I always think that rain (at home) is a good start to a holiday, so when the rain is so heavy that you need to wear a kagool and get a taxi the 300 yards to the station it must be a really good start?
Gatwick was a breeze, though I still don't understand why the queues to check in at the airport retro style are so much shorter than than the queues to simply drop your bag - having checked in online in your own time and printed your boarding card using your own paper and toner (or your employer's)? I opted for the former and headed straight to the desk.
Arriving at Barcelona airport was similarly straightforward - barely 10 minutes from plane to taxi.
The apartment (my first experiment with airbnb.com) is very cute, and the neighbourhood in the Barri Gòtic is lively but central. After a quick change we pretty much head straight out, we have a quick beer in Plaça George Orwell and then head for the Ramblas - and almost immediately stumble into the Festes de Mercè parade. This consists of drumming bands and people in outsize medieval costumes - sometimes squirting water at the crowd. After about half an hour it becomes apparent that the same core characters are looping around so we head off in search of another drink.
We end up in the cathedral square where the symphony orchestra was about to start a free concert - Tchaikovsky I think.
We then headed over to Raval for more drinks and dinner. We stumbled across a Chinese country and western giv, sung in Catalan on an outdoor stage - it was actually pretty good!. A glass of cava at Buenas Migás half way then guacamole and ceviche at Rosa Raval. Then drinks at Café de las Delicies before heading back to Barri Gòtic and Plaça George Orwell for a lat(ish) San Miguel and some tapas in a slightly grungy bar - the pintxos (crusty bread with manchego and an anchovy) were delicious as were the olives and chorizo. Behind the bar the bar staff were whipping up omelettes to order, but we resisted and headed to bed.
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