The first phase of our trip, covering Madrid and Seville, was an excellent introduction to Spain. We learned what Spain is all about, what we liked and didn't like, where and when to eat, and so on. By the time we landed in Barcelona, we were ready for Spain to kick it up a notch and we weren't disappointed. Barcelona proved to be our favourite Spanish city.

Our first glimpse of the outside world, as we crossed over to the regional train platform for the ride into Barcelona, was of some rather horrifying traffic out front. At least there's no shortage of cabs.




After getting into the city and being briefly lost, we stashed our stuff at the hotel and went to find some food. As we sat on a park bench I spotted this woman walking by with a t-shirt from the Montreal's off-the-beaten-path-even-in-Canada band Simple Plan.




I suppose I could just be getting old and forgetful of what my youth was like, and now everything young people do seem strange and scary to me, but there seemed to be an awful lot of PDA among the Spanish youth everywhere we went. At least this couple had the sense to do it in a photogenic spot, at the central square with its many fountains.




The Placa de Catalunya, also known as Barcelona's "central square with its many fountains."