Left Zaragoza on the 28th and headed to Barcelona, where we spent the last couple of days before we head back into France.
So far Spain has not disappointed us. It has exceeded our expectations and blown our preconceived ideas away. And Barcelona has been the same. For a city of 1.6 million people, its doesn't appear over crowded, the traffic is not as chaotic as you would expect, and there is a sense of space not evident in other large European cities.
We know 2days is not nearly enough t explore all that Barcelona has to offer, so we didn't even attempt to do it all. Gaudi's cathedral is a must. And according to Julie a stroll down Les Rambla is a must.
I must admit, I had never heard of Les Rambla before. Apparently it is one of the most iconic pedestrian walks n any city. So, after we arrived from Zaragoza, checked into the hotel, found the closest metro station (Barcelona's metro operates pretty much the same way as Paris - colour coded metro lines so it is easy to work out which line to use to get to where you want to go), we soon found ourselves wandering down Les Rambla - along with a few thousand other people. Quite easy to while away a few hours just wandering, sitting, drinking coffee or wine, people watching, and just generally watching the world go by.
Today we decided to visit 2 things:

• The La Sagrada Família - Antoni Gaudí's renowned unfinished church, started in the 1880
• and a Picasso Museum

The cathedral is a truly awe inspiring sight - rising up out of the ground like something from a Gothic novel, it seems to take on a life of its own. Its shape and form is fluid, as if someone put some giant candles on top and allowed the wax to trickle down to take on a life of its own. It is both monstrous and fantastic at the same time.We were hoping to get inside to see if the interior matched the outside - but our aversion to queues got the better of us, so we headed off to find the Picasso Museum.
No worries about queues there - it was closed. Apparently it doesn't open on Mondays (must read the fine print next time).
All was not lost though - the museum is located in the Gothic Quarter of the city, so we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring it.
Barcelona has been a real find. Nothing like we expected, it was even more. One of the great cities of the world.