Offbeat Barcelona & Madrid suggestions

"I did try searching the archives, following Kent's instructions, but was foiled. Does anyone know why the search results sometimes bring up the "classic view" results (difficult to find answers in)?"

Good question, and we may have to leave this as one of the mysteries of Google Search. 80% or 90% of the time, using the Google Search method described in the FAQ will take you to the topic you want. But I've noticed at least two situations in which it only takes you to the "Classic View" rather than to a specific topic:

1) If when you are taken to the Classic View page you see in the 3rd line Older Posts, it's because the search has found a post that was posted within a certain number of hours of the time of your Google Search, that is, a very new post. When the green search URL displays the word fuseaction and the top line says only "Rick Steves' Europe: Travelers' Helpline" but does not give the topic name--then you know that clicking that search link is going to take you only as far as Classic View.

When this happens, if you want to give the search effort another 10 seconds, then try using Cntrl F to do a quick search of the Classic View webpage you've landed on, using the same or similar words as in your original Google Search.

2) If your 10 second Cntrl F search does not find a match, and you see on the 3rd line Newer Posts | Older Posts, best to give up on that particular search link and try another one, because it's probably caused by the 2nd reason--the search found an old post that was deleted from the topic it originally appeared in (there are several reasons why a deletion could have occurred) but for for some reason (unknown to me) the deleted topic is still "remembered" by Google.

If you're into morbidity the Barcelona Hearse Museum is fascinating. It's a little way out of the centre in the basement of the headquarters of the city council burial service: you need to go into the building and ask at reception.