¿Platja Barceloneta? Oh, platja = playa = beach. Perfect.

Yesterday I took a late evening jog down La Ramblas to find the beach scene. I quickly ran into a vibrant area full of street performers, air open concerts and more bars/restaurants then one could imagine. Moving into Barceloneta the beaches opened up and the 1992 Olympic village, now converted to residential appartments, came into sight. I took note of some great beach side restaurants and we'll definitely be back tomorrow. Later in the night We hit up a tapas bar for some local grub and both agreed that tapas are one of the best culinary inventions.

Ok, so it's now "tomorrow" and Julie and I did some wandering about and stumbled onto the Catedral where many seemingly random groups of locals were dancing to an orchestra playing on the steps of the Catedral. Having visited two major cities it's interesting to compare the architecture. We tried entering and after an initial rejection from Julie baring her shoulders, we tried again after a quick 1 euro fix. At this point we encountered a second problem, the church was now closed. Added to the list for tomorrow. After checking out the surrounding areas, including a fort wall from the 9th century we headed back down to the beach area. While the weather was pleasant, about 27 C, there wasn't anyone in the water but plenty of beach-goers. Back at the hotel we had the concierge make us some reservations at the beach front hotel, CDLC - Carpe Diem Lounge Club. Looks happening.

La Ramblas = Los Locos

Arriving at night and staying on the Ramblas at the Meridien was quite an adventure. This street packed with tourist from across the globe and every type of street performer known to man is a sight to see. After a quick walk around and some pizza cuatro estaciones y vegetales we were ready for bed. This morning we decided to take it easy and orient ourselves. We walked La Ramblas again stopping for some falafels before stumbling on La Boquiera, a food market. This has been the gem of our stay so far with vendors selling fruits, meats, cheeses and seafood. It's an overwhelming display of colours and odours. We headed down to the port and took in the scenery as well as visited a few Gaudi works. Barcelona is a dramatic contrast to Paris with its urban concrete jungle feel compared to Paris' open park like feel. Parks that we've seen here are concrete and there is little greenspace although adequate trees line the boulevards. The squares we've seen are nice although the shops lining them are usually touristy or even boarded up. Another stark contrast to Paris. We've got some research to do before planning our next few days ..