Amsterdam, Netherlands

I live in a very busy part of town. Now, in winter, it's definitely quieter than in summer when it's noisy outside for the entire night. especially in weekends. It doesn't bother me at all. I sleep right through it, usually fall asleep with the radio on anyway, and those nights where I wake up from a sound outside are very rare. This morning was one of those exceptions. At around 6 in the morning I noticed workmen and heavy machinery outside. That's also not unusual. It's not just drunk tourists that are loud throughout the night, but with the side walls of the canal outside getting repaired just down the road, often there will be lorries manoeuvering their way down the narrow street, beeping loudly if they're driving backwards.

When I left the flat to go to work (by metro because I'd left my bike at the office yesterday) I noticed what the reason for today's disturbance was. Just across the street, in front of the coffeeshop where I go and get my coffees every now and then, the entire street had been dug up. A company called Liander, in charge of maintaining the city's electricity and gas networks was up to something, but I have no idea what. Was this urgent? Was this planned? All unanswered questions, but it sure looked quite drastic. The flower stall on the bridge remained closed all day because Liander was digging in front of the stall as well. I took the picture as I got home from work.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The view from our Board Room is shown in this picture. This is the room where my manager and my American colleague have set up their laptops so it's been turned into a temporary office, and today another American joined them. I told you, no time to easy into office life this time. "Do you want to join us for dinner?" I had been asked by both my manager and my colleague and today I could not decline the offer. I had done so yesterday, simply because it was all a bit too much after a relaxed week in Catalonia. Today I accepted the offer and was glad to do so.

I took the above picture just before we left the office for the restaurant. You've seen the view before (it's looking west towards the airport) but I'm afraid it will have to do for today because I didn't take any other pictures. The restaurant we went to was Gaucho's, an Argentinean steak restaurant on Beethovenstraat. Great food, lovely wine, and nice company as well, it must be said. Afterwards I was asked if I wanted to join them for some drinks in their hotel as well, but this time I did decline. I was tired and was satisfied with just going home. I walked home, leaving my bike at the office.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

"Are you not in the office on Monday?" my manager had emailed me last week after she had seen an out-of-office reply from my email account saying that I'd be back in the office on Tuesday 10 January. It's heartwarming when you realise that your manager, even after a year, doesn't know that in principle Monday is not a day that I'm being paid for being in the office.

"Don't worry," I replied, "I'll make sure that I'm in the office on the 9th."

I had no plans for today and because she had planned a visit for herself and one of my American colleagues to the office for most of this week, I didn't object to coming in today. Of course I'll do my best to compensate later this week, although I doubt whether that will work because of an urgent UK project that I'm working on, with a deadline on Tuesday next week.

And indeed, not long after I had gotten into the office did my American colleague come to my desk and we had a chat. It was good to see him again, he's a nice guy, although in all honesty I doubt whether I can help much with the purpose of his visit. I'll do my best, obviously, but we'll have to see how this goes. Because my manager arrived not much later there was absolutely no 'easing-into-office-life' this time after my holiday. No time to go through my emails in a leisurely way (I'd been reading those in Barcelona anyway), no too much time for a chat with my colleagues about how their New Year's had been. It was straight to the grind. As if Barcelona never happened. The picture shows the scaffolding in front of the house. I took it as I arrived home after work.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

I didn't leave the house at all today. No need to. After more than a week when I spent the biggest part of each day outside my hotel and some busy weekends before that, I was very satisfied with just staying inside, working on my pictures, my blog, doing some laundry, and reading a bit. A day of doing nothing. Oh, and I admired my temporary view, as seen in the picture above, which is scaffolding with a green cloth on it. Not the nicest of views... but temporary fortunately.

Barcelona, Spain

I woke up at 6:30 in the morning and an hour later I was on a bus to the airport. Barcelona, one of my all time favourites cities, is history again for now. I'll be back here at the end of February when I'll be accompanying my sister and my nephew for a three day visit, and if at all possible I'll try and come back here again this summer as well. "Again?" people will ask, and all I can reply will be "yes, again" - because I simply love this city.

The bus ride to the airport, the wait in the somewhat run down Terminal 2 for my flight (self-service restaurant in that terminal in picture above), the flight back to Amsterdam, the train back to Central Station... it all went fine, it all went smooth. I got the biggest shock of the day when I saw scaffolding in front of my building. Things were definitely moving fast, possibly moving too fast. The scaffolding is there so that repair work can be done on the roof. Because there's a green cloth on the outer side of the scaffolding, my living room has a bit of a greenish hue to it. Never mind. I just hope the scaffolding will not be there for long. For now, nothing can ruin my great post-Barcelona mood. I went out to get some groceries and didn't leave the house anymore for the rest of the day. For the first time in 9 days I shaved and that was a great feeling. Barcelona for New Year's Eve was a great idea. Well worth repeating in future years perhaps?

Barcelona, Spain

One more day of Barcelona also meant one more day of walking. And today I walked the longest distance of the entire week. With all shops closed because of Epiphany, and with the sun out ever so generously, today was a perfect day for walking, and many people had had the same idea. I walked just over 20 kilometers or 12.5 miles and this is where I went:

View Barcelona 20120106 in a larger map

I was relieved to find that my usual breakfast place (Txapela on Passeig de Gràcia) was open for business, because a lot of restaurants were also closed today. From Txapela I walked through the Gotic area to the old harbour (Port Vell) and Barceloneta to the beach. And then it was basically just northeast bound to the Port Forum area via the beaches at Poblenou. There were many people walking, fewer actually lying on the beach and fewer still swimming. It was truly a delightful day. My type of winter.

The Forum area is what the Docklands are for London and what La Défense is for Paris. You will see a lot of new buildings, predominantly office buildings, but also high rise hotels and shopping centres. There's not much 'heart' or 'soul' to the area, and is only interesting really from an architectural point of view. It's also one of two areas in the city where trams have been reintroduced to the streets. Much like other bigger European cities, Barcelona got rid of its extensive tram network in the 1950s and 1960s, replacing that infrastructure with bus lines and underground trains, and much like other bigger European cities they realised in the 1990s that they had maybe cleaned up the trams just a bit too radical. So, like Manchester, London and Paris, Barcelona now has trams running through some of its streets again, and that's a very welcome sight.

Having walked so much today did not stop me from walking back into town again in the evening, for a meal in Divinus and then some red wines in my favourite downtown bar, Schilling. I was sitting at the bar, reading a paper, and occasionally looking at the group of three people next to me. There was an American lady who had lived in Barcelona before and had now returned for a holiday, an English guy ("with Spanish father") who lived in Barcelona, and a Spanish guy. I wasn't really trying to eavesdrop, but hearing some of the conversation got me fascinated a bit.

"Are you OK? You look sad," the English guy asked me, out of the blue. I was completely surprised. Not only had I not expected to get involved in their talk, but also was I far from feeling sad. I felt great! My time in Barcelona had been wonderful. I felt recharged, finally felt recharged, and I was just comfortably sitting at the bar enjoying the city, the bar, life, and what else could be enjoyed.

"No I'm fine!" I replied, as cheerful as I could.

"Are you sure? You do look sad" said the English guy again.

"No I think he's fine," said the Spanish guy, suddenly landing me in a group therapy session.

"Seriously, I feel fine," I tried to convince six staring eyes.

"Oh ok, then," said the American lady, "as long as you're OK sitting there by yourself, but if you want to talk, just join in"

Sigh. It happens every now and then, that I'm relaxed, feeling good and someone will walk up to me telling me not to look so grumpy, or angry, or arrogant, or sad, or whatever attitude people think they can read from my face. Typically they're wrong. My default facial expression is a bad one, I guess. Maybe it's time for a facelift and some botox so that everyone looking at my face will think I had an overdose of some kind of cheer-me-upper drug. Nevertheless, I had a good time in Schilling, and a great week in Barcelona. I know I'll get on that plane back to Amsterdam tomorrow, but I will only do so reluctantly.

Barcelona, Spain

No map today because compared to the other days spent here so far, I didn't walk that much. The reason for that is that the 5th of January, Epiphany Eve if you like, is BIG in Spain. In Barcelona there is a huge parade, Cavalcada de Reis Mags d'Orient (Parade of the Magician Kings from the East) and I went to see that in the early evening. During daytime I just wandered a bit in the gothic part of the city, taking many pictures once more, and I returned to the hotel relatively early in order to do some work and also just to relax a bit.

At around 5:30 I walked back into town via the Passeig de Gràcia (in a magical sunset as you can see above) and then on to the Via Laietana, which normally is a busy traffic artery that I try to avoid at all costs, but which tonight was full of families watching the parade. It was the second time that I saw the parade (first time was two years ago) and I enjoyed it very much once more. I could try and describe it but I don't think it would do it justice really, so much dance, so much music, lights, sweets, and of course the three wise men. It's funny how the joy that children have in watching the parade influences you and makes you feel that same joy, experienced many decades ago, once again. Watch the following video and listen to the child that was sitting on its dad's shoulders behind me shout out "Gaspar!" as it sees King Caspar on the float. Makes you feel all warm inside, that enthusiasm.

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona is a city of views. Wide views. Whether you go up Montjuïc, or up one of the towers of the Sagrada Familia, or up to Park Güell, you can get fantastic views over the city as it basks in the sun. The best view, also the most distant one, is from Tibidabo. This is a hill west of the city, and it, as well as the church on top of it, are visible from many parts of the city. Getting to Tibidabo requires a metro ride, a walk or tram ride, and then a funicular ride up the steep hill. This is what I did in the morning, and you can see it on the map below.

View Barcelona 20120104 in a larger map

From my hotel (blue placemark) I walked down to Plaça de Catalunya (blue line), having breakfast along the way. The red line is the metro line that then took me to the Av Tibidabo. Some people would then get on an antique tram (Tram Blau) to take them to the foot of the funicular ride, but I walked the short stretch. I was lucky that the funicular was going because typically it's closed in winter (as Colin, Andy and I once found out when we tried to go up Tibidabo in February) but today it was in operation. The view from Tibidabo is spectacular as the city lies majestically beneath you. There's an amusement park there as well, although today it was only partially running, and the aforementioned church, which I visited briefly.

From Tibidabo I took a funicular ride back down again (hesitating for a moment whether I should walk down, given that I'm in a walking mood, but deciding against it due to a lack of maps), had lunch in a bar (again with a great view) and then walked towards Park Güell. I have visited the park many times, and it seems to get busier each time I am there, but it's still quite a pleasure, and besides it was on my way back to the hotel.

In the evening I took things easier, no long distance walks (as the green line tells you) but I did manage to have a nice meal and I also went to my 'neighbourhood' bar, which I've not done every night yet. A very sunny day, a very relaxed day! And only 7.6 miles / 12.2 kilometers of walking today...

Barcelona, Spain

If you'd look at the map of my walks through Barcelona today...

View Barcelona 20120103 in a larger map

...that would probably give you the impression of me being seriously confused. The red route, the one I walked counter-clockwise during the day, criss-crosses the city centre more or less at random (or so it seems) and there are a couple of points where I was twice or three times even. There was a reason, believe it or not, for this random pattern, and that was simply because there were some places I wanted to go to. Such as the FNAC store on Plaça de Catalunya and the St Josep covered market. Thursday and Friday are big public holidays here in Spain. Epiphany is celebrated much more than Christmas in this country, and it's the main occasion for giving each other presents and have lavish meals. The St Josep market clearly demonstrated that. So much wonderful fresh food! Poultry, fresh fish, delicious meats, vegetables and fruits - the market is a true delight. I love every visit to it, but today it was just a bit more enjoyable.

I then returned to the El Gotic area, and walked through some of the streets of the Call Major. Barcelona is an ancient city, already an important settlement in Roman times over 2,000 years ago when it was known as Barcino, and parts of that Roman place are still visible, such as the huge city walls north east of the centre, as well as some remains of temples such as the Temple to Augustus. In medieval times the city housed a big Jewish community in two specific areas, Call Major and adjacent Call Menor. These neighbourhoods, once walled, have very narrow streets and Europe's biggest synagogue is also to be found there in an ancient building. A great part of the city for a stroll.

And on I walked, some more of the El Gotic and the northbound, zigzagging my way down the newer parts of town towards the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's masterpiece basilica which seems to be progressing ever much faster whenever I'm in town. As you can see from yesterday's picture, the centre part of the building is now becoming very visible and it looks massive. Once the basilica is complete, now expected by 2028, the eight towers that were the predominant features of the church-under-construction will be dwarfed by five centre towers that are currently being built. The picture above shows the statue of Apostle Philip on one of the current towers. The half moon was just next to the tower. It's a real picture, not photoshopped (except for contrast) and I am quite pleased with it.

In the evening I decided to have another long walk, basically from my hotel all the way down to França station and back, having some drinks along the way. No other purpose for that walk than to enjoy the city at night... and also to get a bit more exercise. 18.1 kilometers today, or 11.3 miles. Doing good!

Barcelona, Spain

It's the third time that I spent New Year's Eve in Barcelona. Back in 2008/2009 I went to the Plaça de Catalunya and watched the countdown and the subsequential uncorking of bottles of cava there, on the city's and Catalonia's most central square. In 2009/2010 I stayed in my hotel room on New Year's Eve... and that is exactly what I did now as well. I'm not coming to Barcelona for New Year's Eve as such. I don't care much for the celebration of the start of a new year anyway, but my main motivation for coming to Barcelona at this time of the year is twofold: I love Barcelona and it's great to start the new year in a warm climate in a beautiful city (while my colleagues went back to work today) and the other is that it's a relief not to be in Amsterdam on New Year's Eve. Anyone who's ever been in the Netherlands on New Year's Eve knows that the country turns into a war zone. With everyone firing off their own fireworks it is just no fun walking through town. With the exception of when Andy and Colin visited Amsterdam, I typically stayed in on 31 Dec. Going to Barcelona is a pleasant alternative to that option.

So what have I been doing so far during this trip? Walking. That's how it can best be described. I have my hiking shoes with me and I've put them to good use. Helped by fantastic weather, with temperatures close to 20C (and 21C to one sign I saw), blue skies and generous sunshine, I have explored the city on foot. I created some Google Maps to show where I walked... (told you, nerd I am)

On 31 December I walked 10.4 kilometers / 6.5 miles:

View Barcelona 20111231 in a larger map

The first day, 31 December, I left the hotel (blue placemark at the top of the map) and mainly stayed in the touristy city centre. El Gotic is the city's gothic quarter and my favourite part by far. It's a great way to avoid the Ramblas (packed with tourists, pickpockets, living statues and con artists alike) and its streets are timeless and quiet. I did venture out to the Park de Ciutadella (right side of the map) but that was basically it. It was just a pleasant day, getting to know an old acquaintance, namely old Barcelona again. I had breakfast, lunch, coffees and dinner in various locations along the route in what have become my favourite places in town. A very pleasant and sunny last day of 2011 it was.

On 1 January I walked 14 kilometers / 8.8 miles:

View Barcelona 20120101 in a larger map

The first walk of the new year was already longer than the last one of last year. I actually walked down the Ramblas in the morning, while most of Barcelona still seemed to be sleeping and for some weird reason it was mostly Italians walking everywhere. When I reached the harbour area at the end of the Ramblas I started walking northeast towards the cozy Barceloneta district and from there all the way to Poble Nou, where the beaches are that I usually go to when I'm in town on summer days. Mind you, the weather was surprisingly close to 'beach weather' and there were actually people lying on the beach as if it was July, and also swimming in the sea. The sea was a bit too wild for my liking, otherwise I wouldn't have objected to a new year's dive in the Mediterranean. I returned to my hotel in the early evening and went out for food later on... but that short walk is not shown in the map.

Today, 2 January I walked 17.4 kilometers / 10.8 miles:

View Barcelona 20120102 in a larger map

It's still less than what we walked on our first day of the West Highland Way last year... but I'm getting closer! And walking in a city, carefully avoiding tourists and other pedestrians, waiting for traffic lights and passing cars, is actually quite tiring, I found out. I walked towards Montjuïc, the hill south of the city, via the El Gotic and the Raval neighbourhoods. The view from Montjuïc over the city is simply fantastic. The above picture is of the Sagrada Familia as seen from the castle on top of Montjuïc. Via the busy and not very elegant Plaza d'Espanya I then returned back to the hotel, only to head back into town for an evening visit to the Raval. It truly is a fascinating neighbourhood. Run down, with prostitutes in the streets, shady and dodgy people in dark corners, run-down hotels and dilapidated buildings, badly lit streets. I love it! It really is as if I'm walking on a film set. And I've found that, as long as you walk with a determined step, as if you're going somewhere in particular, you basically get ignored. I admit that it's a bit strange that it's this Barcelona I love best, above the uber-famous tourist destinations, but there you have it... Mind you, Montjuïc, with its amazing views was also pretty impressive.