Siempre hace sol (it's always sunny)

We went back to the Boqueria to see it in full gear—full of locals shopping for food. The place was jammed—but the merchants take their time to describe their fruits, vegetables, mushrooms (dozens of varieties), meats and fish (countless varieties, again). There is no place more dangerous than between an 80 year old woman from Barcelona (with her pull cart/trug) and her favorite vendor. Trust us.

If you get to Las Ramblas early enough, it’s only half-filled with its daily mob. You also get to see the bird-sellers begin to open their stands…uncovering the VERY LOUD birds that have been left in the stand overnight.

It seems that Barcelonans love to dress up in costumes. There are costume shops all over town. This window shows seasonally-appropriate theme-wear. I can’t count the times that we’ve been in search of a set of ‘Magi’ at home, only to be disappointed. Apparently, it’s very common here.

We couldn’t miss the Museum of Chocolate. Who would? It wasn’t much of a museum (more of an opportunity for local chocolatiers to showcase their annual ‘competition pieces’), but it was cheap, fun—and you received a chocolate bar rebate with admission. Nothing says religious fervor quite like a Pieta in chocolate:

The City Park (Ciutadella) is the perfect place to spend a sunny day. (all days being sunny, you can enjoy yourself anytime) Wild, brightly colored, and VERY LOUD parrots swoop from tree to tree. You have to wonder if they’re actually natives, or escapees from the shops on the Ramblas. The park is dignified, very orderly and beautiful. Then, there is this example of restraint:

Once again, half of the traveling party seems to think that a small, vacant lot next door to us at home could accommodate something like this.

After another leisurely lunch of paella (with fresh tuna, fresh peas, green beans and cauliflower) at La Gavina—overlooking the yacht basin—we were off to the aerial tram across the harbor and up to Montjuic (the wind had died down).

After another short coma, it was off for a night of some tapas—this time at a place called Euskal Xtapella. I can’t swear to it, but Xtapella may be hat—in either Catalan or Euskal(Basque). Whatever it means, the bites were terrific. The atmosphere fun and exciting. The perfect cap to a long, long day.