Finding Nirvana Catalonia

I have travelled through Catalonia many times now, and always start in its dynamic capital, Barcelona. This is a city that fills me with excitement and inspiration. Every corner seems to offer another surprise: the medieval streets, the modernist architecture, the inviting aromas of food in the air, the street theatre, the urban parks – Barcelona has it all.

Our first visit to Barcelona coincided with Margie’s 40th birthday. We were keen to celebrate the passing of such a momentous year somewhere new to us, and were attracted to the elaborate architecture of Antoni Gaudi and the artistic brilliance of Salvador Dali and other surrealist artists, not to mention the food and wine. As it turned out, there was a rally for peace in the city on the day of her birthday, with more than a million people taking to the streets to protest a Basque separatist bombing. The streets were awash with white as doves were released into the air. We watched for a while from the vantage point of our hotel rooftop deck, then left for dinner at C’al Isidre, soon realising that we were travelling in the same direction as the protesters. There was absolutely no hope of a taxi, so we joined the crowds for a couple of kilometres, unwittingly discovering the warren of back streets in the Barri Xines red-light district, to the west of the Ramblas (the grand street that is the city’s most famous landmark), as we walked. I remember thinking what a nice gesture it was on the part of the Spanish to turn out in such numbers for Margie’s birthday! When we finally got to C’al Isidre, we had the most delicious dinner, trying out new wines and some extraordinary dishes made with wild mushrooms, the house specialty. We would soon discover that Catalan cooking owes much to the region’s pervasive Roman and Moorish heritage.