Relax - Relish the allure of Barcelona

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SPAIN - Her maiden trip to Barcelona was just three days long.

So model-host Junita Simon, 35, wanted to make the most of her time there.

Back in April 2009, Simon visited her husband, aesthetics doctor Amal Dass, who was then living in Britain.

He surprised her with a quick trip to Barcelona and the couple flew to the Spanish city for three days.

She said: "It was a place we had never been to before, and it was nice and close enough."

Most of their time was spent visiting the city's architectural wonders.

"One of my favourite places was Sagrada Familia, a Roman Catholic church," said Simon.

"The site was under construction at that time, but it was still a sight to behold."

The church, Antoni Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece, is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation world heritage site.

Being a huge fan of the Catalan architect, Simon was thrilled to see his works in the Spanish city.

She said: "We saw the Casa Calvet, Casa Batllo and the Placa Reial. The Placa Reial was really happening at night and I loved the Gothic architecture."

Another thing she could not miss out in Barcelona was the local food.

"It was fantastic, especially the Iberico ham," she maintained.

Statues at the Sagrada Familia.

Local delicacies

A culturally iconic meat and a major Spanish delicacy, the ham comes from the black Iberian pig.

The local delicacies also featured lots of ingredients that Simon loved, such as olive oil, garlic, and tomatoes.

She said: "(The dishes) were very similar to Mediterranean (food), which happens to be my favourite cuisine!"

Junita Simon at Park Guell, a garden park.

Simon also found Barcelona to be "extremely family-orientated", noting how even children would be dining out till late at night.

The two main languages the locals speak are Catalan and Spanish.

But all Simon knew in Spanish were basic conversational phrases like "hello", "thank you", "good morning", and "good night".

Nevertheless, her limited Spanish vocabulary was hardly a barrier to communication.

"Everyone was friendly and willing to talk in English, so it was fine," Simon said.

And the only thing she failed to cross off her to-do list in Barcelona was shopping.

She said: "Unfortunately, we were there during a two-day public holiday, so all the major shopping places were closed."

Though her quick getaway was three years ago, Simon could still recall the vivid sights.

She said: "I would definitely like to go back and travel around more."

And she managed to do just that last year, when she and her husband brought their six-year-old son, Rayaan, for a five-day trip to the city.

For anyone planning on visiting Barcelona, Simon's advice is to "indulge in the great cuisine", and "enjoy the wonderful history it has to offer".

"If they are fans of Barcelona's football club, then heading to Camp Nou would be an awesome experience," she added.

"Barcelona is a beautiful city and one of the most-visited ones in the world."

Camp Nou.

DID YOU KNOW?

A square in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona, Placa Reial is a well-known tourist attraction with many bars and restaurants.

It becomes very crowded during La Merce, an annual city festival in September, when open-air concerts are held there.

Home to Barcelona Football Club, Camp Nou is the largest football stadium in Europe, with a seating capacity of about 100,000.

The stadium was originally named Estadi del FC Barcelona until 2000, when the nickname of Camp Nou became official.

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Relish the allure of Barcelona

By Eunice Toh, The New Paper | Tue, Aug 14 2012

Junita Simon savours the history and cuisine of the Spanish city.

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