Day 4 March 2, 2013

The sun came out this morning and after our usual breakfast of "cafe con leche y croissants," we set out to find the train station located near the end of the Rambla.  It was a lovely walk and when we returned to the hotel, we lunched on the rooftop, basking in the sunshine.

Our train ride back to Barcelona was very smooth and scenic; the train goes along the coast. And it took less time than we expected. The train took us to a stop very near the Placa Catalunya (more advice from the librarians) and a short walk to our hotel. Our directions to the hotel were good once we figured out that we were walking in the right direction! At one point, two girls walked up to us and asked where we got our laminated map. They weren't too interested when they found out that I got it before I came here.

Our hotel is located very near the Placa Catalunya which is a very central location (thanks for the tip, Elaine and Joan!) Many types of transportation are located there and lots of tours start there. It also has the beginning of the Rambla (a wide avenue that leads all the way down to the port).

We dropped our luggage off and went out to see Barcelona. We hiked down the Rambla along with a great number of Barcelonians (everyone is out on a Saturday afternoon.) We found the main food market and walked through there--the fruit and juice looked lovely and really tempting, but the crowds got the best of us. There was lots of fish and ham. Large hams hang in many of the eating places--I learned in a Spanish class that the making (and eating) of ham is very important in Barcelona. I am looking forward to trying it! However, we just had some ice cream and retreated to the hotel for some rest.

We went out again later and decided to walk through some side streets to avoid the crowds and find somewhere to eat. We ate at a German restaurant and it was very good. Then we walked some more and got lost. We were very close to our hotel, but its street is like a spoke off a wheel and we got confused. We have had to ask for directions more than once so we have started to look for landmarks as we walk.