What can I say? I loved loved LOVED Barcelona! It was a wonderful city awash with history, wonderful architecture, sights and things to do, colourful and vibrant. I was only there for a short time but I saw and did so much! I visited La Pedrera, the SagradaFamilia, Barcelona Zoo, Monjuic castle, LasRamblas, Port Vell and walked for miles and miles until my feet and legs ached at the end of every day. I also met up with my blog friend, Mar of Maremagnum.
We arranged to meet on my first evening in Barcelona as Mar was heading off on a trip of her own, skiing in France. I had arrived in a rather damp and grey Barcelona and I was tired by the time I got to the hotel. The trip across the city via train and Metro was not as simple as I thought it would be but it was a useful lesson in how the system worked and served me well for the rest of my visit. Once I had freshened up, M and I set off to find La Pedrera, one of the famous Gaudibuildings, which is where we had arranged to meet up with Mar.
It was raining when we got there and La Padrera was surrounded by French school children. I was worried I would miss her in the throng so we stood by the door of the souvenir shop , while Mar waited inside because of the rain. Anyway, she spotted us and it was like meeting an old friend. We went for coffee in a wonderful place nearby that was full of scenes made from chocolate including, quite bizarrely, Sesame Street characters and one based on Japanese architecture, complete with a Samurai warrior that appeared to be executing an Easter chick! Still, it all smelt delicious when we went in and sat drinking coffee while we waited for Mr Mar to finish work. Alas, Mr Mar could not join us but we got a great view of La Pedrera from the office building and it was lovely to meet him. So we went for Tapas with Mar while she waited for Mr Mar to finish, at a wonderful and bustling little Tapas bar where we sampled some tasty Catalan food.
We talked so much and about so many things, from blogging (of course) to our lives, geography (the differences and similarities between things in Spain and the UK) and many other things. The visit was over far too quickly before we had to go our separate ways. It was wonderful meeting Mar. She comes over exactly as she does on her blog. Vivacious, friendly and warm. I liked her very much and I hope we get to meet again one day.
I took over 500 photos while I was in Barcelona and will be posting more about my trip soon.
I am not one to sit around idle for long and while work has continued to be incredibly hectic I have found that finishing my MBA has left me some time to persue more creative avenues. This is a good thing as now I have time to indulge my love of photography.
From time to time I have posted my photos on this blog and I have been really happy that some of you have liked them enough to say some nice things about them. I have been greatly encouraged by this and so I have started a new blog, Bobkat's Photo's, sorely dedicated to showcasing my photos as I explore the art of photography and (hopefully) improve as a photographer. It will differ from my Bobkat's House as it will be far more focused on the photo itself and how I came to take it. You can visit it at the following link:
I do hope you'll visit it as your encouragement is a great inspiration for me.Meanwhile it'll be business as usual at Bobkat's House. I will still post about random niff naff and trivia from my life, my days out, my travels, my thoughts and anything else I think you might like to hear about, or just stuff I might want to share. And, yes, there will still be pictures here as well.The photo of the pink daisies is the photo I am currently using at the top of my new Photo Blog. I hope you will enjoy visiting it (links in pink).
When your seven worlds collide Whenever I am by your side And dust from a distant sun Will shower over everyone
Distant Sun ~ Crowded House
I used to (and still do) love Crowded House. I remember when they hit the UK charts in the early 90's with 'Weather with You' as a hereto unknown band from down under. Their music always manages to throw a veil of calm on my chaotic life but that is not why I have posted their video. The lyrics in the song talk of seven worlds colliding but earlier this week only two did just that when I met a blogger from down under.
When I heard that Melody from 'Biglittlesister' was coming to the UK I just had to see if we could meet up. I have been visiting Melody through her blog for some time now and I have always loved seeing her part of the world through her blog. We had arranged to meet up in Trafalgar Square one day when I was up in London and I must admit I approached Nelson's Column with a little trepidation. I mean, knowing someone through their blog is one thing but actually seeing someone face-to-face is another matter altogether. I needn't have been concerned. We saw each other at the same time and there were big waves and smiles all round. We immediately decided that a pub was the best place for a chat and without further ado we were off.
Have you ever met someone before and just got along as if you've known each other for years? Well, that is exactly what we did. We sat and chatted, laughed and exchanged stories over a couple of beers and the time flew by. All in all it was a most pleasant way to pass a lunchtime. In the end the real world beckoned and I had to go back to work. We met as two Bloggers from different sides of the planet but left as friends. I hope we get to meet up again one day :)