I just looked out the window to see a fantastic sunset and decided to share it. In fact it was much more spectacular than the photo suggests, perhaps because it was taken on my trusty Nokia phone.
The building work - just in case you were wondering - is the new Ciutat de la Justicia, the new law courts for Barcelona and Hospitalet and has been going on forever.
Last night we went to see Arctic Monkeys at the Espacio Movistar in Barcelona. The venue has moved since we last went there - it is a tent, after all - and is now behind Camp Nou.
 
We would have seen them earlier in the year when they unveiled their latest album at Razzmatazz, but tickets sold too fast and we missed it - this time though we booked immediately.
The band are really good, they sound exactly like they do on CD, and it was great to hear those songs played live and see that they really can perform. It is a shame that they play such short sets though and 505 was sadly missing.
My main complaint though is about the venue. Although Razzmatazz isn’t the greatest venue in the world at least it is the real deal - a grungy converted warehouse with a great rock ‘n’ roll vibe. The Espacio Movistar - well, it does have good sound, but it has no atmosphere. And since it is expressly designed to be a music venue the layout is terrible.
I hate the way a corporation has got in on the act, I hate the bland security, and I hate the fact that I have to buy vouchers to exchange at the bar. When we saw Travis a few months ago security tried to stop the guitarist climbing into the audience - why? - and last night they were stopping people from sitting on the shoulders of others - what is all that about?
I blogged about my Baby Gaggia earlier in the year, but want to return to the subject of coffee machines and specifically Gaggia coffee machines, which I really do think are the best in the world.
To the great amusement of just about everyone I meet, I’m a coffee drinker rather than a tea drinker, which I think is OK, but just doesn’t do it for me. I used to use one of those stove top coffee makers which can produce decent coffee if you’re careful, but often don’t. Most people don’t care enough about their coffee to really produce it well anyway, so I’m always a bit wary.
Anyway, since trying an espresso made on my brother’s Gaggia a few years ago, I also decided that I wanted one. And it is great. You can read a review of the Baby Gaggia , which is now available to take coffee pods, although I must admit I’m a purist, despite the amount of cleaning it takes. Favourite coffee is simply Illy, and I read an interesting interview a few weeks ago with the CEO of Illy - really focused on producing one single, excellent product and to me they’re doing well. Also see the line of Gaggia coffee machines stocked by Cafe Italia.
We’re currently looking to find an Australian website that sells pate, but without much success so far. This is for a Christmas gift, so any Aussies reading this can you let me know where I can buy Pate in Australia online.
Since installing a satellite dish at the beginning of the summer I’ve been able to receive UK television again, for the first time in 6 years. While much has changed - like a load of new channels - much remains the same too.
Anyway, after watching TV last night I’ve come to the conclusion that Top Gear is simply the best TV show in existence. It has fast cars driven recklessly, it’s far funnier than any supposed comedy, they have competitions that are beyond stupid (like crossing the English Channel in a converted car!) and so it doesn’t matter with you love Jeremy Clarkson or if you loath him; the show is simply brilliant!
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Home made soap is apparently a popular hobby and since it’s made from just a few simple ingredients, soap is pretty straightforward to make.
I’ve just been reading an interesting article about how to make soap and although it doesn’t give a detailed recipe it is a good start in learning how to do it.
This weekend Barcelona celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the Circuit de Montjuic, with a lovely selection of racing cars from across the decades. We went to watch the cars in action on Sunday, including Emerson Fittipaldi putting his Lotus from 1973 through it’s paces, and Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari from last year was also there.
I don’t quite know what to think about the Nou Camp redevelopment plans, but the stadium certainly needs to be covered.
I’ve been to see FC Barcelona play numerous times and sometimes take a camera with me. This is from about 4 years ago I think and shows the view from the top tier.The advantage is that you get a great atmosphere and a good overview of the pitch. The trouble is you’re too far away. But it’s much better up there than in some areas and if you take binoculars you’re laughing.
OK, I’m back again after a trip down to Vejer de la Frontera in the south of Spain. The occasion? My brother’s wedding and the bastard asked me to be best man!
Now I’m not really one for weddings, but the whole family had a great time, with my sister and her other half coming over from Australia and various other family, friends and hangers on congregating on Vejer.
We flew down on Clickair and back on Vueling - both were great to fly on and the security that I complained about at Gatwick is done much better in both Barcelona and Jerez airports. Now back to wark…
I meant to say something about this when I got back from London last Sunday, but didn’t get around to it for some reason. What I wanted to say is that you should really avoid flying out of the UK if you can possibly avoid it because the additional security in place makes it a nightmare.
It took me 40 minutes to clear security, giving me just 10 minutes to reach my gate before it closed. Think about this; you arrive at the airport 2 hours before your flight because that’s when check-in opens. You queue for 30 minutes to check in and the queue for security for another 40 minutes. This is absurd! Come on BAA hire some more staff, I know that it is the Government that insists on additional security but why make people’s journey’s a complete misery?
