Ola!

We made a weekend escapade to Barcelona. Bonn is frigid and it was a relief to shed the jackets, I had not sweated in months! I was worried about leaving Timmy with the new dog-sitter. As always, I was seized by panic attacks of Timmy sneaking out of the house. Anyway, he turned out fine although I think he lost some weight. And this is over 2 days, imagine our 2 weeks back in KL!

Barcelona is a beautiful city. Building facades often feature elegant floor to ceiling balconies and embelisshed walls. Despite it beign winter, the milder Mediterranean weather means greenery is in abundance, especially the hardy palms.

Lesson to self - never again succumb to the convenience of eating at a restuarant obviously meant for tourists, these places breathe new meaning to the term tourist trap. Our first dinner was a dissapointment. We chose a joint on La Rambla which looked authentic enough. I had mad cravings for Paella and was dissapointed with the serving. The dish lacked the sweet freshness of seafood and was certainly no match for what Spaniers serve in Bonn! We later discover that the price was about 60% higher than average. Suckerered we were! We walked dinner off by strolling through La Rambla right till we reached Port Vell, which would have put Port Klang to shame. We got t-shirts for peanut and Daniel.

We awoke to a glorious cloudless sky. After a satisfying breakfast of Spanish ham sandwich, we visited the fabled La Boqueria - think Pudu Market minus the stench, the garbage and the gore.

La Boqueria provides fresh produce to serve every palate. The mounds of seafood were mouth-watering. If I lived in Barcelona, my cholesterol would shoot through the roof. Spain's close proximity to North Africa meant that fruits were cheap and plentiful. We couldn't resist the yummy array of cut fruits neatly packed with forks.

We then wandered off in search of a cathedral of which name I cannot recall. Vincent has a superb sense of map navigation but it's easy to meander off in the many alleys of Barcelona. We came aross a shop front with the most adorable baby bibs. I couldn't resist customising one for Ryan, I hope he still wears one.