Last week was the annual LHCb collaboration meeting external to CERN. This year University of Barcelona had offered to host proceedings. As Barcelona is a place my wife, Judy, and I have often talked about visiting but never actually got our act together to do anything about it, this seemed an ideal opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Judy, being of a suspicious nature, didn't expect to see anything of me so had invited her sister (plus my 8 month old neice) along as well.
The LHCb software framework is called "Gaudi" after the Catalan architect who did most of his major work in Barcelona, so there was a "sad" physicist link as well in visiting the city.
So I was on a plane from Geneva on Monday arriving in Barcelona at 11:30 and Judy & her sister arriving half an hour earlier from London. So we met up at the airport - without a hitch!
I had a meeting at 15:00 so time we got to the hotel, settled in and sussed out the public transport it was time for me to get up to the university. Next time Judy saw me it was past 21:00 because of an evening meeting. Tuesday it was midnight before Judy saw me - again an evening meeting (but admittedly I had gone to a restaurant near the university afterwards - with Judy's blessing honest) And Wednesday it was 21:45 due to another evening meeting. Judy's cynicism seemingly well-placed. Collaboration meetings are busy times! Judy's sister leaves tomorrow is she going to see any more of me as a consequence?
But Thursday - there was a organised bit of tourism arranged in the meeting itinerary. Ha-ha. The only thing to negotiate was the UK group leader's meeting organised for the free period in the afternoon. Fortunately the walking tour is scheduled for 16:00. Shock! Horror! I managed to make it and meet up with Judy & it's still daylight. So the tour is meant to last 4 hours, dropping us of at a restaurant booked for the collaboration meeting dinner. Our group managed 2 hours walking before there was an uprising and a refreshment break was organised; a pleasant hour quaffing beer. This was followed by a whistle stop tour of a few other places of interest before a dash to the fish restaurant. The intriguing part of the tour was the visit to the food market. It's not often you see tripe piled high, full sheep's heads, brains, hearts etc hanging up in a British butchers' shop windows. Nor do you get such a fantastic choice of fish at thye fishmonger even by the coast. (I know we only live a few miles away in Bristol.) There was even a stall specialising in just shellfish.
Friday was the last day of the meeting with a scheduled end of lunch time. I met up with Judy for a bit of tourism. The first stop on the tour was the city's main cathedral folllowed by a trip to Gaudi's cathedral, Sagrada Familia. A fantastic building still under construction with many decades of work left to do. The place is like a building site but v. impressive nontheless. Then later in the afternoon it's a trip to the Picasso museum. Give me architecture over paintings anytime. That's the philistine in me I guess, I can appreciate trying to construct a building as a scientist but daubing bits of oil on a canvass to make cubes I have hang ups about. More fish for dinner - can't argue about that.
On Saturday, the weather broke; gone were the glorious blue skies to be replaced by torrential rain. Judy flew home in the morning so I waved her off at the airport before venturing back into town. My flight wasn't until 18:00. Foolishly I had left my brolly in the left luggage along with my case - whoops. (Along with the camera hence no photos - apologies.) Anyhow more Gaudi was on the cards - a visit to the Casa Batllo and La Pedrera (Casa Mila). One word can sum it up - fanatastic; I'm hooked.
