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Apartament Nou

Posted in Barcelona, Biographical with tags , on October 6, 2023 by telescoper

Much to my surprise, my plan for relocating to Barcelona seems to be working out nicely. I booked a hotel initially while I looked around for an apartment for the bulk of my stay. I had a few disappointments with possible properties, and feared I might have to extend the hotel reservation, but then happened to be looking on one of the letting agency websites just as an ideal place in la Dreta de l’Eixample appeared. I got in touch with the agent straight away and had the chance to see the landlord the same day. We did the deal and so I have a place.

I had paid for 12 nights in the hotel (due to check out today), but my apartment was empty yesterday. The landlord was kind enough to allow me to leave some things there yesterday evening, before I returned to the hotel for my last night there. I checked out of the hotel and took the rest of my luggage to the apartment this morning. The apartment is only about 20 minutes away from the hotel, so it was easy to move my stuff.

A Room with a View

I did enjoy staying at the hotel -in particular it’s nice not having to get your own breakfast in the mornings – but it would be way to expensive there in the long term. Moreover, I like cooking and one can’t do that in a hotel room. The kitchen in my new place is small but fully equipped. The only problem is that the shelves are bare, for now, and I’ll need to buy quite a lot of ingredients before I can do anything complicated. My plan for the rest of today, therefore, is to cook something simple and relax with a bottle of the local wine to celebrate a mission accomplished.

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Physical Differences

Posted in Barcelona, Biographical, Education with tags , , on September 26, 2023 by telescoper

Today was my first day in the ICCUB…

I spent quite a lot of this morning trying to get my internet connections to work and trying to sort out an office key, not with 100% success. I am currently in the office of a member of staff who happens to be away today instead of the office I was allocated, and my email address here is not yet activated – probably because I did something wrong in the registration process. I’m hopeful that these minor issues will be resolved tomorrow. Even Eduroam acted up for a while before finally letting me connect. Such is life.

Anyway, my first impression on arriving in the building was of a huge difference in scale in Physics activity here at the University of Barcelona (UB) as compared to Maynooth (and indeed the UK Physics departments I have worked in). That’s not just the size of the building, which the Faculty of Physics shares with the Faculty of Chemistry. Physics and Chemistry also share a building in Maynooth, in fact, so the sharing was not in itself a surprise. The Science Building in Maynooth is very small, however, and it was a bit of a shock seeing how much space there is here compared with Maynooth, and also finding out how easy it is to get lost among the 7 floors. The sense of space is very refreshing, actually, as cramped accommodation is a constant reminder of financial and other constraints.

That’s not the only difference, though. There is enough activity in Physics in the University of Barcelona for it to be an entire Faculty. The UB Faculty of Physics contains Departments, covering the following areas: Electronic & Biomedical Engineering; Quantum Physics & Astrophysics; Condensed Matter Physics, and Applied Physics. It is also home to ICCUB, an interdisciplinary research institute that sits outside the Department structure and some of whose staff are paid from external agencies rather than the University itself.

In Maynooth there is a Faculty of Science and Engineering that covers all disciplines represented in the list above, and more besides. It would amuse my colleagues back in Ireland to see that Electronic Engineering is considered a small subset of Physics in Barcelona, whereas in Maynooth it is a free-standing department which is larger than Physics.

P.S. I just thought I’d mention another difference: that it is very warm here (26° C) so I may need to stop for a beer on the way home…

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La Mercè

Posted in Barcelona, Biographical with tags , on September 25, 2023 by telescoper

So here I am. Today is a public holiday in Barcelona as part of a cultural festival called La Mercè. I knew it was a local rather than a national holiday but I didn’t realize how local it was until yesterday. It’s strictly limited to the City of Barcelona, and not to the surrounding areas. Anyway, the University being shut, I went for a stroll this morning. Most of the shops were closed but other attractions open.

University Building
Now there’s an idea…
Having a Ramble on La Rambla
Evidence of La Mercè
View from my hotel room

Public transport, especially the Metro, is excellent although I spent most of my time walking. It’s quite warm, but I survived.

What’s Spanish for Mornington Crescent?

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Barcelona Bound!

Posted in Barcelona, Biographical, Maynooth, Rugby with tags , , on September 24, 2023 by telescoper

At long last I’m ready to go. In fact I’m in the lounge at Dublin Airport Terminal 2 with plenty of time before my flight to Barcelona to sample the freebies in the Aer Lingus Business Class lounge. I spent most of the morning packing and sorting things last-minute things out. As always on such occasions I’m certain that I’ve forgotten something but I’m sure I’ll survive.

On the way through the airport I had a chat with a very friendly chap at the Fast Track security channel, about last night’s epic rugby match between South Africa and Ireland. I was fairly confident beforehand that South Africa would prove too strong for Ireland, and that’s the way it looked for the first 15 minutes, but that turned out not to be the case at the end. It’s true that the Springboks had chances to win, missing four kicks, but if you don’t take your chances at this level you can’t complain that you don’t win as a result.

The second half wasn’t pretty to watch but was in its own way very compelling. Ireland looked to have nicked it at 13-8 with a few minutes to go, but they conceded a penalty that led to a line-out close to their own try line. The resulting South African maul gathered ominously and threatened to roll forward, but stern Irish defence somehow held it up and, with the clock past 80 minutes the move faltered. With the Springboks having failed to “use it” it was inevitable that they would “lose it”. The resulting scrum was awarded to Ireland but there was no time to take it and the game was over.

It was a tense affair between two excellent teams and, although it was a low-scoring game, a marvellous piece of sporting theatre (if not for faint hearts). Watching that match was quite a way to spend my last night in Ireland for a while…

Back to the present, it’s a grey afternoon in Dublin with squally showers blowing in. With lectures starting in Maynooth tomorrow, the nights drawing in, and rainy weather on the way, I can’t say I’m sorry to be departing!

Update: my light was on time and I got safely to the hotel in which I’ll be staying until I get a longer-term arrangement sorted out. It’s a nice place and my room is spacious and comfortable. I took a couple of pictures on the flight, the first showing an interesting sunset over the clouds south of Ireland and the second a clear view down over Barcelona as we made our approach.

I was in Row 1 so got out quickly when we landed and the airport wasn’t busy so the only delay was waiting for my checked luggage to arrive. I usually travel only with cabin baggage, but I’m staying a bit too long for that this time!

P.S. Miraculously, I don’t think I have forgotten anything important!

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Barcelona – Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé

Posted in Barcelona, Music with tags , , on September 19, 2023 by telescoper

Oh go on, then. No explanation necessary…

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Memories of Barcelona

Posted in Architecture, Art, Biographical with tags , , , on September 17, 2023 by telescoper

I’ve had this poster for 30 years. It’s survived several relocations and is now on my bedroom wall in Maynooth. I bought it on a holiday in Barcelona in 1993 which, coincidentally, was the centenary of the birth of Joan Miró, and the reason for a special exhibition.

Since it’s a rainy Sunday afternoon and I’m feeling a bit nostalgic with just a week to go before I go to Barcelona once more, I thought I’d rummage through some boxes of old photographs to share some pictures taken on that trip in 1993. The first one is me being a bit scared on the funicular railway. The last picture shows my holiday mate David in blue (to the centre left) looking rather fetching from the rear as he ponders the Sagrada Familia:

Back in 1993 the Sagrada Familia was basically a building site. Thirty years on, it still isn’t finished but will be completed in 2026. Possibly. So I’m told.

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Barcelona

Posted in Music with tags , , on August 18, 2017 by telescoper

After yesterday’s terrible news, it seems apt to remember happier times.

 

 

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