Day 98, 10 October 2012. Barcelona Old City/Gothic Quarter free walking tour with Gorka at Runner Bean Tours. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_Quarter,_Barcelona). It was the best of days in many different ways. The Apple Store managed to magic up a replacement iPad for us in a mere 24 hours so we spent a couple of hours getting Dwermy up to speed before joining a great free walking tour of the old city (www.runnerbeantours.com). It never ceases to amaze...

Day 97, 9 October 2012, Strolling Barcelona and Menu del Dia - It was hard to carry on, especially with the thought that Dwermy the iPad might not arrive until after we leave Barcelona on Saturday (that's Dos Wormy or Wormy the 2nd in Spanish). But we persevered and our new friend took us on a tour of some of the central sights - La Boqueria, a fabulous fruit, seafood, meat market built on the remains of a convent (juice stall pictured). We continued down Las R...

Day 97, 9 October 2012. R.I.P. Wormy the iPad - First day with feet properly on the ground in Barcelona. Maite came to visit at 10 am to take us to the local metro station. (Wow. Rave, rave, clean, brilliant, fast, cheap and, as it turns out, so easy to use an infant could do it.) We emerged 20 minutes later at the Apple Store in Passeig de Gracia, downtown Barcelona - only open for 2 months but swarming with people. And Apple products. We queued, we explaine...

Day 96, 8 October 2012, Lazed in the gardens then got on the fastest train ever to Barcelona & Badalona - We puttered this morning. James hunted chocolate croissants and coffees and brought them back to room. Reading, snoozing, all good stuff. He even found our local grocery store so we coughed up €5 for lunch goods and made our way to the botanic gardens for lunch. Not actually in them because €3 each is daylight robbery - but in the gardens outside ...

Day 95, 7 October 2012, El Rastro and The Prado, Madrid - We were both moving quite slowly this morning. Can´t begin to imagine how many miles we covered with our hiking about yesterday, but can sure feel every one of them. Not ones to let sheer physical exhaustion get in our way however, we headed off to the biggest flea market in the world, El Rastro. With sign language demonstrations and warnings in Spanish echoing in our ears about the near certainty of h...