Back from Barcelona
 

Just back from a week in Barcelona. Weather was unseasonably warm and sunny with high in the 60s. Stayed at the H10 Urquinaona Plaza, a great hotel right in the middle of town. Workers here, more than at other Spanish cities tend to use English more, even if you speak Spanish. Lots of Catalonian flags on balconies in every neighborhood. I traveled all over by Metro and never once was pickpocketed, though there were times I felt I was being targeted.

Best-

Food. Awesome tapas with really good presentation. Menu del dia saved me many euros as it was my main meal.

Beverages-Why can't America make a good cafe con leche or cortado for under $3? Paid an average of $1.50/cup of coffee. Same thing with wine -$5 for a good red or white bottle of wine or cava at the Spanish supermarkets.

Transport- Coming from DC, the fact that I only had to wait an average of 3 mins between trains was incredible. Not to mention they give the next train time in minutes and seconds, they have TV's in the stations and it's about a $1 to ride. The suburb trains take you to Girona and other tourist attractions. America's a third world country in that respect.

Gorgeous views-From Montjuic to the Catalonian Art Museum, there always seemed to be a great lookout point.

Sagrada Familia.

Worst-

Sewer smell-there always seemed to be a bad sewer smell in some parts of the city.

Dog poop- There are a lot of canines in the city and while they are allowed everywhere(even public transport), there doesn't seem to be a big effort to pick up poop. Witnessed one guy let his dogs run loose on the beach, relieve themselves and then the owner called them back to him and walked away leaving some nasty presents on the beach. Ugh.

Attitude-More than other parts of Spain, there seemed to be an attitude against foreigners from some people here.

Overall I loved it and need to go back to see places I missed.

Thanks, fine and nuanced report, that sounded very much like Barcelona!

Great report! I totally agree with you about the cafe con leche. I got one nearly every day and I'm so sad that I can't find anything half as good in the US. And I lived in San Francisco!

Thank you for sharing ! We leave for our first time visit to Barcelona in a week, all information most appreciated, hope we have good weather too !

Thanks Emily, we will be following in your footsteps in a few months. Can you say more about the train to Girona? how long did it take and how did you use your time there? I was intrigued by Girona but had written it off as too complicated to add to the trip.

I'm thinking to use a co. like Viator to do a daytrip to Girona and Dali museum. an anyone recommend this?

lauramsgarden We went to Girona from Barcelona on a day trip this past September. Very easy to take the train. There is a jitney that takes you on a "tour" of the city to get an overview. We had not arranged for a guide in advance (mistake!) but if you go into the tourist office, or better, contact them in advance, they can provide a guide for you. We used a private guide but there may be other options.

We did the Viatour for Girona and Dali museum - the public transport options just seemed a bit more than we wanted to deal with. In the end, we were glad we did the Viatour because when we got to the Dali museum - tickets purchased, go to the front of the line! There was a large number of other folks waiting for entrance.