Barcelona

On the open highway the GPS provided good directions and worked reliably.  In the “old towns” it faired poorly. This resulted in a lot of back-and-forth often taking close to an hour before we can get the exact location of the hotel.

When we arrived in Barcelona, there were road closures near the hotel because of  protests. The roads closed of course were ones that the GPS wanted us to take.  We circled several time trying to find a different route. The last time, we were stopped by the policeman telling us we had gone through a red light. The fine was 100 euro, in cash. No comment. 

We found the hotel on foot; first we parked and then we walked.  After this experience the car stayed in the parking lot for the remainder of our time in Barcelona.

After checking in, we walked around the old city.

Eric and Alba arrive at the hotel early evening and went out for a good dinner.

The next day we joined the Barcelona City Tour, a hop-on-off bus tour.  We started with the east route first.  Our first hop-off was the Sacred Family Church. It was a spectacular design, so much detail on all sides and in each nook and cranny. There was a long queue to buy tickets and there was another long queue to get through the entrance, so we just marvelled at the exterior.

Our next hop-off was at Park Guell, it was very crowded, then Hospital de Sant Pau, and finally Casa Batllo.  Linda and Alba went in,  Eric and Bill decided to rest in a sidewalk cafe. The architect was brilliant. He considered  all the details, the design of the main hall, windows, stairs, the central airwell, and the roof terrace.  

After that stop we continued along the west route, but hopped-off no more.