Barcelona is cool. Barcelona is really cool. Vibrant, filled with amazing buildings, overly friendly street vendors, beautiful beaches, crafty pickpocketers, and incredibly cheap deals of the Sangria variety (Don Simon, you da man). Phoebe's surprise early arrival in Barcelona meant that we enjoyed a couple of days exploring the city before the "main event" began. Something about Barcelona seems to make it grow on you every day you spend there. Just like listening to good music, every time you hear it you notice a new, funky side to it.
Speaking of good music, the aforementioned "main event" was of course Primavera Sound Festival. We were joined by fellow gappies Ally and Emily, and stayed with Felix's very generous cousin Suzy and her boyfriend Raph, in a very intimately sized guest room. We gradually became nocturnal as the 4 day festival progressed; bed at 5am and breakfast at 4pm became the norm. Even with our confused body clocks, we managed to squeeze in some quality touristing - favourites include Park Guell, tapas and paella, the half-finished Sagrada Familia, the numerous parks and old narrow streets, and the mostly friendly kebab store at the Arc de Triomf.
For a bunch of kiwis whose previous festival experiences included Big Day Out, Raggamuffin and Edgefest, Primavera was on a completely different scale. The crowds were mind-blowing, the venue dwarfed any arenas we have in NZ, and the line-up was pretty special. Despite this the crowd actually seemed to be significantly less aggressive than a kiwi crowd, and it proved to be pretty easy to get to the front for most acts. Alex, we hope your elbows aren't too bruised from crowd-bashing.
A cute father-son reunion in Barcelona the weekend before the messiness began.
Maybe leave the map reading up to Felix?
Although this beach may look lovely, it's very difficult to relax here - between the mildly creepy masseuses touching your feet, the mojito and cerveza sellers constantly pestering you, and the curious coin hunters with their metal detectors, we had to take shifts closing our eyes.
A must-see on any visit to Barcelona. Gaudi's impressive Sagrada Familia. Construction began in 1882, and has stopped and started many times since then as it relies solely on public donation. We've vowed to return to see the finished product, in 20+ years.
The most amazing market we have ever seen. Felix had to hold Phoebe back from buying every single juice flavour, fruit cup, fresh coconut, crema catalana and empanada.
Soaking up the sun at Park Guell another of Gaudi's fantastic creations.
Going back to our roots, we couldn't resist the opportunity for a cheeky visit to the science museum. We even met an adorable yet awkward capybara. Google image it.
4 eager kiwis, ready to have their international music festival virginity taken.
Awww yeeh, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds in action. Epic. Other standouts were Blur, Jesus & Mary Chain, Grizzly Bear, Phoenix, Tame Impala, Postal Service... and the Wu-Tang Clan, lol. Best dance moves go to Solange, Beyoncé's little sis.
Gettin' a bit sweaty in the mosh pit, but looking pretty happy about our prime location.
Another hard night on the Don Simon. This fuel kept us going til the early morning. At 1.12euro per litre, who could refuse?!
Phoebe and Alex. Heck, who knows what they're doing.
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