Barcelona Pictures

NOTE: As usual, the blog defeats me, so there are 3 postings about Barcelona - in reverse order. Read the 3rd one first for a good overview!

As you might imagine, our favorite spots were on the harbor - this is a huge international port and has been extensively developed over hundreds of years - most recently including for the 1992 Olympics, and the fancy, spectacular Mare Magnum shopping area/tourist trap (but a nice one!). One of our highlights was taking a boat tour out of the harbor into the Mediterranean - I (mfe) was very awed by actually being on the Med - and it is beautiful. Shots are scenic, and include the Christopher Columbus statue (silhouette), a shot of the shipping containers being loaded (gave us a hint of how our box might have been lost!), and the 2 towers of Port Olympic. In one of them there is a casino, which we visited, but didn't partake! We were going to eat dinner there, but restaurants opened at 9:30 - too late for us! We did adjust to lunch 2-4 (even later and longer than Ireland!). Many businesses close for that time, so are open 10-2 and 4-7 or 8. It is a pretty leisurely culture, which was nice.