A love affair begins

Hold on! Its not what you think, this is a love affair with a difference. No dates, no gifts, no quarrels, no making up and sadly no making out. This is a love affair with a city! Yes, a city. A city with a difference, a city like no other. Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a rollercoaster ride, coz tonight we're talking about Barcelona!
Even before we left for Barca, friends had given us a fair idea about the rocking place that it was. But till we reached the city and got out of Liceu metro station, we were yet to know what we were dealing with. Our first sight of Barcelona was La Rambla, a wide pedestrian street in the centre of the city that is equally popular with tourists and locals. Choc-a-bloc with roadside cafes, bizarre street performers and regular people, the sheer amount of life in the city left us speechless and I guess we spent at least 10 minutes standing agape at the metro exit.
Our first meal in Barcelona was dinner at an Indian restaurant. Now, I wasn't keen on having Indian food in Europe, but after almost a month away, my friends were longing for it. So I reluctantly agreed to accompany them, and as expected was disappointed by the quality of food. I was in Catalunya and wanted Catalan food. So the next morning, when my friends headed back to the Indian restaurant for lunch, I went to a place that is an institution, not only in Barcelona, but in all of Catalunya. I went to Restaurante La Fonda.
Located in a small alley off La Rambla, this restaurant was huge. It had a humongous dining hall with an equally huge mezzanine floor and basement. And yet, I had to wait for quite a while before I got a table. The menu consisted of traditional Catalan fare and I started with a classic - the Escalivada. Mine consisted of bell peppers, with mince meat stuffed in a tart and served with white sauce. Needless to day, it was perfect. For the main course, I ordered Pork Roast Catalan style. Big chunks of pork served with potatoes, onions, bell peppers and a tangy sauce. Delicious it was, but quite a task to finish. Half a kilo of pork and two pints of San Miguel were consumed before I could be absolutely sure about skipping dessert. After that blissful meal, walking to Port Olympic to catch up with my friends looked like a mean task.
We lived it up that evening. Watching surfers at Barceloneta beach, cocktails at HardRock Cafe, partying at Maremagnum, we did it all. Tired, we went back to our hostel at around 4 am. And true to its spirit, Barcelona was still alive and kicking. The restaurants had closed but people were still strolling on the Rambla and no kidding, there were long lines outside some of the night clubs.
The next day was plagued by strained finances and for a quick bite, we headed to the ever popular Bagel Shop. This is a small cafe in a lane off the Rambla that serves Bagels with toppings of your choice. It was time to go Catalan again and I topped my Bagel with among other things, the Butifarra sausage. Simple but good, and a perfectly good meal if the budget is tight.
It was time to leave that evening and at Sants station, looking at my friends' faces, I could tell that they were in love with the city too.
On a serious note, Barcelona left a big question mark in my mind about how we have chosen to lead our lives. How the rat race in other big cities drives the simple joys of life into oblivion. But it also answered the very same question. For Barcelonetas, fun is serious business. Be it strolling the Rambla or surfing on the beach or more importantly, supporting their darling football club, Barcelonetas do everything with passion. Barcelona has shown me as I am sure it has shown countless others, how important it is to have fun.
So what are you waiting for? Pack your bags, take the next flight and go. Go!! Now!!