“The perfect day begins with waking early. I’m lucky enough to live a stone’s throw from the beach (Barceloneta). I leave the house and wander down to the beach, seagulls whirling raucously around above my head. This is a magical time of the day when the city seems to have been reclaimed by wild creatures.

The sun is coming up over the horizon and I watch the fiery pinkness of it as I stroll down to my first destination, Buenas Migas. There I can take some time to read the newspaper and enjoy a large hot cup of coffee and a couple of slabs of homemade bread with strawberry jam on the terraza. Buenas Migas is one of the few places in town where you can get a decent sized cup of coffee.

Mariscal at La Pedrera (view on Flickr) – © Joe Wray

My next destination is La Pedrera and I walk there, taking my time, admiring the city as it wakes up. In the nine years that I’ve lived here I’ve never got tired of walking through Barcelona, it’s such a beautiful city. At La Pedrera I visit the Mariscal exhibition and spend an hour or so there slowly getting filled with enthusiasm for drawing. On finishing that I’m getting hungry so I walk up to Gràcia to enjoy a menu del dia at one of Gràcia’s most welcoming and traditional Catalan restaurants, Cal Boter (c/ Tordera, 62).

I’m feeling that early afternoon snooze coming on but I fight it and head to Verdi Park cinema to catch a film. Going to the cinema alone is something I’ve only recently discovered and I love it more every time I do it.

I walk to Metro Joanic after the film once I’ve taken half an hour to enjoy a coffee in the square just up the road from the cinema and I get on the metro to head back down to Barceloneta. I realize that I’m quite unusual in utterly loving travelling by metro. I see it as a great opportunity to indulge in people-watching and if the journey’s long enough I’ll do some sketching of faces as well. I’d include it along with the bath as one of my favourite thinking places as well.

Once I’m back in Barceloneta I pick up my trusty bike, strap on my headphones, set the playlist to funk and cycle lazily along the beach towards the Forum for my final destination… Roller Disco! No perfect day is complete without at least one insane boogie.”

Joe is a freelance illustrator/graphic designer and English teacher. He has been living in Barcelona for 9 years. To see some of his work, check out www.hoodwinkd.tumblr.com or www.josephwray.com.

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