards to the large and impressive Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya building, from where the views towards the Placa Espanya are stunning. As we walked towards the Placa, we passed fountains and ornamental waterfalls until we reached the most impressive fountain of all, the Font Magica (Magic Fountain) de Montjuic, designed by Carles Buigas and completed for the Great Universal Exhibition in 1929. Finally, as we passed the two Venitian Towers, we were in the Placa Espanya itself, a busy and noisy traffic hub which contrasted with the much quieter day we had enjoyed.

We ate pizza for supper at the top of Las Arenas on the north side of Placa Espanya which, before it was converted into a shopping, restaurant and entertainment centre in 1999, used to be a bullfighting ring called Arenas de Barcelona.

Saturday morning we took the Metro to Valcarra, then walked to see another of Gaudi's buildings, the Torre Bellesguard. From there we walked to Park Guell, commisioned by industrialist Eusebi Guell, designed by Antoni Gaudi and completed in 1914. On a hill to the east of the city, it was orginally intended to be a housing development, but in the end only 2 of the 60 houses intended were built, one of which was lived in by Gaudi. This house is now a museum, which we visited. The rest of the park clearly bears his mark and is a wonderful place to come and enjoy. We spent most of the day there and had a picnic looking out over the city. The Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, which we would be visiting in the morning, looked quite close.

We travelled back to the city centre in the late afternoon to see Barcelona's Cathedral, the Arc de Triomf and the Parc de Ciutadella, where we watched the ducks and the rowers on the lake.

Finally we headed back to the hostel for supper via Palau (Palace) Guell, another early Gaudi project for Eusebi Guell.

After it was dark we left the hostel to visit the Font Magica again, this time to see the water jets dancing to music as they were illuminated by continually changing coloured lights. The whole area in front of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya was crowded with people watching the free show.

Sunday was a special day because we had bought tickets two months in advance to see the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family) which was the last of Gaudi's major works. Indeed, ground was broken in 1882, Gaudi died in 1926 and the Basilica is still not complete, that date presently expected to be 2026-28.

We have already seen the church from  a distance, but close up its true magnitude becomes evident. Eight of the eventual eighteen spires have been completed and the highest, at 170m, will make the church the tallest in the world. However, it is the introduction of Gaudi's remarkable ideas, his design skills and his distinct decorative style which make this church unique.

Our tickets were for a self-guided tour, which meant that we could wander around the church and listen to the recorded commentary about it on headphones. There was so much detail that it was difficult to take it all in. We took the lift up to the towers on the, so called, Nativity facade, then used the spiral staircase to walk back down again. That meant that we could get a good view of how work is progressing on the roof. There is still much to do.

Gaudi left instructions about how the whole church should look, knowing full well that other architects and artists would have to carry on where he left off. Thus, many of the details are modern interpretations of what Gaudi had prescribed. In my view this has enriched the design rather than confused it, although Chris wasn't so sure.

After three and a half hours looking around the church and the associated museum, we were mentally exhausted. However, it would be good to come back when the church has been completed, the other ten towers are up and the cranes have gone.

We made our way back to the Gothic quarter of Barcelona and, after a picnic lunch, thought that we would visit the Picasso Museum, which is free after 3.00pm on the first Sunday of the month. Unfortuntely for us, hundreds of other people had the same idea. Just walking from the entrance to the end of the queue involved a good stroll. We decided to forego the pleasure and find a bar selling sangria instead.

We took another look at the Picasso queue at 6.10pm and it was still very long even though they stopped letting any more people in at 6.30pm and closed the museum at 7.00pm. A queue attendant confirmed that there was no chance of most of the people getting in, but if they wanted to keep waiting it was up to them! We made the best of our visit by occupying the associated book shop and looking at Picasso's pictures in print.

That evening we enjoyed an al-fresco pizza supper at a restaurant down the road. We would be making our way to the airport in the morning to come home.