The Guardian City Guide to Barcelona

My non-fiction writing alter-ego has had two articles published in The Guardian.

Go HERE and HERE if you'd like to find out about interesting bars and tapas bars in the wonderful city of Barcelona.

Other contributors to the Guardian Barcelona City Guide include Jill Adams (editor of the esteemed multi-lingual Barcelona Review); Matthew Tree, esteemed English-born writer of fiction and non-fiction in Catalan; and  writers from Le Cool, the online monthly events guide (well worth signing up for), and the Barcelona based, English-language, Metropolitan magazine.

The Guide hangs together very well - with lists of literary haunts, bargain shops, contemporary Catalan restaurants, art hangouts, clubs, as well as boutique hotels and pensións, etc etc. And it's all fresh - deftly avoiding mention of many of the usual suspects which get mentioned in the popular guides.

And, I discovered a few surprises. For example, Matthew Tree lists the café-bar Bauma as a literary haunt. I'd never have guessed. Bauma is very near where I live, and I pass the place nearly every day.

To choose only 10 bars, 10 bars which serve tapas, and have a maximum 120 words to describe each, was a testing exercise. They are not The Best, but 10 of the best. I got the assignment through Spotted by Locals - where you can read more, and more up-to-date, articles about bars, restaurants, clubs, galleries, museums and other local spots.

Spotted by Locals was awarded The Guardian Best Travel Website Award, 2011.