Tourist Days and Local Nights: Barcelona

My first full day in Barcelona and I did something completely uncharacteristic: I jumped head first into tourist mode (my first time to Paris, I even refused to go up the Eiffel Tower due to my abhorrence of all things "touristy"). Today I rode all three lines of the Bus Turistic- a double decker bus that zips through most all of the city's attractions while you're plugged in via headphone to your language of choice. It took me about 6 hours with only a couple of distractions (you can jump on and off as many times as you want, there's always another bus within 10 minutes or less).

My reason for riding the bus was to orient myself to the city and to make note of future things I want to see or do in more detail. I refused to consider this my 'opportunity' to know everything about Barcelona so my camera kept firmly packed away, but I was one of the few.

After the bus tour, I wandered around Ciutat Vella (the old town) enjoying chocolate (the liquid kind!), a glass of rose and some gelato. (It will be a wonder if I come back from here under 200 pounds.) Afterward, I sat on the balcony connected to my room, enjoying cheese, ham and tempranillo- and noticing a cute little pair of suspended toddler shoes.

The doggie is Pruna- she belongs to the woman from whom I'm renting a room. (More to follow on that.)