I am very grateful to all the people who have written for this blog. They, more than I, have made it what it is. But I’m very proud to have the French illustrator, Lapin, take the time to write something. His wonderfully reprinted old accounting books full of illustrations are beautiful objects. I have the Barcelona one. If you appreciate his style, I urge you to get your hands on one via the link below – but first…

The view from Lapin’s apartment – © Lapin

I woke up around 7:30am, that’s the price of being a father ;). I still felt a little bit sleepy. I made myself a cortado and stepped out onto my terrace. There I had all of Poblenou lying beneath and fulfilling me with its energy. The weather was usual for Barcelona. That’s one of the crucial reasons I fell for this city.

One of my favourite buildings on C/ Pere IV, 63-67 – © Lapin

I had to go to Mercat dels Encants to look for some second-hand accounting books to use for drawing and it’s a perfect day to wander and do some doodling of course!

I took Bicing. Strangely I found one right away! Sometimes it really drives me nuts finding empty Bicing stations or not finding any proper working bicycles. Arrghh! Anyway I still like it and it was my lucky day! I passed all the graffiti of Poblenou and one of my favourite buildings on Carrer de Pere IV, 63-67.

I love spending hours and hours in Encants but today I just checked the mysterious old man’s stand as I do not have much time. I finally found a nice old accounting book, “Yes this is my lucky day”.

The mysterious old man at Mercat dels Encants – © Lapin

Barceloneta beach – © Lapin

I started cycling again towards Barceloneta beach. It is still early so not many guiris around yet. And, “No thanks, I don’t want any masajeeee today”.

After one more coffee at a chiringuito, I started walking as I had to meet with an old friend of mine, who is living in Paris, in the cafe of El Corte Inglés. Not everybody knows about the cafe but it has a beautiful view of the city.

Edificio Colon – © Lapin

On Drassanes I sketched the Edificio Colon. A building that makes me think of the ‘dark side’ in Star Wars. I  kept walking up La Rambla and arrived at Plaça Catalunya where they are still protesting. I sat down there for a while doodling the revolution. No one has realised that I am a witness. My friend called me and I went quickly up to El Corte Inglés.

I asked for some churros and a café con leche. We did our doodling route for the day. As it is his first time we will go with the common route Plaça del Rei, Sagrada Família, Casa Batlló.

View from El Corte Inglés cafe – © Lapin

Plaça del Rei – © Lapin

Inside the Sagrada Família – © Lapin

Casa Batlló – © Lapin

La Ginesta – © Lapin

After some doodling we had a great lunch in La Ginesta (c/ Jovellanos, 3), he loved it! Everything was really fresh as always. After we had our carajillos we continued with our sketching route.

After hours of sketching we decided to call it a day and had a great long dinner in Rincón de la Ciudadela (c/ Princesa, 50) with more friends. He turned around and said to me, “I fell in love”.  I said, “I know. Beware if you spend a day more it would be so hard to go back to Paris. Barcelona can grab you within just one day. As it did to me.”

Rincón de la Ciudadela – © Lapin

Louise – © Lapin

It was one great day in Barcelona accompanied by old friends’ stories and new drawings. I returned home really tired and there was my new-born baby Louise. I laid down next to her and we fell asleep together peacefully. It was my perfect Barcelona day.

Lapin’s biography

Lapin is a French illustrator, an artist, an urban sketcher, working for fashion, advertising and editorial who lives between Barcelona and Paris. When he was a child he dreamt of becoming a “pilot-paleontologist-drawer” that travels around the world discovering new amazing dinosaurs. He still secretly wishes to become one. Lapin can be defined as a mobile illustrator who carries his sketchbook and compact sketching gear to the street, to a bar, to the metro, to Istanbul or Tokyo. Sketching is a way for him to record every second of his life and feel alive. He may sketch sitting on a floor for hours or just having a beer in his hand or during one metro stop. Lapin has already filled around 150 sketchbooks from the last 10 years and he particularly appreciates sketching on vintage accounting books that he finds in flea markets. For Lapin a good sketchbook must contain two things; some doodles of dinosaurs and vintage cars.

You can visit Lapin’s website at Les Illustrations de Lapin. Or if you wish to purchase the “Te quiero Barcelona” sketchbook, you can online at La Boutique de Lapin.

La Escocesa: Centro de Creación, Poblenou – © Lapin

If you’d like to write your BCN Day then please get in touch via the email address at the bottom of the website. I’d love to hear from you. The more we have the better.