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A Friend Visit by Sam

A Friend visit from Sam

Tasty churros near la RamblaI had Sam, (an architecture university friend) visit me last weekend. We had been talking about him visiting since I first got to Barcelona in August, however between work, Christmas and commitments to his personal career (doing his Part 3), he was unable to come sooner.  The good news is that he came just when the weather was at it’s best, and when I had a 4 day weekend.

Not only that, he’d been to Barcelona a bunch of times so he wasn’t in a huge rush to see all the touristy things people flock to the city for.

Friday

La Boqueria

Sam had wanted to see the food market in el Raval called la Boqueria, I had never been myself. Frankly, despite locals telling me to go, I still felt it was mostly a show for tourists to take photos of.

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Lunch at La Foixarda

After that I decided to take Sam to my favourite restaurant in Barcelona. It’s near where I go climbing and it’s called La Foixarda, it’s overlooking a horse paddock and usually has something going on while you sit there. The food has to date never failed and the main is always flame grilled outdoors.  The weekday lunch three course meal is €13.50 and I highly recommend it!

Tibidabo

That evening I tried to get Sam to see Tibidabo at sunset but with evening traffic and running on lazy we made it about 20 minutes too late.  However, it’s never a disappointment to get up there and show it off!   It’s also a great place to view the city from.

Saturday

Back to Climbing at ClimbAT

Me bouldering and easy route (with difficulty)Since December I have been unable to climb due to some nerve impingement and some tendonitis in my elbow. While the spanish healthcare system is great and I’m fully entitled to use it, I left it quite late to flag up that I needed help.  The wait time to see a specialist was quite long, and I grew impatient.    I therefore saw a private physio for some help while I waited.  My physio after a month of sessions suggested I tried climbing again!

Sam, who had boulderd in the past fancied coming with me, and was a perfect occasion to introduce him to my climbing friends Tamara and Eirian.

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Gig: Dead Parties

A friend of Tamara and David (climbing friends) was having a gig on Saturday night and I had never seen them perform.  Sam and I tagged along, and they were great!

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Sunday

Horta

Friend visit at the labyrinth of HortaWhile I didn’t wish to programme many plans for my friend visit, I did want to take Sam to some architectural areas that he most likely hasn’t already seen in previous architectural field trips to Barcelona.

The labyrinth of Horta (where I previous took my mum) back in December seemed like a good idea.  The bad part was that it was busy filled with screaming children.  For some reason much like my previous visit with mum, it made me reminisce of Xilitla.   I told Sam all about Edward James and the amazing things he did in Mexico.

We soon got tired of the crowds and still had most of the day left.

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Bouldering Location

I suggested to Sam that we went to a climbing area I had seen near Manresa, he was keen to go with me.  I had never been to this location, I didn’t have any equipment and was still a little sore from climbing the day before.

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Montserrat

On the way back from Manresa I thought we’d catch Montserrat at sunset.  Montserrat is a monastery (village) up a sheer mountain that is outstandingly beautiful. The ride was epic!

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