2019 Catalonia

Southend is the new gateway to Europe …

Southend is the new gateway to Europe …

Sunday 28th and Monday 29th April 2019 Having booked relatively early flights from Southend Airport for Monday morning, we decided to stay in the airport hotel the night before to avoid the stress of the M25 during rush hour.  With time to spare, Matilda persuaded Robert that a trip to Southend Pier would be a […]

Figueres – Dalí’s birthplace and final resting place

Figueres – Dalí’s birthplace and final resting place

Monday 29th to Tuesday 30th April 2019 Figueres is an old market town a short train ride from Barcelona and nowadays it has an extensive pedestrianised area where you can stroll around window-shopping and looking at the buildings.  As the birth place of Salvador Dalí, Figueres is a tourist attraction and we wisely booked tickets […]

Back to Barcelona

Back to Barcelona

Wednesday, 1st May 2019 Returning by train to Barcelona, we had again planned ahead and booked tickets online, this time to visit the Palau de la Musica Catalana in the afternoon.  This beautiful  modernist building was designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner as a venue for the Orfeo Catala to perform a repertoire of Catalan […]

Two cathedrals and a bar

Two cathedrals and a bar

Thursday, 2nd May 2019 The Sagrada Familia is perhaps the more famous basilica, but Barcelona also has its own gothic cathedral: officially known as the Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Barcelona. Work started in 1298 and there are rows of secondary chapels within the buttresses as well as a cimborio – an octagonal lantern built over […]