Barceloner

While solo trips can be very quiet at times, their benefit is giving photography my undivided attention. And Barcelona, where I am staying for 7 days, fulfils this to perfection. A metropolis of at least 2 million people, it's been a major port since Phoenician times and with its cultural attractions, is thought by many to outrank Madrid. They might also say that I'm not in Spain at all but Catalonia.

Arriving at dusk, I dive into the restaurant next door with its warm welcome and seafood paella. Almost immediately I see a reference to a northern city of a different kind, but am thankful to be staying by the warm Mediterranean. Barcelona is the scene of numerous elegant plazas, including Medinaceli, my favourite, and Merce, site of a baroque church. But the building that gives this corner of the city the Barri Gotic is the huge medieval Cathedral. Its cloister has a cool, calming feel, and the resident geese (13 in all) are said to represent the age of Santa Eulalia at the time of her martyrdom.

Back in the streets, there are some glorious antique shop fronts while returning to Placa Merce, I'm in the right place at the right time for a procession. The Maradona shop shows the Hand of God in a different light while politics take a hand in this rally calling for a free Iran.Read more