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Barcelona and environs trip report

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 long, esp at Passieg de Gracia, but we usually didn't need to transfer, being able to get down to the old city directly, to Urquinoana (by the Palau de Musica). Well, speaking of the Palau de Musica, we booked tickets for a concert the first night we were in town. Conveniently for us, there was a flamenco concert there. I'm sure the audience was mostly tourists, and it wasn't full, but the performance was mesmerizing. The footwork of the dancers was incredible and in some cases, incredibly fast. I really liked the percussive rhythm. The dances were interspersed with instrumental and sung pieces. The performance was superb, and the venue was too. The Palau de Musica has tour groups come around just to see what it looks like. We had side box seats, and from the box next to us, some were taking pictures of the performance, which we had been warned not to before the show. One guy was so egregious about it, that after being warned twice, the security escorted him out. Nevertheless, others there still discreetly took further pictures. They didn't use flash though, at least. But funnily, it is modern technology that gives them away. Any old fashioned camera would not have a bright LCD screen to give them away. I suppose if one wants to shoot clandestine photos, the lesson is, turn off your LCD.

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