The Winter Holiday - A few days in Barcelona

I was here once before, spring 2007 with my parents for a few days. So there is no need to rush around madly to see all that there is to see as I've done that already. I can relax and wander around at my own pace. However, this is B & L's first time, so they reference the Eyewitness Top 10 Barcelona to see what all they can cram into the 2 days we have here.

We flew down on Sunday and arrived just before 1:00PM. Feeling confident this time we decided to hop the bus into the city centre rather than a cab as the bus ride only costs 4.05 Euro each and I figure a cab would be minimum 25 Euro.

Instead of an expensive hotel, we've rented a self catering apartment so we don't have to eat out for all our meals. We're in the Gothic Quarter so with access to St James Market, the Carrefour Express grocery store and all the little ethnic food shops I'm pretty confident I can keep the group fed well. And wine from the grocery store is about 10 times cheaper than a bottle in a restaurant. We are in Spain after all, it would just be wrong not to give a few of their wines a try.

The weather is nice, waking up to brilliant blue sky and crisp temperatures with no wind is such a treat. It's not warm (but warmer than Glasgow), a long sleeved T-Shirt, light sweater layered with my jean jacket keeps me warm enough.

I really do love the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. The little twists and turns of the side lanes, all the shops, the architecture, the smell of the Patisseries, the yummy cured meat & cheese sandwiches from the patisserie. I do manage to find a few nooks and crannies that I hadn't found before which was nice.

The only downside to these few days is I developed a migraine the day we arrived and it lasted the regular 3 days. I was able to keep it down to a persistent dull throb with my various medications, but it did zap me of energy. But a migraine won't stop me from enjoying this wonderful city.