I returned to Barcelona last weekend with Gráinne, for her birthday. The heavy snow in Dublin caused us some problems; our flight was canceled and we re-booked for the following morning, making it off the ground with only a relatively minor delay (all things considered). It seems we were lucky to get there when we did and also lucky to return home when we did as there was a wildcat strike on the part of Spanish air traffic controllers, timed to coincide with the beginning of almost a week of days off for most Spaniards (and therefore significant numbers of people trying to fly to their holiday destinations). The government went a wee bit fascist and declared a "state of alert" during which the army was called in and controllers were threatened with serious prison sentences and apparently forced to work at gunpoint. Thankfully, flights appeared to be restored to normality by the time we left. All things considered, it was an unusually eventful time to be flying.

I snapped a few pics with my phone camera. Here we see the statue of Columbus at night time:



This is one of my favourite attractions in Barcelona. Columbus is said to point to the New World, but he is clearly, and bizarrely, pointing in the opposite direction (the theory that he is pointing towards his home in Genoa seems a bit conveniently a posteriori). The reason I like this column so much is that there is an entrance at the base of it that is not very easy to stumble across. It currently has a sign advertising a bus tour of the city and no other indication of what can be found inside. However, if one ventures in and pays a €3 admission fee, one gains access to a lift that runs up a shaft in the column to an observation point just below Columbus' feet.

The view from this point is not especially remarkable and doesn't compare to the likes of the views from Park Güell or Tibidabo, but it is unique in that it is the highest vantage point in the immediate area (not counting the cable-cars that run up to Montjuic in the summertime) and it affords a 360º view of the bottom of the Ramblas and the old harbour. It's especially worthwhile at night time, when the old port buildings and the yachts in the marina are lit up. This photo of the historic Port Authority building was taken by Gráinne from the top of Columbus' column:


At the end of the famous Ramblas (including the Rambla de Mar) is the Maremagnum shopping centre, which currently houses the world's largest Caganer:


A caganer is one of the bizarre traditional Catalán christmas traditions. It is a statue of a man wearing traditional Catalán dress, with his trousers around his ankles, defecating. There are a few explanations as to why this is included in Catalán nativity scenes and none of them are particularly convincing! Suffice to say that it is odd, but in a funny way. It is also fairly prevalent, with stalls in all the christmas markets selling an assortment of caganers, ranging from the traditional to depictions of celebrities like the pope and Barack Obama.

As mentioned elsewhere on this blog, I quite like Barcelona. One of the main reasons is the many indications that it has a strong anti-authoritarian counter-culture. I was reminded of this when I saw this bin:


Close-up of the sticker:


The local elections took place recently and the sticker on the bin translates roughly as "Place your vote here. This container doesn't steal or lie."

Another reason I like Barcelona is its vibrant and varied nightlife and culture. On our last night we went to see Osaka Monaurail, a Japanese funk group, in concert:


All in all, it was a successful trip. At 2 years, it had been too long since I last visited. In the future, I hope that my visits will become a lot more regular.