I think everyone needs some cheap, happy dresses in their wardrobe, like this one I bought in Mexico a couple of years ago. The kind that cost $10 or less, and which is comfortable but which you're not nostalgically attached to, that you can flop in the grass in, cook multiple meals in, throw on straight out of the shower and then cycle off to a picnic in. Actually, scratch the cycling; I did just that in this dress and it was scandalously short...
The last couple of weekends I've been enjoying lots of relaxed, summery and inexpensive activities in Barcelona:
Bicycle tours of wine regions:
Actually, this one wasn't so relaxing as it's where I fell off my bike (due to a steep hill and dirt road, rather than the wine). I've been rendered temporarily palm-less and with a bruised chin, but it was picturesque, in Catalonia's wine producing region (the Penedés).
Picnics with friends in the park:
You spend €7 on ingredients, then sit in a sunny park chowing down on a shared feast of pasta, couscous and potato salads, tortilla de patatas, sushi (a couple of my friends used to live in Japan) and homemade chocolate cake. Cue contentment.
Explosive fire and music festivals:
Barceloneta had the festival of the choirs this weekend, which is as described by a friend who lives in the neighbourhood: "On Saturday morning all the bands from all the different streets have a competition. Then they go to the Costa Brava and get drunk. On Monday they come back and do it all again, and at midnight they set off chains of fireworks and dance amid the falling sparks." Strange but true. Such a great night! Honourable mention to people knowing all the words to all the songs, the Pakistani beer sellers working overtime, and grannies standing on their balconies and the bands turning to serenade them directly. Also, the sequined pitchforks, fedoras, and sailor costumes.
Barcelona, t'estimo
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