Yep, you guessed it, I slept in again.

Barcelona is a sleepy old town on a Sunday. I went for a quick walk in the morning and then came back to the apartment. My sister rang on viber so that I could say happy birthday to my mum. How viber still works on other sims is a mystery to me but it is great that it does. I walked the 2 ish klms to Casa Batllo it is a house that Gaudi designed for the Batllo family. It is now owned by another Barcelonian family who invest time and their own resources into preserving it. The entry fee was not cheap but seeing as it is privately owned I didn’t mind so much. I used one of the discount dockets that I got with my hop on hop off bus ticket and it was 18.35 euro. Allegedly there are no straight lines in any of the designs but I saw a couple. The house is meant to make you feel like you are part of the sea. It was incredibly magical, living there must have been a little surreal. It was so magical that when I left it seemed like home was in a totally different direction to which I had arrived 😉 .

It is up there as a must see. Then I went to an art gallery around the corner showing an exhibition of work done by a local artist. All the materials had come from within his house.

More walking and then I found my self back at Mercat de Santa Caterina where I sat for a while eating yum tapas and drinking beer and sangria.

A stones throw from my apartment is the El Born cultural centre where they bring together 3 centuries of Catalan history. Is is quite incredible. So much so you wonder if it is real, but it apparently is. The site has an archaeological dig site in it.

The centre  really shows how proud the people of Barcelona are  to be Catalonian.

People that have lived with me or near me know that I am a little bin obsessive. The Barcelona rubbish disposal system is fantastic . They have very large bins on the street all for different types of refuse . You take it down put it in and that is it . No need to drag bins out on bin night. I am very impressed. They always seem to be just emptied, my flat is so quiet I do not hear it happen.

some pictures of the park very close to my apartment

Touch wood I have not seen any pick pockets and only a couple of beggars. Maybe the Parisian pick pockets emailed them and said don’t mess with the crazy Australian. I still have to get through Barcelona Sants railway station though so I don’t want to jinx myself.

It is a very welcoming city, they are very wheelchair friendly, there are signs every where pointing to things of note and the metro. There are maps on the ground in some places. Yes, a couple of food vendors have been so rude that I have walked out but that is their loss and not mine. I have really liked Barcelona there are a lot more good things about it than bad. It is a pity that it has such a reputation for skulduggery.

There have been a few stormy nights and a mirror on the terrace has fallen down and broken. I have fingers crossed that i am not billed for that. I have no control over the weather 😦 ( edit: the owner has said not to worry- phew. I don’t like paying for things I didn’t break)

Tomorrow it is off to Madrid on the really really fast train. I am a little sad to be leaving Barcelona but it will still be here when I come back.

Next time I come though I might leave on a Sunday. It is so quiet that it is nearly a wasted day. ( says she who sleeps in every chance she gets)