First of all, a huge thank you to everyone who gave me ideas, suggestions, and recommendations. Even though I ignored some of it, it was all helpful and enhanced my trip. I wish I'd paid a little more attention to Harold's wise advice. Enric is an invaluable resource for Catalunya. We are fortunate to have him on the forum. And special thanks to whoever suggested Las Fallas in Valencia. It was a major highlight of this trip. I am embarrassed that I don't remember who it was but I am very grateful.
A bug I must have caught on the flight made my slow pace even slower. Still, Spain is Spain, and it isn't possible to be there and not have a good time. A week in Barcelona flew by. I landed just after 10 a.m. and was in my room by noon, with a crane-your-neck view of the Palau de la Musica façade across the street . Aerobus from the airport to the Placa de Catalunya is cheap, easy and comfortable.
Lunch at Elsa Y Fred was good, if a bit rushed, my fault for getting lost, then a mid-afternoon roof-top tour (great guide) of the beautiful Santa Maria del Mar Church. A craving for churros hit me, but I couldn't find the directions I had carefully recorded for "the best place in Barcelona" so I resigned myself to trudging back to my room for a rest. Then I looked into a shop window (right on Via Leiatana) only to see a man frying churros in a huge vat! Cheap, sprinkled with sugar, in a paper cone, and too hot to eat (blow on them and try not to drool). I ate too many, and threw away almost half, knowing they would not taste nearly as good an hour later. The only churros I ate, afraid none would be quite as good (not to mention the calories). A perfect beginning to my trip.
Highlights - the TI's Modernisme walking tour, Montjuic's Jardin de Laribal with views of Barcelona, the Ethnology Museum (surprisingly interesting), MNAC (should have allowed more time - Harold was so right), beautiful City Hall (open to the public on Sunday mornings), the City Museum Placa del Rei (Roman excavations), the Hash Museum and riding through the city on the back of a friend's motor scooter. And of course the tapas and the wines. Watching my waiter pour me a glass of cider.
Lowlights - really only the Sefarad Tour (huge disappointment and very expensive). The Chocolate Museum wasn't worth the time but it was nearby and didn't take long. The Picasso Museum: it was interesting to see his very early works, but I'm not a fan of cubism (that's most of the rest).
Two day trips, Tarragona and Figueres. I had what turned out to be greatly overblown expectations for the Roman ruins in Tarragona, but I did like the cathedral and the cloister and the local vermut. The train runs along the seashore for most of the 1 hour ride, very scenic. Figueres was great, both the Dali sights and a bit of wandering in the town center. I would have had time for several hours in Girona on the way back, but I'd been there before and had made plans for that evening in Barcelona.
It may sound like I skipped the "biggies." No so. I enjoyed them last year on my first visit here. I haven't listed everything and indeed there were a few things I skipped when I got sick.
My next stop was for 3 nights in Valencia, mainly for Las Fallas. There are not words enough to describe it. You have to be there. I did get in some sightseeing, though I spent most of my time seeing and experiencing the festival (or sick in bed, sigh). It's a huge street fair that was still going strong at 3 a.m. (the latest I was out) and there were parades of people in fancy dress and marching bands by 8 a.m. I did get to watch the fireworks one night (out of 3) and they were worth staying up for. I was there at the beginning of the 5 day festival and by the time I left, the crowds were sometimes overwhelming so I wasn't too sorry to miss the big finale.