BREAKING AWAY IN BARCA

Playing golf at Real Club de Golf El Prat is one way to escape the tourist hoards in Barcelona.

- WORDS JK TAN

Barcelona is getting a lot of publicity these days.

No, FCB didn't win the Champions League, nor has the Sagrada Familia finally see the cementing of its final brick.

Spain's most-visited city is quckly becoming known as a place that prefers visitors to stay away.

But like the very fact that no publicity is bad publicity, it's unlikely that that's going to happen anytime soon. I was recently there for a friend's daughter's wedding, and the throngs are still coming. Fortunately, I've already visited many of the familiar sights on another recent visit so there was no need to fight elbow to elbow with the pre-summer crowd. Still, just walking through La Rambla was challenging enough, given my agoraphobic tendencies.

So, it was with much delight that I got a chance to escape the city's sweaty grasp and drive 45 minutes north to play golf at Real Club de Golf El Prat.

Now, Barcelona is synonymous with many things - Gaudi, football, tourists, and the party scene among them - but golf?