Barcelona

We arrived in Barcelon after a long flight and little sleep. The Aero bus tried to drop us at the hotel but a women's walk/run kept us a couple of blocks away. The women were all wearing pink shirts and it looked like an undulating sea of pink. We had to weave our way across this sea at two roads and they were still running past an hour later as we waited for our room to be prepared.

After we were settled in our room, we took off walking down La Rambla, a pedestrian only street running from the center of town to the marina. Halfway down we veered off into Barri Gotic or Gothic District in the ancient parts of Barcelona. We wandered down old, narrow streets with ornate doors and windows, found city hall in Placa de Sant Jaume then found the Barcelona Cathedral.

John stayed outside enjoying the sun and music in the square while I toured the inside of the church. This church is an important example of Catalan Gothic architecture. It was started in 1298, complete in 1450 and added to in the 18 and 1900's. It has 45 side chapels, tombs, a cloister and garden.

Behind the cathedral is a Roman wall that surrounded the city in the 4th century. We stopped briefly at the Santa Maria del Mar Cathederal. As it was getting close to 2 pm we found a nice square and a nice restaurant for lunch.

We enjoyed more of the area, passing the Picasso Museum, window shopping and picture taking. We found a hole-in-the-wall cafe for a coffee break then started to wind our way through back streets back to the hotel.
Showers, a quick nap and then we are ready to eat dinner at 8 PM. Most Barcelonans eat lunch between 2 and 3 and dinner starts at 9 or later. We ate earlier and were in bed by 10!