With people all around me going to Barcelona for the annual Sonar conference I was a bit jealous… I wanted to go to so Thursday night I was looking online for flights and actually found a cheap one, so I Just booked it, leaving Friday at 12.15.

I wanted to see the Soweso beach party on Saturday so I scheduled a return flight on Saturday night. I went to bed and set my alarm clock for 8.30, expecting that would be enough time to pack and get to the airport. The alarm went of at the right time, I snoozed it, knowing there would be 2 more… And somewhere after that it went wrong…

For some unknown reason my alarm clock got stuck on 8.30. I woke up at 10.45 realising what had happened, instantly called a cab and threw a bag together and 20 minutes later I was on my way to the airport, barely in time to board. So that was a good start.

Upon arrival I took the subway to a place called “Maribe Club”, where the ‘secret’ party, organised by Beatport, was held. It was a beautiful location, situated on a mountain with a gorgeous view overlooking the entire city and sea. Mathew Johnson was playing a live set and everybody was dancing in the sun. Now this was a way to spend a Friday afternoon…

I ran into an old friend (Dave DK) who invited me to come with him to a party where he would be playing, down in the harbour at restaurant/club Mondo. When we entered the club, we ran into the promoter, who was a Dutch guy who I have worked with when he was living in Holland, several years ago. So that was a very nice surprise.

Unfortunately since he was the first DJ the place was relatively empty and with plans to go to the Bpitch beach party we left shortly after his set. After a quick stop at the hotel to freshen up we left for the beach. We wanted to take the subway and walk the last bit, but boy did we mislook it up on the map. The distance was waaaay further then we anticipated so after almost walking 45 minutes we got a cab to bring us there…

When we arrived the place was full. About 2000 people dancing on the beats by Bpitch artists. I have no idea who was playing while we were there, since it was dark and we weren’t close to front of the stage but I didn’t care. It was fun.

After a couple of hours sleep we went into town, to hook up with the Amsterdam posse to watch the World Cup soccer match against Japan. Disappointing match, even while we won.

With time to spare until Dave’s next gig we travelled to Park Güell (Gaudi) and got some other cultural influence besides music… When in Rome… (or in this case Barcelona). Very nice and impressive to see…. Definitely a must-see.

Then it was on to the next gig, a rooftop party by Miracle (same organisation), my last one before I had to get back to the airport and get my flight. Again it was early in the party so there were about 25 people (with max 100 people allowed in), but it was very nice. Relaxed and easy going…

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to go the Soweso beach party since I misread the flyer. It was from 7pm – 5am, instead of 7 am till 5 pm. So that was kind of a downer, but I got to see it from the plane (since the runway is next to the beach), which was a first.

All together, those 36 hours of Barcelona was definitely worth it. Next year I’ll plan a bit more ahead.