Day 14 - Thursday 26th May

Ever since we had arrived in the UK, we'd had difficulty getting a full night's sleep because it was light at 5am. The blinds in our apartment in Barcelona must be very effective because we slept in until 8am. Nicky and Amelia were still asleep at 9am and so Suzy and I went to find somewhere for breakfast.

We found a small cafe about a block away that served coffee, croissants , etc. Although there were some tables on the footpath outside, they were already taken and so we sat inside. It was a surprise to see that many of the people were drinking beer and wine with their breakfast.

Nearby there was a patisserie selling a range of delicious looking food. Very tempting. Next we went to the supermarket for more supplies.

We got back to the apartment at 10am to find that Nicky and Amelia had only just woken up. Nicky was very pleased that they had both managed to get such a good night's sleep.

By the time we were ready to set out again, it was 11:40am. The initial goal was to find the tourist information office in the Catalunya Plaza. Suzy and Nicky waited in the queue while I entertained Amelia by walking her in the stroller. They booked a two-hour  "glimpse of Barcelona" bus tour with an English-speaking guide. Suzy and I would do it today at 1pm (in 5 minutes time) and Nicky and John would do it tomorrow (John arrives tonight) while Suzy and I look after Amelia.

The bus tour was excellent. It took us past many of the major sites in the city and stopped twice. The first stop was at the top of a hill that overlooks the city - a fabulous view. The second stop was at the beach. One of the people on the tour was from Kenya. He was a amazed to see topless women on the beach. He was even more amazed when he noticed one middle-aged couple about 150m away who were completely naked walking towards the beach showers.

In the port, there were three very large cruise ships. Apparently, this city is a very popular destination for these vessels and it is not uncommon to see six or more in port at any one time.

In the guide's commentary, she often referred to the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992. She said this transformed the city with many new roads and buildings. Also factory areas were relocated and turned into large plazas and modern buildings (including the athletes' village). Unfortunately, the tour did not take us to the Olympic stadiums.

Our bus driver's name was Jesus. Although most of Barcelona's streets are wide, he occasionally had to turn a sharp corner or get through congested traffic. The guide would then say, quite appropriately, "thank you Jesus".

Our tour group was only quite small and included some Americans and Canadians. One man asked a lot of questions about the Olympics. It turns out that he is the Mayor of Lake Placid where the Winter Olympics have been held twice.

We took a mental note of places to come back to while we are in Barcelona. The guide was helpful in giving advice on good places to go for sightseeing and meals.

When we got back to the apartment, Amelia was still asleep. Nicky had been busy doing research on her Macbook for places to go for eating and sightseeing.

We were ready to set off again by about 5pm. Suzy and Nicky wanted to go to the big department store in the centre of town near the Catalunya Square. The student demonstrators were still occupying the plaza with their placards over the statues.

I filled in time while they went shopping. Eventually Suzy rang to say I should meet them in the cafeteria on the top (9th floor) of the department store. They had been given three vouchers at one of the counters for a complimentary glass of wine - because they were foreigners who had purchased over a given amount.

The cafeteria had amazing views of the plaza below, the city in the middle distance and the hills beyond. We had some difficulty in explaining to the waiter that we wanted red wine. We still haven't been able to find the correct Catalonian phrase for "red wine" but we successfully told him we don't want "blanco".

Nicky's research had located somewhere for dinner. It was a great choice. It was an open-air cafe in a plaza a few blocks from our apartment. As usual, Amelia spent most her time smiling and making eyes at the waiters and the people at the next tables. It was a good meal.

It was still daylight when we strolled back to our apartment.