Casa Batlló - A Gaudí Masterpiece

Was up before 3am to get to Manchester Airport for our Annual Company Conference; this time the venue was Barcelona.

I've never been before so it was very exciting, including the prospect of a few days away from this depressing weather we've been having!

Big breakfast at the airport while about 60 of us gathered, everyone arriving on time, no forgotten passports - clockwork!

Barcelona was (is) beautiful. We could see that through the windows of the coach that took us to our hotel. Temperature good - not too hot and definitely not raining!

Arriving at the hotel and checking in, our time was our own. We'd been given tickets for the tourist bus (a brilliant network of buses that you can hop on and off, that tour Barcelona very regularly with audio commentary), and we were due to meet up at a restaurant down by the marina the next evening for the award ceremony.

We took ourselves off to get some lunch - the general plan was to eat a lot - drink (in moderation of course) and eat more. Sightsee the next day and play it by ear.

This fantastic building, the Casa Batlló, was near the hotel and I was lucky enough to catch it as the sun was providing the backlight. I didn't attempt to counter the lens flare as I think it adds to the effect. The Casa Batlló is very difficult to photograph, as there are trees in front of it that block the amazing architecture if you want to try and get the whole building, so I went for this slice. This famous iconic building was restored by Antoni Gaudí who's incredible fairytale architecture is in evidence many times in Barcelona.

I'd heard the warnings about pickpockets and snatchers. I was very careful with my camera - it was strapped round my neck and chained (literally) to my bag that was wrapped around my shoulder - the only way it was leaving me would have been by removing a body part at the same time...

Lunch was had, a bit more exploring, then an afternoon nap, before heading out for a meal at the top end of Ramblas (Camera locked away in a safe!) before back to the hotel for a few more drinks.

A good start to a great trip in a beautiful city :o)

(I don't need to tell you I'm backblipping and catching up! It's going to take a while... still shattered after a delayed flight that meant we went straight to work with no sleep overnight on Sunday and Monday!)