Occasionally Interesting, often not

We rented a car via Auto Europe, which brokers various places, and we actually were renting through Europcar. The prices through Auto Europe are excellent compared to directly booking. If you google "driving in Spain", the articles that come up paint a dismal picture of Spanish drivers. You're advised to be careful, etc. Well, of course you should be careful driving anywhere, but in my experience, driving in the countryside, small towns, the freeways, and in Barcelona rush hour, Spanish drivers are better than US drivers. There is lane discipline, everyone follows the road signs, signage is good and generally, everyone drives well. Though there were some people driving slow in the #2 when the slow lane is empty, and inconsistent indicator use (esp useful anticipating where cars are going in the roundabouts). But really, nothing out of the ordinary. One thing I didn't find information about on the internet which I was slightly worried about was how the toll system wo...

Gaudi's buildings are the reason we came to Barcelona. Casa Battlo and La Pedrera are both on Passeig de Gracia within walking distance of each other. They're a bit expensive to get into, and we only went into Casa Battlo, but at least that one is quite interesting inside and out. We looked at La Pedrera from the outside, and it's a much more dour building. The extravagance is on the roof, which we could partially see from the street.

On our second day in Barcelona, we made a beeline to the famous Boqueria. We were in town in shoulder season, so crowds weren't immense, but nevertheless, there were lots of tourists. I suppose locals must shop there because otherwise how do the place stay in business, but it mostly seemed full of tourists. We wandered around, and had a bite to eat at Bar Boqueria, one of the small tapas places inside. It was very disappointing. We hoped all Barcelona food wasn't going to be like this (and of course, it wasn't; it was mostly much better). Other things to get: chocolate, ham (must try the Iberian ham; it's fantastic), and the fruit, which was very fresh and perfectly ripe. On a return trip the next day, we passed by some of the shops that sell innards, e.g. tripe, and the like. And also goat heads (like, whole heads) and other things one will never see in US markets. On this return trip, we ate at El Quim, which is regarded as the best tapas at the Boqueria. It was defi...

We made plans to visit Barcelona to see the Gaudi buildings, knowing nothing else of what to expect, except that, according to a ton of internet articles, there would be pickpockets everywhere. To that end, I armored my pants pockets by sealing their openings with iron-on velcro, but as it turned out, although a good precaution, I'm sure, we didn't see any suspicious behavior, and in fact, Barcelona turned out to be a fabulously friendly, vibrant city full of interesting sites, things to see, things to do, and mostly, things to eat! We rented an apartment in the Dreta de l'Eixample, on Passieg Sant Joan (that's pronounced 'San Juan') and Carrer Valencia. It was a very nice location, walking distance from the Sagrada Familia, and even closer to the Verdaguer metro stop. The Barcelona metro is a world-class system. It covers everywhere you'd need to go, supplanted by convenient buses and trams as well, all on one fare system. Some of the transfers are a bit l...