Actually the beach didn´t look anything like the photo but thereś not much choice til I upload my own!!

What can I say.. another dia fantastica! I am sunburnt, and it feels good to be so. I had forgotten how much I love that smell of hot sunburnt skin (you know when youve been out in the sun and you smell your shoulder and it has that hot sun-smell? No? Just me??!)

I suspect the reason for my burning is that I spent four hours this morning cycling. I rented a bike from the same place that I did the tour with on my first day and headed off into the sunset for four hours of bicyling freedom round the city. I mostly cycled along the shore, dipping inland from time to time to wind in and out of the narrow streets and in amongst pedestrians. It was frickin brilliant! None of this cycling back home with drippy bits on the peak of my helmet and mist and bugs flying into my eyes and having to concentrate 110% to make sure I dont cycle over snails and pop their shells because there is soooo many of them because itś so goddamn damp and yucky. Nope This was proper hot warm breeze sea shore lushness and it was fabulous.

I cycled down to join the bike bath at the Columbus monument then headed out west, with frequent stops all the way, past the Port Olympic and big massive yacht marinas and things to the Port Forum, a slightly bizarre empty open space that apparently is used for a concert venue. All concrete and slopes and angular architecture and so deserted. Up to the Port Barcelona at the other end of the cycle path and then out to the Parc de la Ciutadella (getting a little bit lost on the way) to see the Font de Gaudi and back in. Boring boring if you dont know what any of those places are, but it was ace!!

I saw a naked man taking a shower free and happy on a crowded sea front. I saw people surfing and paddle boarding, lots of palm trees, beach life. The beach was quite empty, I think its pretty much out of season now. God, to imagine living somewhere that the weather is this blissful even out of season.

After my morning excursions I felt I had more than earned a ginormous vegan gelato from a Gelateria I had spotted earlier in the week (actually I found it on purpose, upon direction from happycow.net). Gelato made with rice milk!! And sorbet too, with no gelatine. It was proper lush, but I did have to eat it mega fast to avoid the entire thing melting all over me, it was that hot.

My intellectual stimulation for the day was the Museu dHistoria de Barcelona, a pretty funky museum of Roman excavated remains where you walk around on raised platforms looking down upon the excavation. A lot of the info was only in Spanish&Catalan but luckily there was an audioguide to narrate. Iḿ not sure Ive ever done an audioguide tour before, I alwasy avoided them feeling that I woudlnt want to be talked to but actually it was great, it was so much less effort than reading signs and it meant that I could actually look at what was in front of me in terms of the actual ruins and not spend all my time reading. By this point I had realised about my redness ad although Id drunk litres and litres of water was feeling pretty dehydrated so cut my visit short to make a water-dash.

Its getting better now, since I have remembereed about buying the massive 2L bottles of water and decanting into smaller ones, but the first few days I swear I spend upwards of ten euros a day on bottles of water (the keyboard on which I am typing is so old an dsticky and clunky and gross that not only can I not work out how to make the apostrophe button work, it doesnt have a euro sign!! Oldskool!!)

I want to purchase an I love barcelona t'shirt but I have not yet done so (although I do appear to have discovered the apostrophe.. win!!) because every single souvenir shop is run by sleazy asian men that stare at you and hassle you and try to help and get you to buy things every time you go in. Seriously I've been into three souvenir shops and every one was the exact same, I walked straight out again!! This is sad times because I DO want one such tshirt, but oh well.

My evening consisted of vegan Paella at Vegetalia a (yup you guessed it) vegetarian restaurant in the Barri Gotic area of the town. Accompanied by a glass of vino and guess what... there was a girl sat on her own at the table next to me and I totally initated conversation with her!! She was from Bosnia, just arrived in Barca and killing time til her friend arrived a couple hours after. Get me being all brave and sociable :P

Back to the hostel early this eve. I got like two hours sleep last night, no more, so I am shattered and ready for a nice shower, reading my book and an early night. I can't beleive tomorrow is my last day D: waaa. I could totally stay another week, I can not remember the last time I felt this relaxed, stimulated, interested, chilled out or good. I love being away!!

I've actually done nearly everything on my 'to do' list for this city, which is a nice position to be in because this means that tomorrow, barcelona is my oyster. My plan probably involves a sangria since I haven't had one yet and almost certainly another vege restaurant. There are still so many I haven't had a chance to try!! Happycow was not lying when it gave me 8a4pages of vegan / veg friendly restaurants here. I think barcelona has such a laid back hippy / alternative scene, it's great for that sort of thing.

I've run out of euros and need to get more. I was going to do it this evening but all the banks were shut and I am too paranoid/scared to get my bank card out at a street-cashpoint. Feeling a bit nervous about now only having 5euro to my name in cash, but from the info on the doors it seems like most of the banks will open around 8:30 tomorrow so I should be able to get some first thing.

That's it for now. i am off to do a bit of after-sunning :)