Soak in it - Barcelona has it all***

Coming next, Barcelona was superb...

Name it, it has it all. Culture, yummy food, Gaudi architecture, the right atmosphere, lovely beach, affordable shopping, good weather, efficient transport... So far, I haven't got a complaint. Even map-reading for me is easy, remember girls are supposed to be bad at map-reading! It might be the "squares" plan of the city, it makes things a lot easier, street names a lot simpler.

Oh, perhaps one thing... nothing is almost free in Barcelona. It is a "clever" money-making city, it makes money out of anything. A few visits to the Gaudi building can certainly burn a hole in your pocket, probably a free and fantastic option is Park Guell. We were/I was in the Park Guell, Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera (Casa Mila), Barcelona FC Museum, walked down Las Ramblas... watched the Magic Fountain of Montjuic, been to the Port Vell and across to Maremagnum shopping mall, happened to visit church Santa Maria del Mar when there was an ongoing service. We also walked about a lot of places, to the former Olympic Stadium (but didn't get to go in), near Picasso Museum, along Placa de Catalunya to Passeig de Gràcia and up Avenue diagonal... I love the shopping street in Passeig de Gràcia, even though I didn't get anything there. El born is my favourite area, where the Picasso Museum is situated, or the gothic area as well. It is mostly lined up with stylish restaurants and pubs.

I was at Icària beach (they have a total of 4 beaches), wasn't a long stay due to the short daylight. However they have some pretty shells, calm sea and some pretty sight. I bet in summer it will be a blast!

For accomodation, I should say we had the finest picks. The hostel I booked was fabulous, its location and atmosphere and the really cheap prices made it all worth. It was just 3 nights we stayed at Backpacker BCN before we moved to my next selected choice, Hostal Central. It was almost like a hotel with free towels, sink in the room and a neat double bed. The room looks very sweet, the hostal has friendly service, it is really a bargain for its quality and location.

Day trip 1: Figueres -- Dali Museum
A short train away, Dali Museum certainly is worth the hour of travelling. I read even though it does not contain Dali's best works, but they featured most of the works he had created when he first started off or made him popular. It is situated in this town, Figueres, where Dali used to be for a while, it certainly has its own character and we were at a mid-day market.

Day trip 2: Montserrat
Montserrat is slightly more difficult to get to, with the train timing at every half or an hour. We didn't realise the Cable car to the mountain wasn't working (what a luck, just began the maintenance work the day we embarked). So we had to wait for an hour for the next train to get to the next station where we can take a train up to Montserrat. Up there you can visit the Monastery or its museum, go for an audio-visual show, take two different funicular rides up or down the mountain, do a bit of trekking and walking in the nature which is very relaxing but tense if you're rushing for time. It has short visiting hours in Winter, I think it has more than a day's worth of visit if you are really into "a spiritual place" and nature.

To sum it up, even a heart-broken person like me can enjoy Barcelona, it really says something about it... doesn't it!!