Barcelona (0)

Word Processing – Practice ex 1
sí sí BARCELONA sí sí
It’s vibrant and hip, it buzzes till dawn and will leave you exhausted , exhilarated and aching for more. For a sleepless weekend, Barcelona is the place to go.
CATALANS
The Catalans really know how to have a good time.
They love life, love to party and see little point in sleeping when they could be out enjoying the night scene.
At the hour when most people in Britain are heading home to bed, the action in Barcelona is just warming up. And when most Scottish clubs are closing their doors , the hippest clubs in this city are just opening theirs.
GAUDI
Most tourists will want to take in stunning sights such as Gaudi’s wackily- designed flats, his unfinished Sagrada Famiglia church and the city’s more traditional Santa Eulalia cathedral. Young locals, however , are more likely to be found worshipping the latest chart hits in a noisy club .
RELAX
It doesn’t take long to get into the swing of things, as I found out.
Café de L’ Opera is the classiest venue on Las Ramblas, the city’s most famous boulevard.
You can enjoy a coffee amid the ornate art- deco interior fittings or sit outside on the terrace and enjoy a jug of sangria. It is said that if you sit on Las Ramblas long enough the whole world will pass you by.
At the very least, you will be entertained by the steady stream of mime artists, fire -eaters, singers, living statues, jugglers and musicians who busk there from dusk until daybreak.
Flights to Barcelona
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NIGHTLIFE
But it’s the young Spaniards who parade along the wide avenue with attitude and style that catch your eye.
If you’re new in town, they’re the ones to follow . . . as there’s a good chance that they’re planning to dance the early morning away in one of Barcelona’s many discos.
The club scene in the city can be expensive but if you know where to go, you don’t have to spend a fortune .
The Maremagnum shopping mall at Port Vell, at the end of Las Ramblas, transforms into a clubbers’ paradise by night. Unlike most other places, there isn’t a charge to get in.
Whatever your taste in music, jazz , rock or house, there’s a niche for everyone in the Catalan capital.
The drink , pastis, is guaranteed to get you in the party mood. It’s best sampled in the bar of the same name. Bar Pastis is a tiny place with a big personality. It has a French cabaret theme and an endless supply of crackling Edith Piaf records.
Or try the London Bar, just off Las Ramblas on the edge of the red light district. Don’t let the location or name put you off. This is an art noveau gem which was a favourite haunt of circus artistes at the turn of the century .
Years later it became the preferred watering hole of Ernest Hemingway – who was forever on the lookout for a little local colour – plus local artists Pau Picasso and Joan Miro.
In this area you’ll also discover a few of the old harbour-style, wood -panelled bars , which are Barcelona’s original dens of iniquity.
Marsella is one of the most interesting . Dimly-lit, smoky and bare , except for the rows of bottles which line dusty shelves behind the original wooden bar, it dates from 1820. For the broad -minded Club Satanassa, on Aribau 27, is an experience not to be missed.
Billed as “an extravagant joint with remarkable decoration”, it lives up to its claim . There’s a cover charge of 1,500 pesetas (about £6) and you have to buy a minimum of two drinks which don’t come cheap.
Unless you want to feel left out, go flamboyantly dressed. Slip on silver platforms, don that pink feather boa, pull on your fright wig – and play “is that a guy or a girl?” game.
Then head for bar l’Ascensor on Carrer Bellafila. It’s a cosy place to chill out to cool music in an unhurried atmosphere and have those end-of-the-night, philosophical conversations with friends .

CAVA
Cava is the Spanish equivalent of French champagne. Just as bubbly, as delicious and a lot less expensive ( around £4 a bottle), you can quaff it at the city’s most popular Cava and tapas bar, El Xampanyet.
It’s an intimate little place with a sunny, Mediterranean feel and friendly staff, who keep the corks popping until 2 am.
ACCOMMODATION