Day 3, Barcelona - Sitges by day, Flamenco by night

The town has a beautifully landscaped promenade by the sea and a few buildings of note, like a church, town hall and a couple of museums.

s

o, obviously people must be getting robbed in Barcelona all the time...thosearticles on the internet cannot all be made up! But if the last two daysare anything to go by, I haven't felt more safe in a city than here! Whetherit is in the metro, or the streets or the plazas...no one even comes withintouching distance, forget bag-snatching distance! And the government seemsto be keen to salvage the city's reputation as is obvious from thelarge numbers of policemen deployed to watch over busy tourist areas. So,when Herve suggests that I take in a flamenco show at a club in the city,I think why not. But first, I am off to the seaside for the day.

Sitges is a small town by the sea, just 40 minutes by train from Barcelona.A shimmering sun and powder-blue skies greet me at the other end of myjourney! I pick one of the cobble-stoned streets leading off from the stationheading downwards towards the sea. Dollhouses in pretty pastels line thestreets, shops have signs that say it is siesta time for the shopkeeper.The names of the street with an image have been inlaid into the buildingwalls on ceramic tiles. As I walk on, sometimes it is minutes before Icome across another person, often another tourist! Maybe this town hasno citizens just actors who come in during the days to man the shops andrestaurants. Or maybe its just that time of the day and year. During summer,Sitges takes on its other personality and turns into a popular getawaywith a throbbing nightlife. It is also well known for its film festivaland Carnival

The town has a beautifully landscaped promenade by the sea and a few buildingsof note, like a church, town hall and a couple of museums. I do a quickrecce and then settle down with a book on one of the benches on the promenadegazing at the book and the sea by turns before its time for my train.

Back in Barcelona and after a short nap, I am ready for a taste of theflamenco. The street outside the metro station was swarming with cops onfoot and on bikes. Uh oh! Am I today going to get a glimpse of the renownedBarcelona underbelly? As it turned out, no. It was a rally to welcome backthe winner of the Dakar 2011, a prestigious motorbike event as Google informedme later. The star biker atop his star bike was being hugged and clickedby fans. So I had my brush with a mega Spanish celebrity!

I made my way down Las Ramblas which is as abuzz at nigh as during theday. The flamenco club, Los Tarantos is in a quiet plaza called Plaza Reial.I bump into my Ukranian neighbour Nikita who has also taken Hevre's suggestionand dropped in. Many reviews have nicknamed this club as 'not genuine flamenco'and a trap to make a quick buck off tourists, so I am certain I am notgoing to get an artistic extravaganza. What I do get is a sniff of whatthe authentic flamenco flavour could be and frankly for just 8€ you can'texpect more.

After the show, we warm up with a quick coffee and Nikita suggests thatwe walk back since it's a pleasant night. Of course, he finds it pleasant,just that morning he had informed me that Ukraine was seeing a mild winterthis year with temperatures dropping around 0°C! I am glad I brave theweather to make the half hour long trek back. Barcelona is still stirring.The cafes and restaurants are busy with the last orders of the day. Gaudi'sbuildings have been cleverly lit up and look even more dramatic and thegilded tops of the towers of La Sagrada Familia eye the city rushing past.

Barcelona shines in the day and sparkles by night.