We left France today! Just 2 hours of driving and we had crossed the border into another country - Hola Spain! Well actually Catalonia depending on who you talk to. From Carcassonne, we headed back towards the coast of France and took the highway down to Barcelona. The border crossing was over in an instant and the only sign that we had entered another country was a simple sign saying 'Benvinguts'! That and also the fact that the sun came out and we could see blue skies as soon as we stepped into Spanish territory! Our accommodation was a simple hotel just outside of Barcelona in a place called Mollet del Vallès, about half an hour train ride to Barcelona. We didn't want to drive in Barcelona city itself (too crazy!) so we decided to stay outside where we could park the car at the hotel. Conveniently, the hotel was right next to a Decathlon store! Kate's shoes that she had bought yesterday weren't quite as good as originally thought so it was a walk over to return them. By this time, it was about 2 pm and we were starving so we headed straight next door to Burger King for 20 chicken nuggets which we ate on the 15 minute walk to the Mollet-Sant Fost train station. After some puzzlement, we figured out how to get train tickets and caught the next train in to Barcelona. It was only around a half hour trip to Passeig de Gràcia station on the efficient and comfortable trains. We got out of the station and decided to head up the hill to Parc Güell, one of Gaudí's fantastic creations. It was warm and sunny! For the first time in ages, Calvin was walking around without a jacket or a jumper!  Parc Güell is a beautiful place - parkland on a hill with amazing views over Barcelona and the incredible colonnades and structures. There is a monument section which we didn't enter in as you had to pay and we didn't have much time in the afternoon as we were due to meet Cat, Kate's distant cousin of some sort (also John and Linda's daughter) that evening. But the free section of the park is well worth visiting and spending some time walking around and taking in the views - maybe even to do a few handstands on the top of the hill. We left the park and walked downhill to the Sagrada Família - another one of Gaudí's designs. This behemoth of a building is a stunning piece of architecture and design. Just from the outside, it is an awe-inspiring building with the amount of detail and sections to it. Unfortunately we didn't have time to go in and they had seemed to sell out of tickets anyway so we consoled ourselves by getting a snack to eat from a patisserie nearby - 3 large cheese and spinach pastries for just €2! We continued on our way through the Arc de Triomf which was a really nice area to walk around and down to Jaume metro station to meet up with Cat. Kate hadn't seen Cat in about 19 years so we weren't too sure how we'd recognise her! She did text us that she was wearing a black jacket and a hat - not the most helpful details as there were about 50 others with the same description! We started to approach a lady in a black jacket but fortunately, another lady stepped in front of us and revealed herself as the real Cat saving us from sheer Spanish embarrassment. It was great fun hanging out with Cat. She has been living in Barcelona for a few years (off and on) and spoke like a real Spaniard! She led us around all the back streets of Barcelona showing us many of her old flats and also the flat she was about to move into (somewhat near the red light district!) and brought us on a tapas crawl - from La Lune de Júpiter for patatas bravas, olives, hummus and tomato bread; to Orio where we had pintxos; and over to Gelateria Giovanni Artgelato for some gelato and churros! The little laneways were wonderful to walk through and the streets and squares of Barcelona are so lively at night. We heard a Spanish guitarist strumming away on the corner near the Gothic Quarter and on the next corner, 2 male opera singers performing a story right next to the Barcelona Cathedral (which was beautifully lit up). It was a fantastic night finishing with a trip up to the top of Barceló Raval rooftop bar for a 360 view of the Barcelona night lights. By this time, Cat realised she had left her hat behind somewhere along our food crawls so we backtracked to Orio (where it was!) before taking the metro to Passeig de Gràcia (where we farewelled Cat) and catching the train back to Mollet-Sant Fost.