Barcelona – on a Tuesday!

I did a mad thing this week. Well, a mad thing was done for me.

I went to Barcelona for the day. On Tuesday.

It was a birthday gift from a pal. Her inspiration came on a train trip from Dublin to Kerry.

As is my dear friend’s inclination, she got chatting to a fellow train traveller, a glamorous girl, by all accounts, who spoke of this tradition with her own gal-pals – a day’s shopping trip to Barcelona.

It being a mere two-hour flight away, she had herself sold on the idea, and me along with her.

We were off.

Now, if you think of last Tuesday, you might recall its absolute awfulness, wetness and darkness.

The country was like a black hole swirling in its own depths, gales and storms. I had always imagined we might do this trip in the summertime but, as it turned out, this was better – much better. Leaving a dark Ireland on a November morning was like escaping the end of the world.

We were off.

Now we got a bit confused on the plane. I mean, the plane was packed. We couldn’t understand why half the country was going to Barcelona. On a Tuesday?

We had to share a mini-cava to make sense of it. That didn’t help much. It just left us with a longing for more. Of course, we didn’t indulge. We are sensible like that. Remember – it was 7am. We have got fierce mature with age.

Anyway, we arrived in Barcelona.

There was not a cloud in the sky. If there had been pearly gates at docking gate number 47, we would have taken it for heaven. The fact that we nearly got killed taking our first selfie didn’t deter us – we were already in paradise.

As we strolled through the festive, festooned streets, we were struck by the amount of people shooting the breeze at street cafés at 10 in the morning – did anyone work in Barcelona? On a Tuesday?

We had to sit down and join them to make sense of it all. But then we got nervous; there were far too many beautiful people passing us in beautiful clothes, with multiple shopping bags. They were buying all our gear. We were off.

By 2pm, we happened upon a plaza. It was time for lunch. And another Cava.

Sitting in the winter sun, we see half the population of Japan arrive. I am not joking, half of Japan, snaking through a Spanish square in pursuit of a closed umbrella. Obviously, Japan is with the Spanish and this whole Tuesday mallarky.

We stroll down Las Ramblas as twilight seeps in, lanterns abound and Christmas twinkles. I didn’t expect the city to be so Christmassy. We are looking for the “Lucky Lucky Men” with their MK bags, Rolex watches and stocking fillers –but much like the rest of the world, they don’t work Tuesdays either.

The late flight brought us home to the gales and the storms and the darkness. There is no more Cava.

Wednesday is looming, but it is a necessary evil. Tuesdays in Barcelona have to be earned But – much like the rest of the world – we will return.

PS: Flights on Tuesday are cheap!