Hi there, how are you doing? I hope you have had a really nice couple of weeks. Mine have been very busy with lots of fun things going on. The main thing in particular was a visit to a European city that I had never been to before. So as the United Kingdom was getting ready to remove itself from the European Union I was finally embracing a new area of it. For my fortieth some friends of mine clubbed together and got me a travel voucher, which I used towards a long weekend away in Barcelona. So that is where I was last weekend.

I flew out very early on the Friday morning from Luton airport. As I was only going for a couple of nights I decided I would only take hand luggage on the plane with me. This was the first time I had ever done this and ended up losing my deodorant and face wash at security control. As they contained over one hundred millilitres of liquid. Which is not allowed seemingly. I never even thought of that issue. To be fair to the good people of Barcelona I did replace those items as soon as I arrived in the city.

I had a pleasant flight there with Easy Jet. They looked after me well and were all happy and friendly. When I landed in Barcelona I decided to take the train to my hotel. I will be honest it did take me a little while to firstly find the train station there and secondly work out roughly where I needed to get off. I took the train in to the centre and then I used their Metro network to get nearer to the hotel. I was impressed by the fact that on the underground trains there is full 3G available. This proved very useful when I got a bit lost and had to re-check my route. As I could do that while still sat on a Metro train.

My hotel was situated in the Gothic Quarter of the City. It was just off La Rambla, which is a very vibrant and busy street with lots of places to eat and drink. The street off it where the hotel was where I was staying, was very easy to find as the start of it was between a Mcdonald’s and a KFC. Two places which I am very familiar with. So it made the place I was staying very easy to find.

When I arrived it was bucketing it down with rain. But even so after I had  checked in to the hotel. I thought I should still try and do some exploring and sight-seeing. The architecture and style of some of the buildings is breath taking and I took a look inside a few of them that were open to the public. In fact not long in to my walk I stumbled across a statue showing St George standing over the dragon. I have not done any research on this, so I have no idea why they have a tribute to our patron saint on display, may be he was actually Catalonian.

The rain then got the better of me for a moment, so I went in to a coffee shop to sample the local tea. I am not saying that it was not very good or up to my normal standard but that was the last time I attempted a tea until I got home. After sheltering for a bit I headed back out in to the wet and continued looking at the great Cathedral’s and regal state buildings. As well as the very narrow and populated old streets.

I was trying to stay out of bars and restaurants for as long as possible, as I did not want to start drinking to early. But the rain was not easing and I was getting wetter and wetter. So I gave in and found a lovely little bar to stay dry in. I had my first glass of Spanish red wine. With my motto for the weekend being to try new local things only. I had a stuffed peppers dish followed by a green raspberry cheesecake. All of which was fantastic and which may or may not have been washed down with a second glass of red.

When I left there the rain had become so heavy it was practically biblical, so I decided it was not worth trying to see anymore of my surroundings. So I made the executive plan to just visit a few bars close to my hotel for the evening. They were all very nice and friendly and thankfully for me with my terrible language skills. They all seemed to speak English or in some cases have English staff.

The atmosphere was relaxed and I got chatting to many different people from all over the world during the course of the night. It did seem that there were quite a few Americans visiting, which I do not know why but that surprised me a bit. I then headed back to the hotel at a reasonable time, as the next morning I was going to go and do the thing I wanted to do most while I was there.

I am a big football fan. I have been lucky enough to visit a lot of big stadiums over the years. I spent some time working at Wembley Stadium. So as I was in Barcelona for the weekend. There was one place that I had to visit. The stadium with the biggest capacity in the whole of Europe. I am of course talking about the Nou Camp, the home of the epic Barcelona Football Club.

I was way too excited for a man of my age as I got off the Metro Train, walked down towards the ground and got my first glimpse of it from the outside. It does look pretty old and basic as you approach it. But then when you get a bit closer and see the colours and massive pictures of the star players on it, it looks very impressive.

I arrived and got my ticket for the Tour Experience after a slight scare, as at first the machine was not working so I could not get one. But happily it was swiftly fixed and I was heading towards the entrance with my ticket in my hand and a big smile on my face,

The first thing they do is take a welcome photo against a green screen, which they let you see at the end, against a selection of different back drops. There are several other photo opportunities as you move through the tour, which I will tell you about later.

Then you head through to the Barcelona FC museum. That is just sensational. They have so much memorabilia on display including some ridiculously old and original shirts. They also have a signed Maradona shirt, the boots Ronald Koeman wore when he scored that winning free kick at the old Wembley in the European Cup Final in 1992 and a shirt and pair of boots belonging to Lionel Messi.

And then the trophy cabinets are immense. They seem to hold every trophy the club has ever won. Including the trophy’s they currently hold. And their five Champions League Trophy’s. I have done the Tottenham Hotspur tour and it puts our trophy room to shame, that is for sure.

You then get to head out in to the stands, it was nice to finally be inside this great home of football. From there you can make your way down to the press room and on to a replica of the away dressing room. The whole tour includes lots of great pictures and interactive video displays as you walk round.

Next they give you chance to walk out that famous tunnel. Which does actually have its very own elaborate chapel. You walk up some steps to get pitch side. Where you can take some photos and sit in both the home and away dug outs. The pitch looked amazing, although they did appear to have a bit of a problem with pigeons there bizarrely. Next up it is the corporate areas and then the press box. Which I have to say offered a great view of the pitch.

Heading down from there, they give you chance to have your picture taken with a replica of the Champions League Trophy with the Nou Camp in the background. I have got my picture and it is brilliant. I also have a picture of me celebrating with the team after the 2011 Wembley win, one with the current team and one of me and Lionel Messi with our arms round each other.

The tour was brilliant. I would definitely recommend it if you are a football fan. It is a spectacular and historic stadium that has been graced by many of the world’s greatest players at some point or another.

Now happily the weather on my second day was much better, the rain had stopped and the sun was out. So after I left the Nou Camp I headed back to my hotel to drop off all the pictures from my tour. I then decided to head out for a walk to try and find the Barcelona beach. I mean the city really does have everything.

To get to the beach I had to walk past the port. Which had some of the most amazing Yachts I had even seen moored there. It would appear there is obviously money about. It was a nice stroll and being as in my head I was on holiday I treated myself to an ice-cream.

I eventually found the beach. It is fair to say the sea was a bit lively and was actually full of surfers catching some waves. I found myself a beach side cafe overlooking the sea. Where I treated myself to a glass of Sangria and some Tapas. Both of which I thoroughly enjoyed, while listening to the sound of the waves in the background. I returned to the hotel to get changed before heading out for a traditional Spanish meal.

So I found a nice restaurant in which I tried my first ever Paella. I never take pictures of my food but for this big occasion I made an exception. It was lovely and accompanied by a glass of red wine. I then hit a few more different bars in the area for the rest of the evening. Like in England the clocks also go forward, so technically I lost an hour when I was there.

On my final day I did the typical tourist thing of taking a City Bus Tour, which lasted about an hour and an half and was very interesting and educational. They really do have some stunning looking buildings. Much like London there are old style ones mixed in with brand new ones. They also have a huge aquarium which I visited.

It has a part of it where you walk through a special tunnel with different species including Sharks swimming alongside and above you. It was fascinating and the closest I have been to a  shark. All to soon it was time to come home late on the Sunday. Again another lovely flight with Easy Jet led by a funny and amusing cabin manager. All in all it was a great weekend in a city that I would be happy to visit again in the future.

Next weekend I am looking forward to my annual trip up to Liverpool for the Grand National Meeting at Aintree. I always have a great time when I visit the place. But there is always something special about these four days.

We normally just go to the course for Ladies Day on the Friday but there is talk of possibly making it on the day of the big race to. Either way the atmosphere in what is always a party city is electric. It will be a lot of fun. I will tell you all about it next time we speak.

Have fun and we will catch up again in a couple of weeks. Cheers Neil.