Fireworks galore…

By the time it was about 6 o’clock we had reached the end of our tether. Concerned that a big burly pimp would burst through the door and put the fear of god into us. We left and went to a cafe not far away but far enough from the place. By this point we hadn’t eaten since 8 in the morning.

As Pete set about researching what to do I went with my best Spanish to order a cheese baguette and drinks. Pete would have knocked spots off me as he has been studying on Duolingo for some time. By the time I had come back Pete had found somewhere a minute or two away. Making sure is wasn’t a hell hole he went to see what it was like before booking. A big thumbs up and rushed to the hotel. Wow wow wow!

Beautiful Meson de Castilla, artistic, clean,courteous and most importantly available. More or less the same price as the previous place.

Everything spotless in our room and most importantly we felt safe. Once happily ensconced in relative luxury we decided to try again with Booking.com. We were fed, watered and showered and ready to do battle again. Back to the call centre based in the Philippines. I was so calm, I explained that the holiday was very special and that this was ruining it. Pathetically I mentioned it was to celebrate the end of 35 years of teaching, as if this little nugget of information would somehow elevate me into an upstanding citizen in their eyes. I maintained my composure,I was suitably impressed by my demeanour and rationality. After 45 minutes I had again become an absolute harridan. There was no way I could steady myself and take stock that the customer service representative was on piss poor wages and was herself being undoubtedly shafted by Booking.com on a daily basis.

We were sent a complaint form,knowing realistically it will come to nothing. Enough time, energy and sanity had been wasted. It would be shelved for the day. But certainly not forgotten!

This weekend is a very important festival for Barcelonians. Not certain if they are called that but will go with that.

Santa Eulilia, the patron saint of Barcelona and a martyr. Although that said as with much of religion it is questionable whether she even existed as there is a similarly named patron saint from Malaga. They have alot of them,more than you can shake a stick at!

I really hope she didn’t exist as if she did she came to an utterly horrible end. Breasts burnt, skin pulled off, wounds scrubbed with rough stone, boiling oil and molten lead thrown at the wounds,thrown into a pit of quicklime and finally decapitated. But not before she had been paraded naked through the streets. Jeremy Clarkson would have been proud of the culprits who administered this torture.The sort of punishment that Suella Braverman would probably like to introduce. Anyway after this she died without renouncing her faith.

We were told today (Sunday) that where the rest of Spain celebrate with carnage inflicted on bulls Catalonians literally play with fire.

Heading to the square where the start of the celebrations would kick off was quite an eye opener. Now night we could see the bright plumes of fireworks in the sky, accompanied by the steady best of drums and the loudest of bangs.

Undeterred we pressed ahead as a fire breathing tortoise passed us by. I think it was a tortoise or a dragon like tortoise! Huge sticks of fireworks, not too dissimilar to cartoon sticks of dynamite shoved into its nostrils. I need to point out at this juncture that there was zero health and safety. It was every person for themselves.

Ahead throngs of people headed to the square and the sky was alight.

In the above photo you can see metal rods held aloft with fireworks on the top, held by people dresses as devils. This was the correfocs – which unbeknownst to us was the fire run. Devils literally running through the crowds spraying sparks from their held aloft pitchforks. The below isn’t my photo. Wanting to get better pictures I went closer, not realising that if you did go closer you had to be covered head to toe. In fairness I hadn’t expected them to run towards us. The drums started to get louder and the beat quickened as the devil’s surged into the crowds – sparks flying in all directions. We ran, fast carried with the crowd escaping the pyrotechnics. A spark hit my thumb burning it and another hot my phone case. Strangely this exhilarating experience really helped to distance ourselves from all the stress of the accomodation business.

Laughing and running from this we found a lovely tapas bar.

Pete’s face says it all….peace at last! Everything tasted fantastic after what had been a very full on day. Made better that we would be returning to a bed that was clean.

PHEW!