Day 17 - Sunday 29th May

John had found out more information about the police attack on the students on Friday. Apparently the police had acknowledged the students' right to protest but not their right to move in and live in the plaza for weeks uninterrupted. They wanted the students to vacate the plaza for two hours so they could clean the plaza because it had become dirty and smelly. When the students refused, the police used the tear gas to move them.

Once again we managed to sleep in and it was almost 10am by the time we set out to find somewhere for breakfast. Plan A was to go back to the same place for breakfast but unfortunately it was closed (probably because it was Sunday morning). We found another cafe on the next corner that served croissants, baguettes, muffins and coffee. Not as good as the other cafe but it would be good enough considering we were hungry and needed a coffee fix.

After allowing my coffee to cool, I was about to start drinking it but was amazed to see the coffee level in the cup dropping and the saucer filling with coffee. I went over to the counter to get a staff member to help as John tried to find more saucers to catch the disappearing contents of the cup. That was a first for me. Suzy thinks I stirred the sugar too hard.

We had decided to go to the beach today at Barceloneta which was one of the stops on our bus tour a few days ago. It seemed too complicated to go by public transport because we didn't know where to buy tickets and so we caught two separate taxis to the spectacular W hotel at the western end of the beach.

After admiring the entry area of the hotel we walked along the promenade next to the beach. Along the way we saw some topless women (very pleasant) but we also saw several middle-aged men who were completely naked (not so pleasant).

The promenade must be more than 1km long. There are a few cafes on the beach side of the promenade at various spots along its length. However, most of the cafes are at the eastern end. Each of these cafes is open air and covered with large umbrellas or awnings. Their business model seems to be the same - put a pretty girl at the entrance to tell you about the menu and then serve you with fabulous food and wine when you get inside. This is very easy to take - especially on a brilliantly sunny warm day.

As usual, Amelia was making friends with the waiters and waitresses. When the waitresses walked past, she would smile and wave. By the end of the meal, she was giving them high-fives as they went past. Every time the wine waiter came to our table, she would flirt and make eyes at him and bat her long eyelashes.

After a long lazy lunch, we decided to walk past the marina to a shopping complex near the marina. Along the way, we saw countless boats including one very large motor yacht with an Australian flag. John did a quick internet search on his iPhone and found out that it belongs to Frank Lowy. John and I entertained Amelia while the girls looked at clothes shops.

When we left the shopping centre, we started to walk across the park to find a taxi back to the hotel. When we reached the street, we noticed a large crowd of people lining the streets for as far as we could see. Many of the people were wearing Barcelona supporter colours and they were all looking down the street in one direction. We concluded that they must have been waiting for the victorious soccer team to return.

About 15 minutes later, the police closed the street to cars and buses. The crowd continued to grow and to get more excited. Sure enough, about 30 or 40 minutes after we'd arrived, the parade came past. It was lead by police cars, police vans and policemen on horseback. The players were on the top of an open-top double-decker bus. Behind them was another open-top double-decker bus with a band and dancing girls.

It was quite deafening with the sound of the band and the wild enthusiastic cheering from the supporters around us. Interestingly, they we chanting songs in English such as "We are the champions". Strange because they had just defeated an English team.

We obviously picked the right weekend to come to Barcelona. Not only was the weather perfect, but we also witnessed the celebrations for the local soccer team - both last night and then again this evening. This town certainly knows how to put on a party. I've never seen anything quite like it.

There was no chance of finding a taxi to get us back to the apartment and so we walked all the way. As we went, we saw many thousands of supporters because the parade was still winding its way through the streets towards La Ramblas and Catalunya Plaza. The atmosphere was amazing.

By the time we reached the apartment, Suzy was having trouble with one of her knees because of the distance we walked. Nicky, John and Amelia were already there.

Nicky had found a highly recommended cafe for dinner using her Barcelona iPhone app (TimeOut). After we'd gone a couple of blocks, Suzy and John thought we should try somewhere closer. We'd just stumbled across another plaza we hadn't seen before. After picking a cafe, we decided that the service was too slow and felt that Amelia was too tired. So we walked out without ordering and went back to the apartment for dinner. Nicky and John went to the same place they went last night to get hamburgers and club sandwiches and more wine.