Arrived in Barcelona at 3pm yesterday and even though we were exhausted we couldn’t wait to start exploring. Walking through the streets around our hotel was a treat as we enjoyed the architecture but as we turned the corner and spotted the Arc de Triomf (which only gets one star in guide books) we knew we were in for many treats in the days ahead.

Then we walked to Placa Catalunya , where the pedestrian walk La Rambla starts and joined the throngs of people enjoying the City. Turning down one of the charming narrow lanes we lucked into a small, intimate tapas  bar called Set de Gotic. We consumed fresh salad, local Catalan artisan cheese and red wine and planned the day to follow.

With the sun shining and the weather for the week dodgy we made plans for outdoor exploring. Not being tourist snobs we bought  two day tickets for the ‘hop on -hop off’ bus tour.

It was a great introduction to part of the City and we rode it past spectacular architecture like this colorful roof from the Mercat (Market) St. Catarina which has been there since 1848.