A WEEK IN BARCELONA

Cròniques d´una setmana a la Ciutat Comptal

Chronicles of a week in Barcelona

1. My own private view... jogging up the hill 25 minutes from Jordi´s flat where I stay and you get this magnificent view of the city. It´s at the Guinardó Park. Bring your MP3-or listen to your radio station through your mobile phone... http://www.flaixfm.net/ does it for me and enjoy the view...

1. Mirador privat... a 25 minuts des de casa de´n Jordi. Al Park del Guinardó... Tot escoltant Flaix fm la megaràdio www.flaixfm.net a través del mòbil i a gaudir!!

2. Dinner at home with the family. Nice hot soup in a winter evening with salad and tomato bread... and of course wine drunk straight from the "porró". Dont think you can get more catalan than this...

2. Sopar a la taula: sopeta, amanida, pa amb tomàquet i pernil... i vi amb el porró!

3. Thursday at the Camp Nou... Barça 3 - Espanyol 2. These two teams are 1st division teams both based in Barcelona... there is high rivalry and this match is called a "Derby". Barça is doing extremetely well this year... Trainer Josep Guardiola is very good and is doing a great job. If you have never attended a Mass Sport Event I URGE you to do it. There is something very emotional about being amongst masses of people all cheering up for a noble cause like sport. An Israel - Gaza football match in a grand stadium would be a far better investment of time money and energy than attacks that only achieve loss of human life and happiness...

3. Dijous al Camp Nou a veure el derby Barça - Espanyol. Emocionant joc que ens va tenir patint fins l´últim minut. 3-2 a favor del Barça. No és partit de lliga, és de la copa del Rei, però el Barça havia de guanyar, per què un empat no valia. Coses complicades del fútbol. Si mai heu anat a veure un esdeveniment esportiu amb tant de públic, (uns 98.700 espectadors), us recomano que ho feu JA. No sé que és però anar a un lloc amb massess és extranyament emocionant. Sóc sensible a les multituts exaltades per un motiu com és ara l´esport... un partit Israel-Gaza en un gran estadi seria molt millor que els atacs amb els que es perden temps i vides humanes


4. Shopping... window shopping that is. Whenever in Barcelona go check VINÇON. This shop in the Passeig de Gràcia is huge and sells EVERYTHING you need but with a Designer Label on it. Spectacular display outside with old black and white pictures/books taken from an actors agency from the US... pictures of people with names who are now probably 50-60 years old. Where are they all now?

4. De compres... bé, més aviat d´aparadors que de compres que la cosa està fatal. Us recomano VINÇON al passeig de Gràcia. Aquests dies a l´aparador hi tenen tot de fotos antigues en blanc i negre que són books d´una antiga agència d´actors americana...

5. Friends reunited. From left, Carla and Xavi, Ana and Beda, Montse and Edu. We all met one october in 1990 when we started work for British Airways at Barcelona Airport. Edu joined four months later. We all were trained in manual check-in procedures... how to use the sticker-seats, how to handwrite boarding passes and baggage labels... computer? what computer??

5. Reunió d´amics. De esquerra a dreta, la Carla i en Xavi, l´Anna i en Beda, la Montse, i l´Edu. Tots ens vàrem conèixer un dia a l´Octubre del 1990 quan vam començar a treballar a l´aeroport de Barcelona per la British Airways... experts en escriure targetes d´embarcament a i etiquetes d´equipatges a mà! No teníem ordinadors encara!

i did lots this week...