We had a very wet day travelling to Barcelona.
 
Originally we planned to get off the bus in Avignon in France to stay for a few days and explore some of the coastal towns in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. However being so wet and miserable, we just had an hour or so look around Avignon, then got back on the bus and travelled through to Barcelona.

We fell in love with Barcelona with its wide pedestrian avenues, narrow alley ways in the Gothic area (where we stayed) and very strange Gaudi architecture. Antoni Gaudi (1852 - 1926) was an eccentric architect whose work is all around Barcelona. Most of his work has coloured mosaics and weird shapes. Although a wealthy man he used to get around like a beggar and he met his death by first being run over by a tram and then not receiving medical help, because he was thought to be a homeless beggar and not the famous Gaudi. His most famous work is the very weird looking ¨la Sagrada Familia¨ Cathedral which was commenced in 1882 and is still only half built. They are estimating completion around 2082! 

Barcelona has a wonderful pedestrian walkway, called La Rambla, which cuts right through the city ending at the beach. La Rambla is lined with street artists and vendors, selling all sort of things.

The food in Barcelona is great. Tappas bars are the best to eat in, offering small pieces of tasty food quite cheaply washed down with Sangria (red wine and juice) and we enjoyed a few nights out with busabout friends doing just this. In one place the tappas were on the counter buffet style and each had a toothpick. We were asked to keep our toothpicks and at the end of the meal they are counted by the staff to calculate the bill. You wouldn´t want to use a toothpick or else you´d be charged for tappas!

The siesta rules in Spain. Even supermarkets shut for about three hours in the middle of the day. We were in the main fruit, vegetable and meat markets area, yet most stalls shut as the customer numbers dropped off at siesta time. Talking of the markets, check out the photos for a new take on what to buy at the butchers. Pigs ears are a delicacy in Spain!

We visited the 1992 Olympic site, but found it bizarrely quiet and without much tourist info. It seems very strange that such amazing facilities are built and then lay mostly unused, like a huge white elephant.

Footnote: The Works of Antoni Gaudi are UNESCO World Heritage listed.